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THE 

Commonwealth of Missouri. 






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THE 



COMMONVv^EALTH 



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MISSOURI; 



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CONTRIBUTORS : 



AECH^OLOGY, 
HISTORY. - 
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
MATERIAL WEALTH, 



A. J. CONANT, A. M. 

Col. "W. F. Switzler. 
G. C. Swallow, LL.D. 
R. A. Campbell, C. E. 



EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, W.T.Harris, LL.D. 

BIOGRAPHIES, - - - Several able writers. 



ED^fM ^f 6. ^^^J^NS. 



iVOt/ 14 1889 ^.li 



ST. LOUIS : 
BRYAN, BRAND & CO., PUBLISHERS, 

1877. 



Euterecl according to Act of Congress in the year 1876, by 

CHAKCY R. BARNS, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 

J6 12 im^ 



C. R. BARNS, Printer, BECKTOLD & CO., Binders 

215 Pine Street, St Louis. 215 Pine St , St. Louis. 



PREFACE. 



. The present volume liticl its origin in a suggestion of President 
Grant, at the opening of the Centennial year, looking to the preparation 
of historical and other memorials of • the growth of the various States, 
counties and towns throughout the Union, during the epoch then closing. 
The original intention was to bring out the volume before the close of 
the Centennial year ; but it was soon found that a much longer time was 
necessary for the proper preparation of a work of such magnitude ; and 
hence, nearly two years have been employed in the undertaking. The 
Archeeological and Historical departments have largely exceeded the 
original limits designed, and the space set apart for local and biographical 
matter has been reduced in a corresponding degree. 

The purpose of the editor and publishers has been to present, in this 
volume, such a picture of our noble State as would be worthy of preser- 
vation in the library of every patriotic citizen. To accomplish this end, 
no pains or outlay has been spared. The writers employed will each be 
recognized at once as the persons qf- all others best qualified for their 
several departments. They need no introduction to the reader. The 
steel portraits, from the hand of J. C. Buttre, and the wood-engravings 
from half a score of artists equally excellent in their line, will speak for 
themselves. The typography of the volume will also compare favorably, 
as we think, with anything yet produced in Missouri. It has been a 
source of the greatest satisfaction to the editor, that every one engaged 
upon the volume, in every department, has conscientiously contributed 
his best efforts to the work. 

For himself, the editor claims no credit beyond that of an earnest 
effort to present, in an attractive and useful shape, the productions of 
the abler men whose names appear upon the title-page. If he shall be 
deemed to have succeeded in this, his reward will have been attained. 

CHANCY E. BARNS. 



n 



LIST OF STEEL PORTRAITS. 



C. H, HARDIN, Centennial Governor of Missouri, - - - Frontispiece. 
JAMES S. EOLLINS, of Columbia, -^ - - - Facing Page 123 

H. C. BROKMEYER, Lieutenant Governor, 177 

EDWARD M. SAMUEL, of St. Louis, 254 

GEN. G. R. SMITH, of Sedalia, 285 

J. O. BROADHEAD, of St. Louis, ..------ 297 

CHARLES D. EITZEN, State Senator, of Hermann, - - - . 337 

GEN. FRANCIS P. BLAIR, - - 344 

COL. JOHN F. PHILIPS, Member of Congress, - - - - - 369 

COL. T. T. CRITTENDEN, Member of Congress, - - - - 407 

CARLSCHURZ, . - 444 

WILLIAM GENTRY, of Sedalia, .465 

LOUIS V. BOGY, U. S. Senator, - 473 

HENRY T. BLOW, of St. Louis, - - 497 

THOMAS ALLEN, LL. D., of St. Louis, Pres. lion Mountain R, R. - 537 

WILLIAM T. HARRIS, LL. D., Sup't of Public Instruction, St. Louis, - 619 

REV. E.S.DUL1N,LL. D., of St. Joseph, 633 

NATHAN COLE, of St. Louis, Member of Congress, . - - - 641 

JOHN F. LONG, U. S. Collector, St. Louis, 648 

M. A. ROSENBLATT, City Collector, St. Louis, ----- 657 

CHARLES V. RILEY, State Entomologist, 672 

JAMES ELLISON MILLS, Geologist and Mineralogist, - " " " ^^^ 

E.M.MARVIN, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, - - - 693 

REV. WM. POPE YEAMAN, D. D., - - 697 

GEO. FRANK GOULEY, Grand Secretary of Grand Lodge F. & A. Ma- 
sous of Missouri, - " 701 

H. CLAY SEXTON, Chief Engineer St. Louis Fire Department, - - 707 

DR. J. H. McLEAN, of St. Louis, 711 

JAMES HARRISON, of St. Louis, 715 

GEN. JOHN S. MARMADUKE, of St. Louis, 720 

EDWARD A. LEWIS, Presiding Judge St. Louis Court of Appeals, - 727 

J. G. WOERNER, Probate Judge, St. Louis, 731 

JAMES W. L. SLAVENS, Mayor of Kansas City, ... - - 747 

[s. S.TODD, M.D., of Kansas City, 753 

WILLIAM HOLMES, of Kansas City, 761 

SAMUEL L. SAWYER, of Independence, 764 



VI. 



LIST OF STEEL PLATES. 



WILLIAM CHRISMAN, of Independence, - . . _ Facing Page 766 

T. B. BULLENE, of Kansas City, 778 

GEORGE W. SAIilUEL, of St. Joseph, - 785 

JOHN CORBY, of St. Joseph, - - - - - . . . 800 

DUDLEY M. STEELE, of St. Joseph, 802 

DR. GALEN E. BISHOP, of St. Joseph, 807 

A. D. JAYNES, of Sedalia, .-----... 809 

JOSEPH G. NORWOOD, M. D., LL. D., of Columbia, - - - 825 

JOHN M. SAMUEL, of Columbia, - - - - - - - - 836 

JOHN B. HELM, of Hannibal, .---..-. 853 

R. F. LAKENAN, of Hannibal, 856 

A. W. RIDINGS, of Warrensburg, ....... 863 

SAJilUELH. OWENS, of Moniteau, - - - - - ... 882 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PART I -ARCHEOLOGY. 



CHAPTER I. 

Page. 
Traces of Vanished Peoples.— Their World-wide DiflFusion.— Eussian Earth- 
works. — Epyptian Monuments Ancient at the Date of Oldest Kecords. — A 
Troy Still Older than the Ancient Troy of Homer 3 

CHAPTER n. 

Methods of the Archseologist.— The Shell-heaps of the Baltic— The Buried For- 
ests of Denmark.— The Sisterhood of Science.— The Five Geological Periods. 
— The Ages of Stone and Bronze. — Iron in Common Use Three Thousand 
Years Ago 7 

CHAPTER IH. 

No "Age of Bronze" in America. — Traditions Kegarding the Mounds. — Tus- 
carora Chronology. — The Animal Mounds of the Upper Mississippi Kegion. — 
Ancient Fish Traps. — Burial, Sacrificial and Historical Mounds 12 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Archaeological Monuments of Missouri. — Their rapid destruction. — Sites of 
Towns and Cities. — The Labors of H. M. Brackenridge. — The Big Mound at 
St. Louis. — Col. OTallon's Eesidence Erected on an Ancient Mound. — The 
Mounds in Forest Park. — ^Evidences of a Vast Population. — jSTew Madrid its 
Center. — Description of Various Works 25 

^ CHAPTER V. 

One People the Builders of these Mounds.— Cremation and Burial Mounds. — The 
Big Mound at St. Louis. — Mistaken Views. — Minute Description of the Work. 
— Stone Mounds. — Stone Sepulchres in St. Louis and Pei-ry Counties, 38 

CHAPTER VI. 

'•'The Cave-Dwellers." — Tales of Discoveries in Kentucky, etc. — The Caves of 
the Ozark Mountains. — Proofs of Long Occupancy. — Skeletons and other 
Kelics Found. — The Cave-Dwellers a difterent race from the Mound-Builders. 47 



1 



VIII. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VII. 



Page. 



Temple Mounds.— Growth of Ancient Eeligious Systems.— Characteristics of this 
Class of Monuments.— The Great Mound at Cahokia its hest representative 
in North America.— Brackenridge's Description of it in ISll.— How it came 
to be called "Monks' Mound."— The Ceremonies of the Sun-Worshippers.- 
Other Temple Mounds.— The Indians not descended from the Mound-Builders. 53 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Garden Mounds.— The Food of the Pre-historic Kaces.— Fish Probably one of 
their Main Kesources.— The Use of the Ditches within their City Walls.— 
Domestic Animals.— Agriculture.— Eeligious Systems.— Dissimilarity between 
Northern and Southern Tribes of Indians.— Traces of Aztec Culture among the 
Latter.— Vast Numbers of the Garden Mounds.— Proofs of their Purpose.— 
The Utah Mounds.— Interesting Discoveries.— A new Variety of Wheat grown 
from Kernels found Therein.— An Opening for Further Kesearches 



62 



CHAPTER IX. 

Miscellaneous Works.— Historical or National Festival Mounds.— Stone Struc- 
tures.— Kuins on the Gasconade River.— Group near Louisiana, Mo.— Some 
Indiana Eelics.— Cremation Chambers.— Proofs of Agricultural Knowledge. 
—Great Canals Ante-dating the Erie.— Ancient Counterparts of Modern 
Achievements.— Our Southern " Bayous " of Artificial Origin 70 

CHAPTER X. 

Crania.— Differences Between the Skulls of the Mound-Builders and the Indi- 
ans.— Difficulties of the Subject.— Two Varietesof Crania in the same Mounds. 
—Principles of Classification.— Influence of Local Customs.— Peruvian Skulls. 
Characteristics of Missouri Specimens, Etc. — The Tools of Ancient Ameri- 
cans. — Proofs of a Knowledge of Iron 97 

CHAPTER XI. 

Concluding Observations. — The Origin of the Pre-Historic Eaces of America. — 
Theory of Spontaneous Generation. — The Law Governing their Migrations. — 
Successive Movements of the Nahua Eace.^The Aztecs the. Last Colony 
of that People. — Opinions of Baron Humboldt. — Our own Country Probably 
the Original Home of the Aztec Civilization. — The Indian Eaces of Asiatic 
Origin. — Facilities of Immigration via. Behring's Straits. — A Personal Word. 
—Dry Bones Clothed 113 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. IX. 



PART II -HISTORY. 



CHAPTEE I. 



Page. 



Expedition of Juan Ponce De Leon in 1512, to Florida, in search of Gold and the 
Fountain of Eternal Youth.— His Failure and Death.— De Soto's Marvelous 
Expedition in 1539.— A Splendid Pageant.— He Discovers the River Missis- 
sippi in 1541.— Crosses it, and Marches into the Present Territory of Missouri. 
— DeSoto's Death and Romantic Burial 127 

CHAPTER II. 

Louisiana.- French Explorations.— Acquisition of Louisiana.— Missouri a Portion 
of the Province.— Expedition of Marquette and Joliet in 1673.— They Discover 
the Upper Mississippi and the Mouth of the Missouri 133 

CHAPTER HI. 

Discovery of the Mouth of the Mississippi.— La Salle and Hennepin.— Seeking a 
Northwest Passage to China, they Discover the Mouth of the Mississsppi and 
Take Formal Possession of the Country in the Name of Louis XIV.— In Honor 
of Him they Call it " Louisiana."— Missouri a Portion of it.— Letters Patent 
to Cruzat. John Law's Company 137 

CHAPTER IV. 

First Settlement in Missouri.— The French Settle Ste. Genevieve in 1735.— Its In- 
undation in 1785.— New Bourbon.— Renault's Searches for Gold and Silver. . . 142 

CHAPTER Y. 

Laclede.— St. Louis.—" The Louisiana Fur Company."— Laclede its Master Spirit. 
—His Expedition from New Orleans in 1763.— Ste. Genevieve.— Fort de Char- 
tres.— A Description.— Discovery by Laclede, in 1764, of the Site of St. Louis. 
—Extracts from an Address of Hon: Wilson Primm.— Laclede's Death and 
Burial.— What a Bubble is Fame • 



144 



CHAPTER VI. 

St. Louis in 1765 to 1778.— Louis St. Ange de Belle Rive moves his Garrison from 
Fort Chartres to St. Louis.— Is Made Governor.— Pontiac ; His Visit, Assassi- 
nation and Burial.— Termination of French Authority.— Arrival of Don Pedro 
Piernas and Establishment of Spanish Rule. -Death of St. Ange.-Francisco 
Cruzat.— Don Fernando Leyba.— Death of Laclede.— Sale of His Property ... 151 



\ 



X. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VII. 

St. Louis in 1778 to 1800.— The Village Fortified by a Wall of Brush and Clay.— 
Attack of British and Indians.— Traitorous Conduct of Leyba.— His Death.— 
Francisco Cruzat Again Appointed Governor.— New and Stronger Fortifica- 
tions Erected.— Map of St. Louis as it was in 1780.— The Great Flood of 1785. 
—Michael Perez.— Zenon Trudeau.— Census of 1799.— Land Grants 155 

CHAPTER YIII. 

Eetrocession of Louisiana to France.- Its Purchase by the United States.— 1800 a 
Notable Year. — Treaty of Ildefonso. — Spain forced to Ketrocede Louisiana to 
France.— Its Purchase by the United States.— Treaty of 1803.— Capt. Amos 
Stoddard.— French and Spanish Land Grants Protected by Treaty, and Acts 
of Congress 159 

CHAPTER IX. 

Missouri as a District und-er United States Authority, 1804. — Amos Stoddard Suc- 
ceeds Delassus at St. Louis. — " Territory of Orleans." — District of Louisiana." 
-General James Wilkinson Appointed Governor of the Latter. — Visit of 
Aaron Burr. — ^Wilkinson Succeeded by Captain Merriwether Lewis.^His Sui- 
cide. — General Benjamin Howard Succeeds Him. — A Keign of Six Days. — 
Captain William Clark Appointed Governor. — Four Districts Established. — 
Statistics of Population.— St. Louis. — Interesting Facts 163 

CHAPTER X. 

1S03-4-5-6. — LcAvis and Clark's Expedition up the Missouri, Across the Eockj^ 
Mountains, Down the Columbia, to the Pacific Ocean. — Homeward Journey. — 
Z. M. Pike's Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi and Arkansas 
Eivers.— His Eeturn, Military Services and Death 168 

CHAPTER XI. 

17G9. — First Settlements West of St. Louis. — St. Charles Settled by Blanchette. — 
" Commons." — Forts. — Portage des Sioux. — Indian Incident.— The Mamelles. 
— Femme Osage, Perruque and Other Creeks. — Loutre Island. — Indian Attack. 
— W. T. Cole. — Another Attack. — Bloody Fight with Indians. — Captain James 
Callaway and Otliers Killed — Cote Sans Dessein 170 

CHAPTER XII. 

"The Boone's Lick Country," — Its Settlement. — Ira P. Nash visits it in 1801. — 
Expedition of Lewis and Clark.— In 1807 Nathan and Daniel Boone make salt 
at "Boone's Lick." — Daniel Boone. ^Popular Error . Corrected. — Sketch of 
Daniel Boone. — His Death. — Eealy Settlements in Cooper and Howard Coun- 
ties. — Siockade Forts. — Tragic Death of Sarshell Cooper 177 



/ 



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TABLE OF CONTENTS. XI'. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

I Page. 

Earfchquakes at New Madrid, 1811-12.— Description of the Catastrophe.— Hon. 
^ ; wis F. Linn's Letter.— The Venerable Godfrey Lesier, an Eye Witness, 
Describes it.— Eeelfoot Lake, Tennessee, a Kesult of its Violence.— " New 
Madrid Claims."— Acts of Congress Locating and Confirming Them 183 

CHAPTER XIV. 

1812.— Missouri Territory Organized.— Five Counties.— Governor William Clark.— 
Election for Delegate to Congress and Members of the Territorial Legislature. 
—Edward Hempstead Chosen Delegate.— Sketch of Ms Life and Services.— 
First Territorial Legislature.— Census of 1814.- Rufus Easton.— John Scott.— 
Legislatures of 1813, 1814, 1815, 1816, 1817 and 1818.— Application to Form a 
State Government ^^"^ 

CHAPTER XV. 

Three Central Counties— Howard, Cooper and Boone.— Franklin, Boonville and 
Fayette.- The Santa Fe Trade.— " Missouri Intelligencer."— Hardeman's Gar- 
den Described.— Town of Sniithton, in Boone County, Etc., Etc 191 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The First Steamboats.— Robert Fulton, the Pioneer Steamboat Builder.— His 
Death in 1815.- In 1817 the " General Pike " Lands at St. Louis.— In 1819 the 
"Independence" Enters the Missouri River, Proceeds to Franklin and Chari- 
ton, and returns to St. Louis.— Public Meeting at Franklin.— Other Steamers 
Navigate the Missouri Daring the Same Year 198 

CHAPTER XVH. 

Missouri as a State.— Application to be Admitted into the Union.— The Beginning 
of the Anti-Slavery Agitation —An Angry Debate in Congress.- The Proviso 
Adopted by the House and Rejected by the Senate.— Congress Adjourns, Re- 
fusing to Admit the State.— Agitation and Bitter Controversies Arise.— Integ- 
rity of the Union Menaced.— The Question before the XVIth Congress.— 
" The Missouri Compromise " Passed.— Constitutional Convention of 1820.— 
David Barton.- Constitution Presented to Congress.— Resistance to Admis- 
sion.— Another Fearful Anti-Slavery Storm.— Mr. Clay with His Grand Com- - 
mittee of Thirty Comes to the Front.— They Report a Second " Missouri 
Compromise," which is Adopted.— Missouri is Admitted.— Popular Error 
Corrected Respecting Mr. Clay.— Questions Answered by President Monroe's 
Cabinet '-01 

CHAPTER XVIH. 

First Election for Governor and other State Officers.— Alexandei McNair Elected 
Governor.— First Legislature Under the State Constitution.— Governor 
McNair's Message.— Supreme and Circuit Judges Appointed.— Election of 



XII. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Page 
United States Senators.-Exciting Contest.-David Barton and Thomas H. 
Benton Elected.— Remarkable Incidents Connected with Benton's Election.— 
Counties Organized.— Capital Moved to St. Charles •. • • 211 

CHAPTEE XIX. 

From 1824 to 1830.— Frederick Bates Elected Governor to Succeed Governor McNair, 
Defeating General William H. Ashley.— Bates" Death.— John Miller Elected 
his Successor.— Visit of General Lafayette to St. Louis, in 1S25.— Demonstra- 
tions of Respect and Gratitude.— His Visit to Washington City.— Action of 
Congress.— Grants of Land and Money.— His Return to France.— First Legis- 
lature at Jefferson City in 1826.— Burning of the Statfe House.— Canvass of 
1828.— Whigs and Democrats Organize.— Slavery Emancipation Programme- 
Singular Incident Frustrates It.— Alexander Buckner Elected United States 
Senator in 1829 in ulace of David Barton • 216 

CHAPTER XX. 

From 1830 to 1840.— Cholera in St. Louis in 1832.— The Alarm it Occasioned.— 
Deaths.— The Black Hawk War.— The First Railroad Convention in Missouri. 
—"The Hetherly War."— " The Platte Purchase."— Origin of the Measure 
and its Accomplishment.— Daniel Webster's Visit to St. Louis in 1837.— Recep- 
tion, Banquet and Speech.— The Florida War.— Colonel Richard Gentry 
Raises a Regiment in Central Missouri.— Their March from Columbia.— Arri- 
val in Florida.— Battle of Okee-cho-bee.— Colonel Gentry's Heroic Death.— 
Bravery of the Missouri Volunteers. --Report of Colonel Zachary Taylor.— 
Action of Missouri Legislature Thereon 223 

CHAPTER XXI. 

From 1830 to 1840 Continued.— The Mormons and the Mormon War.— Sketch of 
Mormonism and of Jo. Smith.—" The Book of Mormon."— Its Origin.— Mor- 
mons Settle at Independence in Jackson County —Are Driven out and Es- 
tablish Themselves at Far West in Caldwell County.— Description of Far 
West and of the Mormon Temple.— The Mormons at DeWitt, Carroll County. 
— They Organize under Colonel G. W. Hinkle. — The Citizens Fly to Arms 
and Elect General Congreve Jackson to Command Them. — Bloodshed Immi- 
nent. — Judge James Earickson of Howard Negotiates a Peace. — The Mormons 
Abaiidon DeWitt and go to Far West. — False Alarm at CarroUton. — Missouri 
Militia March Against the Mormons in 1838. — Their Surrender and Dispersion. 
"-The Tragical Deaths of Jo. Smith and Parley P. Pratt. — ^Attempted Assas- 
Ination of Governor Lilburn W. Boggs by Porter Rockwell, a Mormon Leader. 238 

CHAPTER XXII. 

From 1840 to 1850. — The Elections from 1840 to 1850. — Characteristics and Enthu- 
siasm of the Campaign of 1840. — Rocheport Convention. — Result of the 
Election. — Suicide of Governor Reynolds. — The Great Freshet of 1844. — 
Constitutional Convention of 1845.— The Mexican War. — " The St. Louis 
Legion," Colonel A. R. Easton. — Public Meeting. — "Army of the West," 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. XIII. 

Page. 
General S. W. Kearney.— First Eegiment Missouri Volunteers Under Colonel 
A. W. Doniphan. — Battles of Brazito and Sacramento. — Triumphant Entrance 
Into Chihuahua.— Colonel Sterling Price's Eegiment.- His March to Santa 
Fe.— Battles of Canada, El Embudo and Taos.— Colonel John Ealls' Eegi- 
ment.— Battle of Santa Cruz de Eosales.— Great St. Louis Fire of May 1849. 
—Twenty-three Steamers Burned and $3,000,000 of Property Destroyed.— 
•'The Jackson Eesolutions " pass the Legislature. — Vote on them in Each 
House. — Colonel Benton's Appeal From and Canvass Against Them Ex- 
citement his Course produced 254 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

From 1850 to I860.— Gubernatorial Election Eeturns for 1852, 1856 and 1857.- The 
XVIth General Assembly. — ^Election of United States Senator. — ColonelBenton 
beaten for United States Senator by Henry S. Geyer, a Whig. — Explosions of 
the Steamers " Glencoe " and "Saluda." — Meeting of the XVHth General 
Assembly in Extra Session. — War of the Factions over the Speakership. — 
Free-soil and Slave-soil.— The Eegular Session.— Another Battle over the 
Speakership.— Sterling Price Inaugurated Governor.— The XVIIIth General 
Assembly. — Election of Ui;iited States Senator to Succeed David E. Atchison. 
— The Slavery Question and the Kansas and Nebraska Bills.— Appalling Dis- 
aster at the Gasconade Bridge. — The Kansas-Nebraska Agitation of 1856. — 
Missoitrians Cross the Border. — Bloody Collisions between the "Pro-" and 
"Anti-Slavery" Parties.— The XlXth General Assembly.— James S. Green 
and Trusten Polk Elected United States Senators. — Governor Polk Eesigns. — 
Eobert M. Stewart Ellected Governor 271 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

I860.— Eeview of Forty Years' Progress.— Tide of Population and Settlement 

of Southeast and Southern Missouri, along the Upper Mississippi and the / 

Missouri Valley. — Manufactures. — Improved Lands and their Cash Value. — V 

Eevelations of the Census of I860.— Live Stock.— Farm Products.— Domestic 
Manufactures. — Eailroad Enterprises. — Government and State Aid. — The 
First Whistle of the Locomotive. — Telegraph Lines. — St. Louis as a Eail- 
road Center. — Progress of Education. — Our Public School System. — St. Louis 
in 1821 and 1860. — Great Achievements and Destiny of the State 285 ~^ 

CHAPTER XXV. 

I860.— Eetm-ns of Elections from 1800 to 1870.— Presidential Election of 1860.— 
Unexampled Excitement attending it. — National Conventions to Nominate 
Candidates. — Four Candidates, Douglas, Breckenridge, Bell and Lincoln, 
Nominated — A Quadrangular Contest. — Abraham Lincoln Elected President. — 
Gubernatorial Canvass in Missouri. — Claiborne F. Jackson, Hancock Jackson, 
James B. Gardenhire and Sample Orr Candidates for Governor. — AnExcitino- 
and Bitter Contest over the Slavery Issues. — C. F. Jackson Elected Governor. 297 



XIV. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



Page. 



1861.— XXIst General Assembly.— C. F. Jackson Inaugurated Governor.— Synopsis 
of his Inaugural.— The Legislature Environed With Embarrassing Questions. 
-It Calls a State Convention.— Important Preliminary Proceedings.— The 
Problem of Secession.— The Functions of Conventions Discussed.— Daniel E. 
Eussell, Commissioner of Mississippi, Addresses the General Assembly.— His 
Mission a Failure.—" The Peace Congress" at Washington City.— Kesolutioe 
of JohnHyer, of Dent, Against Coercion.— Contest for United States Senator 
to succeed James S. Green.— A Triangular Struggle.— Waldo P. Johnson 
Elected.— Senators Johnson and Polk Expelled from the Senate.— A " Relief 
Law " Passed by the Legislature and Declared Unconstitutional by the Supreme 
Court.— An Extra Session of the Legislature Called May 2nd, 1862.— Extra- 
ordinary " War Measures " Adopted.— Panic Caused by the Capture of Camp 
Jackson.— Before-day Session of the Legislature —Burning of the Osage Eail- 
road Bridge.— Sterling Price Appointed Major-General of the State Forces.- 
Flight of Governor Jackson from the Capital.— He calls the Legislature to 
Meet at Neosho. — A Fragment of it Assembles. — Proceedings of the Senate. 
—Secession Ordinance Passed.— Isaac N. Shambaugh's Circular.— Governor 
Jackson's Message Appointing Officers of '"The State* Guard. "—The Neosho- 
Cassville Legislature Adjourns to Meet at New Madrid.— The Session Never 
Held There - ■ 305 



CHAPTEE XXVIl. 

1861. The " Gamble " State Convention. — It Meets on Feb. 28, 1861. — Names of 

Members Elected.,^Sterling Price Elected President. — The Convention holds 
frequent Sessions at the State Capitol and in St. Louis.-Finally Adjourns sine 
die on July 1, 1863. — Luther J. Glenn, Commissioner from the State of Geor- 
gia, attends the Convention. — His Reception and Address. — Address referred 
to a Committee. — Two Reports Presented. — Neither ever Disposed of. — Com- 
mittee on Federal Relations. — Their Reports. — Action Thereon. — Committee 
appointed to Re-convene the Convention when Necessary. — Delegates Elected 
to the Border State Convention. — Robert Wilson elected President of the Con- 
vention, vice Sterling Price Expelled for Disloyalty. — Ordinance Declaring 
the Offices of Governor, Lieut. Governor and Secretary of State vacant 
Adopted. — Hamilton R. Gamble Elected Governor; Willard P. Hall, Lieut. 
Governor, and Mordecai Oliver, Secretary of State, — Ordinances passed 
Changing Gubernatorial Election from August to November; also Abolishing 
Certain Civil Offices, and Prescribing an Oath of Loyalty for Civil Officers, 
and for issuing Union Defence Bonds. — Resolution adopted expelling Ster- 
lino- Price and others from the Convention. — ^Mr. Breckinridge's Emancipa- 
tion Ordinance Laid on the Table. — Congressional Districts Remodelled. — Oath 
of IjOjalty for Voters, Officials, Jurymen and Attorneys Adopted. — The Yeas' 
and Nays. — Cominittee on Emancipation Elected. — They Report an Ordinance 
for the Emancipation of Slaves, which is Adopted. — The Yeas and Nays. — 
Convention Adjourns Sine Die 322 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. XV. 

CHAPTER XXVIir. 

Page. 
1861. — Our Civil War. — Difficulties in Arriving- at tlie Truths of its History. — In- 
auguration of the War. — Secession of Soutli Carolina. — Firing ontlie''Star 
of the West," and Fort Sumter.— The First Gun of the Kebellion. — Presi- 
dent Lincoln Calls for 75,000 Troops. — Governor C. F. Jackson's Kesponse. — 
Imminence of the Crisis. — Hopes of the Conservative Masses. — General Mili- 
tary Order (No. 7) of Governor Jacksonto Organize Camps for Drill. — Camp 
Jackson. — Gen. D. M. Frost's Letter to Capt. ISTath'l Lyon, Connnandant of 
the St. Louis Arsenal. — Capt. Lyon's Letter to Gen. Frost Demanding the 
Surrender of Camp Jackson. — It Surrenders. — Particulars of the Event. — 
Fearful Excitement. — Gen. Frost's Letter of January 24tli, 1S61, to. Gov. 
Jackson. — Gen W. S.Harney's Proclamation.— The Harney-Price Agreement. 
It is Disapproved at Washington, and Gen. Harney Removed. — Gen. Lyon 
succeeds to the Command of the Department. — Conference between Gen. 
Lyon, Col. Blair, Gov. Jackson and Gen. Price. — What Each Party Demanded. 
— The Conference a Failure. — Jackson and Price return to the Capital, 
Burning the Bridges behind them. — Col. Thomas L. Snead's Sketch of Lyon. 
— Gov. Jackson's Proclamation calling for 50,000 men. — Gen. Lj^on marches 
to Jefferson City. — Jackson and Price desert the Capital and Establish them- 
selves at Boonville. — Lyon and Blair occupy the Capital. — The Boonville 
Fight. — Tlie State Troops Eepulsed. — Lyon occupies Boonville and issues a 
Proclamation. — The Battle of Carthage. — Col. Sigel's Retreat 344 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

1861. — Creation of the Western Department. — John C. Fremont Appointed to its 
Command. — He Returns from Europe to New York; thence Goes to St. Louis 
and Establishes his Headquarters. — He Fortifies St. Louis. — ^A Dilemma. — 
Shall he Save Bird's Point or Reinforce Lyon. — He elects to do the former. — 
Proclamations of Gov. C. F. Jackson, Lieut. Governor Thomas C. Reynolds 
and Gens. Gideon J. Pillow and Jeff. Thompson, at New Madrid. — Thomp- 
son's " Cattle on Ten Thousand Hills." — Fremont's Fleet sails from St. Louis 
to Bird's Point and back again. — Lyon's March from Boonville to Springfield. 
— Price's March from Cow Skin Prairie towards Wilson's Creek. — The Battle of 
Dug Springs. — Rains Defeated. — Lyon Returns to Springfield. — Massing of Con- 
federate Forces on Crane Creek, in Stone County. — Disagreement between Price 
and McCulloch. — The Battle at Wilson's Creek ; one of the Most Bloody of the 
War. — Death of Gen. Lyon. — Defeat of the Union Army.— Its Retreat to 
Rolla. — Reports of the Battle made by Major Sturgis and Gens. Sigel, McCul- 
loch, Price and Clark.— Forty-two thousand Militia called for by Gov. Gamble. 
— Gen. Fremont Declares Martial Law. — Provost Marshal McKinstry's '• Per- 
mit " Order. — President Lincoln Disapproves Fremont's Proclamation. — 
" The Swamp Fox " again Proclaims. — He will '• Hang, Draw, and Quarter." 369 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Battle at Athens.— McCullocb's Proelannition of August 12th, 1861.— Price's Proc- 
lamation. — Skirmish at Drywood.— Battle of Lexington. — Heroic Defense of 
Mulligan and his final Surrender. — Gen. Fremont again Severely Criticised. — 






XVr. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



He resolves to take the Field in Person. — Musters an army of 20,000 Men and 
starts for Springfield. — Price Abandons Lexington. — Maj. White's Bold Dash 
into tlie Town. — Fremont's Army across the Osage. — The Magnitude of His 
Plans. — ^Zagonyi's Brilliant Charge into Springfield. — Errors in regard to it Cor- 
rected. — Justice done the " Prairie Scouts." — Very expressive, if not elegant, 
remark of " Old Pap," — Battle at Belmont. — Heroism of a Lad. — Fremont Su- 
perseded by Gen. Hunter, and he by Gen. Halleck. — The Union Army returns 
from Springfield to St. Louis.— Geni Price's 50,000 Men and #200,000,000 
Proclamation. — A Kemarkable Paper.— Gen. John Pope. — Gen. Halleck as- 
sumes Command of the Department. — Martial Law. — Stringent Orders 
against Kailroad Destroyers. — Campaign Summary 393 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

1862-1863-1864-1865. — Missouri Eiver as a Kampart. — Gen. Curtis Moves upon 
Springfield, and Gen. Price Ketreats to Cross Hollows, Ark. — Battle of .Pea 
Kidge. — Provost Marshal General Farrar's Order about Newspapers. — New 
St. Louis Chamber of Commerce. — Gen. Halleck's Order to the Officers of the 
Mercantile Library Association, and Officers of the State University. — Courts 
Martial at Palmyra and Columbia. — Prisoners Condemned and Shot. Sen- 
tences Commuted. — The Boone County •' Standard " Confiscated. — Gen. J. M. 
Schofield Succeeds Gen. Halleck.— Col. H. S. Lipscomb's Fight with Col. 

Porter's Forces, at Cherry Grove. — Maj. John Y. Clopper at Pierce's Mill. 

Porter's Flight to Moore's Mill, Callaway County. — Fight at Moore's Mill. 

Fight at Kirksville.— Col. Guitar's Pursuit of Porter in the Chariton Valley. 

Fights at Compton's Ferry and Yellow Creek.— Battle at Independence. 

Death of Gen. John T. Hughes.- Battles at Lone Jack and Newtonia.— Mili- 
tary Executions at Macon and Palmyra. — Cane Hill and Prairie Grove 

Battles at Springfield and Cape Girardeau.— Capture of Jeff. Thompson— 
Gen. Ewing's Order No. 11.— Gen. SchofiekVs Letter, and Gen. Bino-ham's 
Reply.— President Lincoln's Proposed Pardon of Gen. Price.— Col. Shelby's 
Raid upon Boonville.— Gen. Eosecrans Assumes Command of the Depart- 
ment.— A large Confederate Force Invades the State and Threatens St. Louis 
and the Capital.— Shelby and Clark Capture Glasgow.— Rev. Wm. G. Caples 
Killed.— Brutal treatment of Maj. Wm B. Lewis by Bill Anderson.— Price's 
Forces driven out of the State into Arkansas.— The Centralia Massacre.— De- 
feat and Horrible Butchery of Maj. Johnson by Bill Anderson's Guerrillas.— 
Execution in St. Louis of James M. Utz.— Lee's Surrender,— Lincoln's Assas- 
sination. — Jeff". Davis' Capture. --'Close of the War 4q«- 

CHAPTER XXXH. 

1862 to ] 870 —Missouri's Experience with the First Test Oath for Voters.— Twenty- 
second General Assembly.— Election for Judges of the Supreme Court in 
November, 1863.— Nucleus of Political Parties formed.— The "Radicals " and 
" Conservatives."— Radical State Convention.— Its Platform.— Committee of 
Seventy, C, D. Drake, Chairman, visit President Lincoln.— His Reply to their 
Addresses.— Death of Gov. Gamble.— Canvass of 1861'.- State Constitutional 
Convention of 1865.- Charles D. Drake its Master Spirit.— Its Proceedino-s.— 
Slavery in Missouri Abolished.—" Iron Clad Oath " for Voters, Ministers 



I - , ' I' 

> 

(XVHI. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

I 

PART III -PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
CHAPTER 1. 

Page. 

Geology ^ 499 

CHAPTER 11. 
Mines and Useful Minerals 519 

CHAPTER HI. 
The Waters of Missouri 525 

CHAPTER IV. 
Prairie and Timber 528 

CHAPTER V. 
Soils 530 

PART IV -Material WEALTH. 

CHAPTER I. 

" '^'- 416 Preliniinary Observations.'" — General Description of the State. — Bounda- 
ries, Distances, etc. — Table of Counties, their Population, etc. — Area and 
\opography. — Kivers, Caves, Quarries and Natural Curiosities 539 

/ CHAPTER II. 

( ' * 

V\l Kesources . — The Coal Measures. — Iron, Lead, Zinc, Granite Quarries, etc. 555 

1 CHAPTER HI. 

— ±5iOgiUi....-- 

/ > 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. XVIJj 

■Pagti 
Lawyers and Teachers. — Aj^es and Noes. — The Words " White Male.'* — The j 

" Drake " Constitution Adopted. — Ousting Ordinance. — Registry' Law. — 
Twentj'-foui-th General Asseniblj^ — Negro Suftrage Amendment proposed to 
the Constitution. — The People reject it. — Burning of the Lindell Hotel. — Im- 
peachment of Walter King. — Another Registry Law. — Tlie Great St. Louis 
iiridge -. 4^4 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

1870 to 1877.— Election Returns.— Adjourned Session of XXVth General Assem- 
bly. — Ratification of XVth Constitutional Amendment. — Ayes and Noes. — 
Six Amendments to the State Constitution Proposed. — What they were and 
the vote on each. — Agricultural College Located at Columbia.— The Republi- 
can Party in 1870 rent by discords. — The Democrats adopt tlie " Passive Pol- 
icy " and Nominate no State Ticket.— Two Republican State Conventions 
and two State Tickets.— The "Radicals'' and "Liberals."— B. Gratz Brown 
(Liberal) Elected Governor.— The Test-oath Abrogated and the Republicans 
Remanded from Power.— F. P. Blair Elected United States Senator.— The 
XXVIth General Assembly.— Two more Amendments to the Constitution 
Proposed and Ratified.— The Gun City, Cass County, Massacre.— In 1872 the 
Democrats and Liberals jointly nominate a State Ticket.— Silas Woodson 
elected Governor.— The XXVIIth General Assembly.— Louis V. Bogy chosen 
United States Senator.— Vote of the People authorized on a call for a Consti- 
tutional Convention.— Opening of the great St. Louis Bridge.— Canvass of 
1874.— Charles H. Hardin the Democratic Nominee for Governor.— The "Peo- 
ple's" Party.— William Gentry.— Hardin Elected.— Constitutional Conven- 
tion of 1875 called.— Its Proceedings.— Constitution Adopted.— Whiskey 
Frauds.— Canvass of 1876.— J. S. Phelps the Democratic and G. A. Finkeln- 
burg the Republican Candidate for Governor.— Phelps Elected.— The XXIXth 
General Assembly.— Burning of the Southern Hotel, St. Louis 465 

APPENDIX. 

Old Duels —Duel between Thomas H. Benton and Charles Lucas.— Between 
Thomas C. Rector and Joseph Barton.— Between Tliomas Biddle and Spencer 
Pettis.— Discovery of Marquette's Remains.— A Speech by D. R. Atchison.— 
Tables of Population.— Table showing date of Organization of Counties..".. 481 



\ 

■ { 
/ 

f 



feiaver> 1.- -- -.7 



/ ^ . 

TABLE OF CONTENTS. Xli 

CHAPTER IV. 

Page. 
Agriculture. —Comparative Value of the Mineral and Agricultural Products of 
Missouri. — Acreage and Value of Farms.— Classification of Soils. — Timber 
and Prairies. — Staple Products, etc 579 

/ 

CHAPTER V. 
Kailroads 603 



PART V.-EDUCATIONAL. 



Education in tire State of Missouri.— The Influence for Toleration.— The Influence 
for Conservatism.- The Growth of Cities and the " Urban " phase of Civili- 
zation consequent thereon ; The School Education Demanded by it. — Present 
Conditions of Schools and other Educational Institutions in the Mississippi 
Valley. — Educational Institutions and Libraries in Missouri 619 



PART VL-THE GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF 

MISSOURI. 



St. Louis. — Early^ History. — Auguste Chouteau and Laclede Liguest.— Appear- 
ance of the town-site when first occupied. — Land Grants. — Prominent Names 
of the Early Day. — Spanish Occupation. — " Common Fields." — Transfer of 
the country to the United States.— French Merchants.— Directory of 1821.— 
Incorporation in 1822.— The Great Fire of 1849.— List of Chairmen of Trustees 
and Mayors of the City. — Description of the City as it now is. — Changes 
wrought by the Great Bridge.— The Parks.— Carondelet Iron Works.— Bio- 
graphical Sketches 6-13 

Kansas City. — Its Location. — Early History.— Familiar Names of the Early Day, 
— Daniel Boone Jr., — Louis Grandlouis. — Marie Berenice Chouteau. — Immi- 
gration in 1815-20. — " Kansasmouth." — Famous Mexican Tradei-s. — The Story 
of Chaviez Perez.— F.- X. Aubrey; his Famous Kide of Eight Hundred 
Miles in Four Days. — His Tragic Death. — The Flood of 1844. — Incorporation 
as a Town. — Sales of Lots. — The Cholera. — Chartered as a City. — Visit from 
Thomas H. Benton. — Prophetic Words. — The War. — Arrival of the Missouri 
Pacific Kailroad.— The Public Schools.— The Board of Trade.— Stock Yards. 
V —Biographical Sketches , "'"' 



I. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

St. JoSEPH.^Location. — Joseph Kobidonx. — The Town Laid Out iu 1843. — Price 
of Lots. — Visit from Audubon. — First Store and Scliool-house. — Incorporation 
as a Village. — Prominent names of Early History. — The California Fever of 
1849. — Chartered as a Citj^. — Advantages of the City's Location.— Railroad 
Facilities. — Tlie Bridge over the Missouri.— Manufacturing Interests. — Public 
Buildings. — The Public School System. — Biographical Sketches 780 

Sedalia. — Its Beautiful Location. — Origin of the Name. — Railroads, Gas and 

Water-Avorks, Newspapers and Churches. — Biographical Sketches 809 

Cape Oirardeau. — A Brief Notice 824 

St. Charles. — Brief Notice 824 

Columbia. — Its Education.d Advantages. — The State University. — Other Colleges. 

— Churches, Newspapers and Manufactories. — Biographical Sketches 825- 

Hannibal. — Historical Reminiscences. — Steamboat and Railroad Facilities. — Its 

Promising Future. — Biographical Sketches 852: 

Warrensburg. — A Brief Notice.— The State Normal School.— Biographical 

Sketches : 861 

Lexington. — Its Commanding Location. — Elucational Advantages.— -Biograph- 
ical Sketches 868 

Springfield.— Location.— Origin of the Name.— The Town in 1835.— Eflfect of 

the War. — Railroad Connections. — Manufactories, Schools, etc 873. 

BoONViLLE. — Its Picturesque Site. — Railroad Accommodations, Manufactories, 

Schools, etc 874 



PART VII.-THE XXIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 



SENATE. 

Page. Page. 

Abney, S. S 889 Parsons, J. S 892 

Ake, Peter 889 Paxton, William Q 893 

Ballingal, Geo. F 889 Pemberton, W. T 898 

Biggs, George R 889 Perkins, Ed. F 893 

Burkeholder, Abrahani Hudson 889 Phelan, M. H 893 

Claiborn(i, James] R 890 Pope, William S 893 

Coleman, R. G 890 Read, Henry 894 

Edwards, A. H 890 Ruby, Web. M .894 

Edwards, E. M. 890 Seay, Ed. A ". 895 

Flood, John A 891 Shelby, Reuben 895 

Hudson, Nathaniel Carlos 891 Terry, John H 895 

Lakenan, Robert F.. 892 Thompson, William B 896 

Major, Sam. C, Jr 892 Wear, John G 897 

Morrison, T. J. O 892 Wallace, Washington 1 896 

Mosby, W. W 892 Wilson, R. P. C 897 

Murray, E. C 892 Wight, Sheldon A 897 

Newberry, John B 892 Young, Waller 897 

^ * '- --iC]iainas_H^---»»,-.i . 892 / 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



XXI. 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 



Page. 
,..898 
..899 
..899 
..899 
...899 
...899 
..899 
..899 
..900 
..900 
..900 
..900 
..900 
..901 



Anderson, Wm. K 

Anderson, W. Anthonj'^ 

Ai-nold, Marshall 

Atterbury, G. B 

Berry, William 

Blakey, Marcus D 

Bollman, John C 

Brawly, Elijah D 

Brookhert, J. F 

Brower, James B 

Brown, Joseph J. 

Brown, Warner E 

Buler Edward 

Burks, Jasper Newton 

Byrnes, Samuel 901 

Cahill, Eobinson 901 

Cameron, Eobert A , 901 

Campbell, Eobert A 901 

Carter, Jesse 901 

Chapman, Thomas C 901 

Chilton, Geo. F 902 

Christy, Ambrose Dudley 902 

Coleman, Francis M 902 

Connaway,- Dennis H 902 

Cope, M. L 902 

Cottey, L. F 903 

Craig, Henry H 903 

Dacus, Joseph A 903 

Darnall, Henry, M 903 

Davis, Daniel E 904 

Davis, George W 904 

Davis, L. H 904 

Davis, Samuel 904 

Deal,H. J 904 

Dobbs, Abram 904 

Donelan, Edmund A 905 

Draper, Mosby C 905 

Dryden, L. J 905 

Dryden, Thomas A 905 

Easley, George W 906 

Eitzen, Charles D 906 

Evans, T. E 906 

Ewing, Ashley W 906 

Ewing, Charles L 906 

Fant, Charles F 907 

Farris, James E 907 

Fox, Horace 907 

Gannaway, David C 907 

Gardner, William 907 

Garrison, Abner 907 



Page. 

Gheens, Mortimer H .907 

Givens, N. F gos 

GoBF, William 908 

Gottschalk, Ferdinand 908 

Hall, William 908 

Hammond, Charles 908 

Hardeman, Glen 909 

Harrison, William 909 

Haworth, Jordan M 909 

Headlee, S. W 909 

Henderson, J. A 909 

Hickman, Philander A 909 

Horn, J. D 910 

Hurt, Peyton Y 910 

Ireland, Harvey C 910 

Jameson, Eobert 910 

Johnson, Edward P 910 

Johnson, John M 911 

Jones, James W 911 

Jones, Newton . . 911 

King, G. E 911 

Lambert, Lewis A 911 

Lamson, Justin W 911 

Lawson, F. M 911 

Lincoln, James E 912 

Livingston, A. H 912 

Love, Jacob A 912 

Love, William A 912 

McDaniel, B. F 913 

McDonald, James H 913 

McHenry, John H 914 

Mclntire, Daniel H 914 

Mallinckrodt, Conrad T 914 

Manistre, Henry 914 

Markland, Eichard D 914 

Martin, John 1 914 

Medley, Lyman F 914 

Miller, Alexander P 915 

Miller, DeLorma 915 

Mitchell, George W. L 915 

Mitchell, William B, 915 

Moore, William M 915 

Morehouse, Albert P 915 

Nesbit, Frank C • 916 

Newsum, Edward L 916 

Nolan, George N 916 

O'Neill, John J 916 

Patterson, James W. A 916 

Payne. E, W. 916 

Pehle, Frederick W 916 



XXII. 



TAELE OF CONTENTS. 



Pickler, S. M 917 

Pollock, Charles A 917 

Poston, Hemy W 917 

Pi-iest Hemy H 917 

Proctor Daniel. 917 

Eice, David 918 

Kichardson, Joseph Stephen 918 

Einkler, George W 918 

Kogers, Henry S 918 

Kussell, W. H. H 918 

Eyan, John 919 

Seibel, John J 919 

Smith, Jared E 919 

Smith, G. Pitman 919 

Snidow, W. L 919 

Snow, Charles V 920 

Southard, James 920 

Steele, E. C 920 

Stepp, Paris C 921 

Storts, Charles H 921 

SuUens, John H 922 



Page. 

Sutherland, George M 922 

Tevis, Charles C 922 

Thatcher, J. P 922 

Thornton, William T 923 

Todd, H. C 923 

Tomkins, Benjamin 923 

Turner. Luther 923 

Twiss, Stephen P 924 

Yaughan, Peter L 925 

Von Angler, H. S 925 

Walker, L. D 925 

Wallace, B. F 925 

Wells, WiUiam S 925 

Wells, William C 926 

Wight, James F 926 

Wilhite, William E 926 

Williams, John F 926 

Williams, Theophilus 927 

Woodside, J. Posey 927 

Woodside, Leigh B 928 

Ziegenheim, Hemy 928 



LIST OF NOTICES OF PROMINENT CITIZENS AND 
INSTITUTIONS. 

Page. Page. 

Allen, Thomas 661 Helm, John B 853 

Allen, DeWitt C . •• 883 Henry, James P 777 

Bahlman, W. F 866 Hereford, Hemy F 775 

Belch, J. E 885 Hockaday, J. A 881 

Benton, Thomas H .740 Holmes, Wm 765 

Blau-, Frank P 734 Hull, Joseph C , 804 

Blow, Henry T 738 Hundley. JohnB 805 

Broadhead, J. O 732 Jaynes, A. D 813 

Brokmeyer , H. C 669 Kansas City College of Physicians and 

BuUene, Thos. B 778 Surgeons 771 

Beattie's Banking House, St, Joseph. . .806 King, Willis P 817 

Bank of St. Joseph 806 Knight, Chas. F 798 

Bishop, Galen E 807 Lakenan, E. F 856 

Catlett, George C 989 Lester, Thomas B 77] 

Chrisman, Wm .767 Lewis, Edward A 727 

Cole, Nathan 683 Lewis, Eugene E 775 

Comstock, T. G 718 Long, John F 7O8 

Conant, A. J 703 Lykens, Martha A 77O 

Clardy, Martin L 884 Marmaduke, J. S 720 

Craig, Wm. B 799 Marvin, Eev. Enoch M 693 

Corby, John. 800 McCullagh, J. B 689 

Coontz, Benton 858 McLean, J.H 71I 

Crittenden, Thos. T 862 Mechanacs' Insurance Co., of St. Joseph.806 

Campbell, J. J 867 Metcalfe, L. S 686 

Carter, William 880 Meyrowitz, Alex 844 

Doniphan, John 797 Mills. James E 681 

Doniphan, A. W 877 Missouri Eepublican 690 

Drane, Eichard 860 Mitchell, E. Y 885 

Dulin, Eev. E. S 791 Morgan, Horace Hills 692 

Eads, James B 679 Morrison, Wm 870 

Evans, Edwin C 817 Napton, Wilham B 880 

Ficklin, Joseph 844 Neeley, Edward B 789 

First National Bank of St. Joseph 805 Niccolls, Eev. Saml. J 698 

Forbes, Isaiah 717 Nickerson, E. A 864 

Gilbert, Samuel T 794 Norwood, J. G 845 

Gieger, Jacob 799 Norton, Eichard C 866 

Gouley, Geo. Frank 701 Norton, E. H ♦ 880 

Green, Moses P 859 Osborne, Geo. L 865 

Gregory, E. H 720 Owens, S. H 882 

Gentry, William 812 Philips, John F 815 

Hall. Willard P 794 Porter, David E 774 

Harrison, James 715 Eichmond, J. M 799 

Harris, Wm. F 666 Eidings, A. W ...863 

Hardin, C. H 876 Eiley. C. V 672 

Harding, James 885 Eobertson, Eev. Chas. F 699 

Heddins, Wm. 1 798 Eogers, J. K 839 



XXIV. LIST OF NOTICES OF PEOMINENT CITIZENS AND INSTITUTIONS. 



Page. 

Eollins, James S 827 

Eoseiiblatt, M. A • .706 

Ryan, Rev. P. J 699 

Samuel, E. M 713 

Samuel, Geo. W 804 

Samuel, J. M 836 

Samuel, W. M 715 

Sawyer. Samuel L 764 

Scarritt, Nathan 668 

Schurz, Carl 725 

Schauffler, E. W 776 

Sedalia Savings Bank 823 

Seminary of the Sacred Heart, St. Jo- 
seph... 793 

Sexton, H. Clay 707 

Sherman, W. H 797 

Slavens, J. W. L 763 

Smith, Jackson L 883 

Smith, George R 819 

Soper, A. W 717 

South Missouri Normal School 861 

Steele, Dudley M 802 

Stephens, James L 843 

Stevens, Chas. W 719 

St. Joseph F. and M. Ins. Co 806 



Page. 

St. Joseph Female College 790 

St. Joseph Young Ladies' Institute 793 

St. Joseph College 793 

St. Joseph Female School 794 

St. Joseph Gazette 794 

St. Joseph Medical Sociefies 798 

St. Louis Globe Democrat 688 

St. Louis Shot Tower 712 

St. Louis University 746 

Swallow, Geo. C 840 

Switzler, W. F 837 

Todd, Simeon S . . .• 771 

Trader, John W 816 

Trego, Alfred H 777 

Vineyard, Benj. R 797 

Wallace, Heury C 871 

Wood, Joseph M 771 

Washington University 742 

Westover, Henry W 799 

Woerner, J. G 731 

Woodson, Silas 796 

Wood, Wm. F 869 

Yeaman, Rev. Wm. Pope 695 

Young, James 868 



Part I. Archeology. 



THE 



Jd^our^d^ kqd tl^eif Suildef ^ 



T[[ACES OF P[[E-H1ST0RIC M^N \\ MISSOUf[I, 



A. J. CONANT, A.M., 

OF ST. LOUIS. 







Man in the A?e of the Mammoth and Great Bear. 



CHAPTER I. 

Traces of Vanished Peoples. — Their World-Wide Diffusion. — Russian Earth- 
works.— Egvptian MoNU.MENTS Ancient at the Date of Oldest Records.— A 
Troy Still Older than ihe Ancient Troy of Homer. 

IN all lands, whenever in the ages past the climate has been such as 
to render it possible for man to subsist, the earth is found thickly 
planted with the graves of vanished people. Countless generations 
have come and gone, and left no record of their lives and work, save 
what is to be found in the few surviving monuments they have erected, 
or the rude implements and fragmentary remains of their industry, 
which descended with them to the tomb. The great ocean of humanity, 
with the energy of its ceasekss flow, has oft-times, no doubt, obliterated 
the traces of former generations, save here and there a foot- print in the 
solid rock, or an empty shell which has been left upon the shores of time. 
We of to-day build, sow and reap, buy and sell, and thus repeat, over 
and over again, the great drama of life, above the sepulchers of departed 
millions, long since forgotten. How often the long eons have finished 
their cycles and the new began — who can compute, or from whence 
shall the data be drawn upon which such computation may be based? 
The sacred records furnish no system of the chronology of the race, 
nor standing ground upon which a trustworthy one can be constructed. 
The wisest who have essayed the task, from such sources, differ in 



4 AKCm^OLOGY. 

their estimates more than five thousand years. The devout believer 
in Revelation, therefore, need feel no apprehensions for the foundations 
of his faith if it shall be proven even that man has been an inhabitant 
of the earth for a hundred thousand years or more. 

All that can be gained from history, sacred and profane, supplemented 
with the hieroglyphic annals of Egypt and the inscribed bricks and 
cylinders of Assyria, carries us back only about forty-four centuries. 
Suddenly we come then to the border-land of legendary myths and 
extravaoant traditions. The thick darkness which enshrouds all beyond, 
no one, a hundred years ago thought possible to penetrate or dispel. 
But within the last fifty years a new science has been added to the 
varied departments of human knowledge and research — the science of 
Archgeology, pure and proper, — and thousands to-day, including many 
of the best minds in the most enlightened lands, are devoting to it their 
serious and earnest labors. 

The field of exploration is the wide world, whose continents are all 
equally rich in the monuments of the forgotten past. From the widely- 
separated quarters of this great field, the laborers gather from time to 
time, bringing the results of their work:. All these combined are 
throwing their focal light upon the great questions of the origin and 
antiquity of the various races of mankind — their peculiar customs and 
mode of life — investing them with an interest never before awakened, 
which increases more and more, as the promise brightens of their 
satisfactory elucidation. The number of the monuments of which we 
speak, upon our own continent, is legion upon legion. From Nova 
Scotia to the southern coast of Florida — from Behring's Strait to Mexico 
and Peru — from the Atlantic to the Pacific — are to be found the sites of 
ancient cities, or the former seats of a dense population. Europe, as 
every one knows, is full of them. Not only on the surface of the soil, 
but far down in the gravels of the drift, are found the remains of man 
in companionship with the bones of huge mammals, who were buried 
there, it would seem, long before the "British Channel was scooped 
out." In Russia, from its western border to the Pacific, from its 
southernmost limit far north into the inhospitable regions of Siberia, 
earthworks are found giving evidences of long occupancy, and doubtless 
a forced migration to the North. There, in the sepulchers of the dead, 
they deposited the gold and silver ornaments and other treasures of the 
departed, in which relics the more recent inhabitants have driven a 
thriving trade. The great steppes of Asia abound with sepulchral 



TKACES OF VANISHED PEOPLES. 5 

mounds. Nor are the deserts of Africa without their witness to the 
existence of former generations. Hei remorseless sands are the tomb 
ot many ?in ancient city. 

Egypt, the oldest nation which has preserved a written history, has 
also her pre-historic remains. Before the name of Athens was pro- 
nounced, or Greece was born — when Italy was peopled with savage tribes 
as wild and barbarous as the red men of America, — Egypt was far 
advanced in the higher branches of knowledge, the sciences and the 
nobler arts. Her priests even then dwelt in the palaces of the kings, 
and issued their mandates, with his, from the throne. Those palaces 
were colleges of learning, while the priests were the professors, who 
not only ministered in matters of religion and worship, but devoted 
themselves to the higher education of the young as well. 

To-day, as the explorer removes the stones from her ancient structures, 
he finds here and there one, whose inner surface is carved with curious 
devices and inscriptions, showing that it once had a place in older and 
demolished edifices. She had then her libraries also, in which the 
knowledge of her sages was preserved. Tombs of the librarians have 
been discovered, dating back at least five hundred years before Homer 
sang in the cities of Greece, and inscribed "To the chief of books." 

Long since, the line of the Pharaohs became extinct, and no prince or 
king — so the prophet said — shall ever sit on her throne again or sway 
the scepter over the land of the Nile. How old she seems ! . And yet old 
Egypt was of yesterday, compared with the men of the drift, the 
reindeer period, or the pre-glacial times of Scandinavia, Scotland, 
France, England and the Pyrenees. 

These everywhere ancient monuments of which we speak, men have 
been wont to regard with unquestioning curiosity, or at most to pass by 
with a conjecture only, as Homer did, who speaks of the ancient mounds, 
concerning which, in his day even, there was no history or tradition, and 
who imagined they might be the tombs of ancient heroes. Job makes 
more than one allusion to the monuments and "solitary mansions of the 
dead," which awakened the curiosity of the caravans and travelers of 
Teman, as they passed along the great thoroughfares of commerce. 
The wild songs of the most ancient bards are no longer poetic myths, 
the creations of a fervid imagination ; l)ut their inspiration was drawn 
from events which actually transpired. "With truth their souls were fired." 
The poets were the nations' historians as well. Troy, with her strange 
story, is no longer a doubtful city. Dr. Schlieman has found her ancient 



(3 ARCHEOLOGY. 

site and discovered enough, among her long-entombed memorials, to 
authenticate her history ; and we may write once more '"'Ilium esC 
for '■'■ Ilium, fuit.'^ 

And what is most surprising of all, far down beneath the level of the 
ground once trod by the heroes whose names Homer has given to 
immortality, the explorer has found the ruins of another city — and he 
thinks still another below it — concerning which the poet seems to have 
heard no tradition. Among those deposits of an age so remote, were 
articles of stone and bronze and precious metals, skillfully wrought, giv- 
ino- evidence of the existence of a people whose knowledge, attainments, 
and social condition were far in advance of those of the more ancient 
periods of stone and bronze — a civilization which could only have been 
realized by the slow growth of centuries. 

But not alone upon that glorious land, made immortal by the fiery 
energy of Homer's matchless songs, has a resurrection morning dawned, 
nor Egypt and Assyria with their hieroglyphic annals, hoary with age : but 
other lands, unknown in classic story, and the islands of the sea, are 
giving- up their long-forgotten dead. The explorers of to-day are 
breaking down the hitherto impassable barriers of the remoter ages of 
antiquity ; here and there we catch glimpses of the life and customs, and 
hold converse with the tribes and peoples of pre-historic times. The 
fast-accumulating records which have been gathered during the last 
twenty-five years are continually enriching the libraries of every civilized 
nation, and he who would master them all will soon find life too short to 
do more than acquaint himself with the grand results of the multiplied 
discoveries. The chief difiiculty then, it will be perceived, in the 
way of the present task, is one of condensation, or in other words, 
how to select from such vast material only those facts and observations 
which are necessary for the proper treatment of the subject we are 
about to consider. 

On account of the limits prescribed for the archaeological chapters of 
this work compelling all possible economy of space, and also for the sake 
of continuity, instead of burdening them with frequent references to the 
authors consulted, I df sire in the outset to make all due acknowledgment 
of my indebtedness to those valued records of the labors of the noble 
army of abler men who have preceded me in like investigations in this 
department of knowledge. Chief among those which have been freely 
consulted, are the writings of Garcillasso de la Vega, Prof. 
Eefinesque, Daniel Willson, LL.D., Alexander W. Bradford, 



TKACES OF VANISHED PEOPLES. 7 

J. W. Foster, Edward L. Clark, Wm. Pidgeon, Prof. G. C. Swal- 
low, Sir John Lubbock, M. L. Figuier, M. Marlot, John Evans, 
Lewis C. Beck, H. M. Brackenridge, James Adair, and others. 
Also, an article upon the Archaeology of Missouri, contributed by 
m^^self to the last volume of Transactions of the St. Louis Academy of 
Science. 



CHAPTER II. 

Methods of the Arch^ologist. — The Shell-heaps of the Baltic — The Buried 
roRESTs op Denmark.— The Sisterhood of Science.— The Five Geologicai> 
Periods.— The Ages op Stone and Bronze.— Iron in common use three thousand 
years ago. 

As before remarked, in almost every land upon the surface of the 
globe, are to be found countless monuments and memorials of vanished 
races ; sometimes structures of imposing magnitude, but oftener imple- 
ments of war and the chase, of domestic use and personal adornment. 
From such remains, more or less rude and defaced, it has been found 
possible to reconstruct a pre-historic history of man's life in the most 
remote ages of his existence ; and by their careful study we are able to 
scrutinize his manner of life ; to look in upon his domestic scenes ; to 
witness his ceaseless struggles for existence — his mode of burial ; and 
to learn something of his notions of another life. Only one important 
thing is forever lost — his language. For "we can never hear him speak." 
Yet the history we may recover is as true and touching as any which 
the poets sing. Nor need all this be thought incredible, for these 
results are obtained by the simple processes of reasoning and induction 
which we apply to the affairs of every-day life. When the traveler 
upon our western plains stumbles by chance upon the ashes and debris 
of a former habitation, if he finds there the fragments of a hoe and 
sickle, he at once infers that the former occupant was a tiller of the 
soil ; should his eye light upon a cast-off shoe of infantile propor- 
tions, he naturally concludes that once it was the home of childhood. 
In addition to this, should he discover charred bits of bread and other 
articles of food, carbonized grain and fruits, along with culinary 
articles, showing the action of fire, these fticts would show what crops 



o AUCH^OLOGY. 

were grown, the kind of food upon which the family subsisted, and also 
that the dwelling was destroyed by fire. The presence of the fragments 
of a crucifix would point to the religious belief of the former occupant. 

Such is the methcjd of the archaeologist. When he examines the huge 
heaps of shells along the shores of the numerous arms of the Baltic 
sea, composed of individuals of large size, select and full-grown, of 
several species, commingled vi^ith rude implements of stone and bone, 
with also the bones of the codfish, and compares them with the 
diminutive specimens he is able to procure from the same waters now, 
it is an inference most reasonable, that when these heaps were piled up 
around the miserable huts of the ancient fishermen, the waters of the 
Baltic were not so fresh as now. Tiie presence of the bones of the 
codfish gives some evidence of skill in navigation, for they must be caught 
in the open sea. When the peat-bogs of this same country are examined, 
they present a record reaching far back of the historic period. These 
depressions in the natural surface of the earth — sometimes to the depth 
of thirty feet, disclose three distinct periods of arborescent vegetation. 
At the bottom are the stately trunks of the pine tree; above these the 
oak, which once grew upon the sides of the pits, and when their full 
maturity was reached, fell inward. The oak was succeeded by the beech 
ani birch which now flourish — and have flourished during all the period 
of history—throughout the land. The pine and oak have never been 
known during the historic period in the native forests of Denmark. 
Ill these bogs, beneath the layers of pine, are found the rude implements 
of the ancient inhabitants. Man lived, then, when the pine forests were 
in their glory, and at that time also piled up the shell heaps along the 
shore ; for in these are found in great abundance the bones of a bird- 
Avhose food is derived from the pine. 

Again: when the student of Archeeology discovers — as is frequently 
the case — the bones of extinct mammals, in situ, each bone lying by its 
follow in its relative position as when in life, he knows there can have 
been no disturbance of the remains since the death of the animal. If he 
finds also, in companionship with them, the relics of man's industry, he 
believes that these mammals and man were contemporaneous. Should he 
find, further, huge bones split longitudinally, and showing marks and 
scratches of flint knives, which could only have been made while the bones 
were soft, he naturally concludes that man hunted these animals for food 
and split the bones to obtain the marrow. But the generalizations of the 
archaeologist are not based upon the study of such relics alone. Geology, 



TRACES OF VANISHED PEOPLES. 



Paleontology and Archaeology go hand in hand, and have well been 
called "three sister sciences." Each of these three related departments 
of human knowledge is throwing its focal light with increasing luster 
upon the great question of man's first appearance upon the earth. By 
the light of their combined disclosures, the steps of our groping feet 
are illumined as we travel slowly along the pathway which leads us 
irresistibly to the night of the unknown ages, "and the mind recoils 
dismayed when it undertakes the computation of the thousands of years 
which have elapsed since the creation of man." 

The five geological periods 
into which the crust of the 
earth has been divided, are 
commonly named in the rel- 
ative order of their age : 
the primitive rocks, the tran- 
sition rocks, the secondary 
rocks, the tertiary rocks, and 
quaternary rocks. All of 
these are anterior to the pres- 
ent geological period. The 
long succession of animals 
and plants peculiar to each, 
is found generally to have 
died out during the time of 
its continuance. Judging; 
from the present order of 

things, each period must a solitary Cave Oweller. 

lijive been of long duration ; for the animals and plants with which we 
are familiar show scarcely any alteration since their first appearance, 
though they have existed forthousands of years. Now it is considered 
certain by the best informed, that man existed in Europe at the 
commencement of the quaternary period. 

We are not left in d(mbt as to the climatic conditions of that country in 
those remote times, which must have been similar to the polar regions of 
the North to-day. There was no Iceland, Scotland, or Sc'andinavia then. 
The whole continent was shrouded in a windins^ sheet of snow. Her 
now beautiful valleys were the bottom of the sea. Enormous ice-fields 
stretched away from mountain to mountain, and only the highest 
elevations of the Pyrenees and Apennines were visible above the vast 
expanse of eternal snow and ice. Yet there, during that awful winter, for 




10 



AKCH^OLOGY. 



which there was no promise of a coming spring, man and cotemporaneoas 
animals contrived to exist. But what a life ! To us, it would seem 
utterly hopeless and dreary ; but for its maintenance he found abundant 
employment for all his activities, in providing means for his daily 
sustenance, and in his contests with the wild beasts around him for the 
possession of the shelters of the caves and overhanging rocks. How 
long this period continued we cannot know ; but the centuries rolled 
on, and slowly the glacial period comes to an end — the ice-fields melt 
away, the glaciers retreat to the north, and the submerged continent 
arises from the ocean. The sunshine and the genial air of a new sprhig 
morning dissipate the tears from the face of Nature, and she hastens to 
put on her robes of green. With this dawn of another life a new 




The Elephas Primogeneus. 

generation of animals now makes its appearance on the earth, and very 
different too, from those which perished during the glacial period. 
Among them the huge mammoth ( Elephas primigeneus) with his 
woolly covering and lion-like, shaggy mane ; the Siberian Rhinoceros 
( Rhinoceros tichorinus, with curious horns ) and clothing of fur, so soft 
and warm; several species of the Hippopotamus; the Cave Bear, of 
prodigious size, ( Ursus spelmus') ; the Cave Lion (^Felis spelea) ; various 
kinds of Hyenas, the Bison, the Urus, (Bos primigeiius ), and the 
gigantic Irish Elk, with enormous wide-spreading antlers, and many 
others which need not now be mentioned. 



TKACES OF VANISHED PEOPLES. 11 

These huge monsters rapidlj^ multiply and roam m countless multi- 
tudes over the continent, as do the buffaloes of our western wilds 
to-day. Hundreds and thousands gather together in their favorite 
resorts and from some cause unknown they perish. How man could 
successfully contend with such formidable adversaries with the rude 
implements he was able to construct by his infantile skill, is surprising; 
but his necessities compelled him to be victorious. Nor was he then 
destitute of aesthetic taste ; for at his leisure he carved in stone or bone 
the outlines of the beasts he had slain in the chase. 

At length the long summer ends, and another fearful winter begins. 
Again the cold is intense ; the glaciers advance through the valleys 
toward the south. The floods increase, the caves are submerged, and 
man seeks a home again in tlie mountain ranges. T]ie valleys are filled 
M ith alluvium for hundreds of feet up the mountain sides. The centu- 
ries roll on — how long, no one can tell, — and again another subsidence 
of the floods, or uprising of the continent, takes place, and the glaciers 
once more recede to the north. Slowly the mountain tops are lifted 
toward the sky, and the earth is clad again in green. 

Man now returns to the former abodes of his ancestors. But wh;tt 
a change has taken place ! Many of the mighty mammals his forefathers 
hunted on the plains are seen no' more. A few solitary individuals 
linger on, but soon he witnesses "the extinction and disappearance from 
the face of the earth of an entire fauna of the larger animals." 

From this period the Reindeer epoch, — known also as the period of mi- 
grated animals — begins. A new civilization dawns. Polished implements 
of stone and bone take the place of rude chips and splinters of silcx. 
Pottery is manufactured and ornamented with curious devices ; and all 
that man does displays the awakening exercise of his sense for beauty. 
From this time the race proceeds with slow but steady advancement. 
How long the Neolithic, or polished stone period lasted, we have no 
means of judging, nor when men learned to smelt the more yielding 
ores, and to make bronze by the alloy of copper with tin. But when 
that great discovery was made by which he supplied himself with a 
material so much better fitted by its superior hardness to copper for 
cutting implements and other uses, he entered that pathway, Avhich em Is 
only in all the glorious possibilities of the future. With this discovei-y, 
the nge of Bronze was ushered in. Speedily its use spread over the 
greater part of Europe. With the age of bronze the arts and sciences 
may be said to have had their birth. Of the time of its continuance, 
which seems to have been long, we know but little more than we do of 



12 ARCHEOLOGY. 

the age of stone. But at length it seems to have been brought to a 
sudden termination by that mightiest physical event in the history of 
the development of mankind — the discovery of Iron. As to the time 
when this great transition took place, history is silent ; for it vsras long 
before history began. The poems of Homer and Hesiod prove that 
iron was known and in i\se at least three thousand years ago. 



CHAPTER HI. 



No "Age of Bronze"' in America.— Traditions Regarding the Mounds.— Tuscarora 
Chronology.— The Animal Mounds of the Upper Mississippi Region.— Ancient 
Fish Traps.— Burial, Sacrificial and Historical Mounds. 

The facts, and the conclusions they suggest, presented in the fore- 
going chapter, are gathered mostly from the continent of Europe. 
Each of the great geographical divisions of the globe seems to possess 
an archseological record more or less peculiar to itself. Our own 
continent has had no age of bronze. At the time of its discovery, 
however, implements of copper, beaten out usually, but sometimes 
smelted and cast in a mold, from the native ore, were to some extent 
taking the place of those of stone and bone. And although the copper 
regions of Lake Superior, for the distance of more than one hundred and 
fifty miles along it southern shore, give evidence of long-continued 
mining operations upon a stupendous scale, still we must believe that this 
metal was too costly to be to any great extent the property of the masses : 
while, even in our own times the remnants of some savage tribes may bo 
found who still point their spears and arrows with stone. The presence 
of the relics of such material therefore, it hardly need be said, is of no 
value in questions of antiquity, only so far as they are found in compan- 
ionship with the remains of extinct animals, or their age is demonstrated 
by geological or some other irrefragable proofs. 

But now, leaving all other facts and considerations bearing upon the 
general subject of archaeology, which might be interesting and appropriate 
in this connection, it is proper to proceed to the examination of the monu- 
ments of our own land, among which those found in Missouri are 
peculiarly instructive, not only as forming no inconspicuous part of the 
one great whole, and calculated to shed much light upon the question of 



TKADITIONS EEGAEDING THE MOUNDS. 13 

the homogeneity of the vast population which once swarmed upon this 
continent, but also — if not their origin — at least the direction of their 
disappearance. 

In view of the magnitude of the subject, the ethnological questions 
involved, and the evident relation of these remains to all which are 
found in both Nt)rth and South America, it has seemed to me impossible 
to examine them in the most profitable manner, if our examination shall 
be circumscribed by the imaginary boundaries of. the State. For the 
reason mentioned, I have also presented, as briefly as possible, the 
preceding statement of the results achieved by the labors of the 
archaeologists of Europe. I will now proceed to speak of some of the 
more important monuments of this country, with such description 
as suits my present purpose. 

The statement has been often repeated by writers upon this subject, 
that the Indians have no traditions concerning the authors or the 
design of these monuments. This is undoubtedly true as far as the 
degenerate remnants of the tribes of the present day are concerned. 
But when the country was first discovered, and long after, here and 
there a solitary individual was found who claimed to be a prophet, and 
to have descended from a long priestly line, and also from a race 
superior to the Indians by whom their forefathers had been conquered 
and enslaved. Concerning the traditions handed down from father to son, 
they were very reticent, except under peculiar circumstances and with 
those who stained their hio-hest confidence and esteem. The sacred 
treasures of their history, of which they were the preservers and 
guardians, were not for the common masses of their own people ; much 
less would they communicate them to strangers and foes. And when, 
as it sometimes happened, their frigid reserve would be conquered, and a 
narration of their legendary history elicited, it was considered more 
wild and untrustworthy than the long lists of Manetho and Berosus, of 
Egyptian and Assyrian dynasties, and not worth preserving. From 
this cause many valuable facts have been irrecoverably lost. A few 
only have escaped oblivion, of which the briefest possible mention can 
now be made. 

The traditions of the Wyandot Indians, according to the account of 
Mr. Wm. Walker, for some tirne Indian Agent for the Government, 
published in 1823, are not devoid of interest. They were in substance 
as follows : • 

Many centuries ago, the inhabitants of America, who were the authors 
of the great works in the Mississippi Valley, were driven to the south 



14 AKOIL^OLOGY. 

by an army of savage warriors from the North. After many hundred 
years, a messenger returned from the exiled tribes, with the alarming 
news, that a terrible beast had landed on their shores, who was carrying 
desolation wherever he went, with thunder and fire. Nothing could stay 
his progess, and no doubt he would travel all over the land in his fury. 

It is conjectured that this beast of thunder and fire referred to the 
Spanish invasion of Mexico. The Tuscaroras, according to the account 
published by Mr. David Cusick in 1827 — quoted by Prof. Eafinesqiie — 
had a well-arranged system of chronology, dating back nearly three 
thousand years. Their traditions locate their original home north of 
the great lakes. In process of time, some of their people migrated to 
the river Kanawag ( the St. Lawrence ) . After many years, a foreign 
people came by the sea and settled south of the lakes. Then follow 
long accounts of wars, and fierce invasions by nations from the north, 
led by confederate kings and a renowned hero named Yatatan. Many 
years again elapse, and the king of the confederacy pays a visit to a mighty 
potentate whose seat of empire is called the Golden City, situated south 
of the lakes ; and so on, down to the year 1143, when the traditions 
end. In these records appear accounts of wars with various tribes, 
given with great particularity ; migrations southward and west to the 
Mississippi, ( called Ouauweoka ) ; the names of the ruling monarchs, 
and the order of their succession. There appear to have been several 
dynasties of longer or shorter duration. Thus, the name Tarenyawagou 
is borne by three successive monarchs, and Atotaro is continued to the 
ninth. 

Only a few items are here given, to indicate their character. No one 
can examine these traditions without beino- convinced that thev have 
some great historic facts for their basis, however incredulous he may be 
as to the correctness of their dates, or their pretentions to so high 
antiquity. The limits prescribed for this essay admit of but one more 
notice of traditions in this connection. 

A class of works, frequently noticed by explorers, is found on the 
upper Mississippi, chiefly in Wisconsin, — a few in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois 
and Iowa — known as animal mounds, on account of their striking 
resemblance to the forms of various animals, such as the Bufitilo, Bear, 
Elk, and the like, and some to the human form. These works have 
elicited much discussion and conjecture as to their origin and purpose, in 
which no two writers agree. Some of them are of gigantic proportions, 
and cannot be ascribed to the present race of Indians, for the same 
reason which precludes the idea that they were the authors of the 
stupendous works of the more southern States. 




THE ANIMAL MOUJSDS. 15 

The traditions relating to these animal mounds are very minute, fnll 
and interesting, and were first published in 1853, by Mr. Wm. Pido-eon, 
who spent several years in the examination of the various monuments in 
Virginia, the Valley of the Mississippi and South America as well. He 
tells us that he began these researches from motives of personal interest 
merely, and continued them for several years, without any design of 
publishing the results of his observations. 

During his travels in the regions 
of the Upper Mississippi, he met 
a stranger among the red men, of 
dignified and venerable appear- 
ance, who had no fixed abidins; 
place, but wandered from tribe to 
tribe, always welcomed and ven- 
erated wherever he went ; who 
claimed to have descended from a ^'^- '•-Mastodon Mound. 

long line of ancient prophets, he the last of the line and the last 
of his race. He was then nearly ninety years of age. The Indians 
called him "the Mocking Bird," because he could speak fluently 
five difi'erent languages. By kindness, his confidence and friendshipwere 
won, and his companionship secured during the journey of exploration. 
He seemed perfectly familiar with all the most important works, from the 
Ohio to the extreme north and the far west, — could draw their outlines 
from memory, and su^^ply any defect in the drawings of others ; and 
could generally give a ready and lucid account of their authors and the 
purposes for which the}' were constructed. Unlike many who have 
written upon the pre-historic people of America, the author seems to have 
had no pet theory to maintain — as that they were the ten lost tribes of 
Israel, and the like, — but to have been a thoroughly conscientious and 
careful observer, faithfully noting what he saw and heard. 

From the seventy engravings — and accompanying descriptions — with 
which the work of Mr. Pidgeon is illustrated, I select two or three, and 
leave the reader to judge whether these traditions are reasonable and 
trustworthy or not. 

Many years ago, in the bed of Paint Creek, in Ross County, Ohio, 
several deep cavities or wells were discovered, which gave rise to much 
speculation as to their origin and purpose. I believe they have since 
been found in many other localities. Mr. Pidgeon states that he dis- 
covered four similar ones in the bed of a small tributary of the St. Peters 
river, varying in depth from eight to twelve feet, from five to six feet in 



16 aechJeology. 

diameter at the bottom and from three to five feet at the top. These 
excavations were made in the soft slate rock which formed the bed of 
the stream. 

To the level top, or rim of the well, a thin flat rock was fitted, with a 
round or square hole in the center, about twelve inches in diameter. 
This opening could be closed at will, by a stone stopper perforated with 
small holes. A short distance below the wells he found one of these 
stoppers which fitted neatly the larger capstone of one of the wells. At 
the time of their discovery the depth of the stream which flowed over 
them was ten inches. Mocking-Bird informed him that these were fish 
traps, and that many such could be found in other streams, were they not 
so filled with mud and stones as to escape observation ; and also that 
they were constructed and used anciently for the purpose of securing a 
supply of fish for the winter. Large quantities of bait being deposited 
in them in the fall, the fish would gather there in great numbers, when 
the stopper would be placed over the mouth, which prevented their 
escape, and then they could be taken out with a small net as desired. 
While it is no doubt true that the mound-builders were an agricultural 
people, it is quite reasonable to suppose, from the fact that their most 
extensive works are found uppn the shores of lakes and banks of rivers, 
that fish formed no inconsiderable item of their bill of fare.^ 

As before stated, the historian of these traditions, after the death of 
Mocking-Bird, proceeded to investigate by careful excavation those 
earthworks of which he had previously made only a superficial survey, 
especially those concerning which he had received traditions. The first 
group thus explored which I notice is represented in Fig. 2. It is 
described as being located at the junction of Straddle Creek and Plumb 
river, in Carroll County, Illinois. It is composed of conical mounds; 
rings and semi-circles, with diameters varying from twelve to twenty-five 
feet. The rings are about tw^o.feet high, and seem to have been formed 
by throwing up the earth from within, leaving the interior in the form 
of a basin. 

The traditions concerning these works are in substance that they were 

iSome writers have discredited tlie idea of the artificial origin of these wells or fish- 
traps, attributing their formation to the disintegration of the rocks in which they occur, 
owing to the unequal hardness of the strata of which they are composed, etc. But it 
would seem that vastly more credulity is required to believe that the ordinary operation 
of nature in various parts of the country would produce such cavities, from eight to 
twelve feet in depth, with nice fitting covers, preforated at the center, than that they 
are the workmanship of intelligent beings for some special purpose. 



BURIAL MOUNDS. 



17 



constructed by a people who were accustomed to burn their dead, and 
were only partially occupied. Each family formed a circle sacred to its 
own use. When a member died, the body was placed in the family circle 
and burned to ashes ; a thin covering of earth was then sprinkled over 
the whole. This process was repeated as often as a death occurred, until 
the inclosure was filled. The ring was then raised about two feet and 
again was ready for further use. As each additional elevation would of 
necessity be less in diameter than the preceding, in the end a conical 
mound would be the result. The "darkest spots in the engraving 
represent those which are finished ; the rings, those in various stages 
of occupancy ; and the semi-circles those which were only begun. Similar 




Fig. 2. — Burial Mounds. • 

works have been found in the Ohio Valley, in the more northern States, 
west of the Mississippi and in Michigan. Upon excavating the more 
finished mounds of the group described, they were found filled with 
ashes, mingled with charcoal: some of them to the depth of twenty 
inches below the surrounding surface of the soil. In this group were 
found two mounds much larger than the others, (one is represented 
in the engraving), shaped like the body of a tortoise, known as battle 
mounds, and said to contain the ashes of hundreds slain in battle. Both 
these mounds were found to be filled with ashes and charcoal like the 
others, thus confirming their traditional history. 

About two hundred and fifty yards south of these mounds, another 
group of finished works was found, where the bodies were deposited in 
the more usual manner without burning. 
2 



18 



AECIL^OLOGY. 



These two modes of burial, so widely different and in the same locality, 
mark either a sudden change of custom or the presence of two distinct 
races at different periods of time. Tradition asserts that there was such 
a sudden change of mode of burial in obedience to the command of the 
prophets, for the reason that, while the people were burning the body of 
a great and good king, suddenly the sun (their chief deity) refused to 
shine, although there was not a cloud in the sky. This was taken as a 
siirn of disapprobation of the custom, which gradually ceased thereafter. 
"it has been generally supposed that those mounds, which showed the 
frequent or long-continued action of fire, were used for sacrificial 
purposes only. It seems however more likely that these cinerulent 
structures were simply the depositories of the bodies of the dead, and 
this the traditions affirm. 




Fig. 3. — A Royal Cemetery. 

The second group noticed in this connection is more complicated 
(Fig. 3), and presents a greater variety of forms. It is found (or was 
in 1840) on the north side of St. Peter's river, about sixty miles above 
its junction with the Mississippi, in what was then the Territory of 
Minnesota. 

It is thus described : The central embankment, in the form of the 
body of a tortoise, is forty feet in length, twenty-seven in breadth, and 
twelve in perpendicular height. It is composed in part of yellow clay, 



BURIAL MOUNDS. 19 

brouo-ht from some distant place. The two pointed mounds north and 
sonth of this are formed of pure red earth, covered with alhivial soil. 
Each is twenty-seven feet in length and six in height at the largest end, 
gradually narrowing and sinking at the top until they terminate in a 
point. The four corner mounds were each twelve feet high and twenty- 
five in diameter at the base. The two long monnds on the east and 
west sides of the gronp were sixty feet in length, twelve feet in diameter 
at the base, and eight feet in height. The two mounds on the immediate 
right and left of the central effigy, were twelve feet long, four feet 
high, and six in breadth. These were composed of sand, mixed with 
small bits of mica to the depth of two feet, covered with white clay, 
with a thin layer of surfiice soil on the top. The large monnd in the 
center, south of the effigy, was twelve feet high, twenty-seven in 
diameter, and composed of a stratum of sand two feet in depth, covered 
with a mixture of sandy soil and blue clay. The similar work on the 
north of the tortoise was of like formation, four feet high and twenty- 
two feet in diameter. Thirteen small mounds whose dimensions are 
not given, complete the group. 

Only a glance at this cluster of mounds, twenty-six in number, present- 
ing such variety of forms and peculiar arrangement, and which must have 
required so much time and labor for their construction, is needed to con- 
vince the observer that they were intended to perpetuate some history, 
fmd that each of the hieroglyphic symbols of which the group is composed 
had its special significance, which was well understood by the builders 
and their cotempoi'aries. 

But what was that history, or what event is recorded here? The 
works themselves give no answer. Tradition asserts, that this was the 
royal cemetery of a ruler known as the Black Tortoise, and was designed 
to commemorate the title and dignity of a great king or potentate. The 
tortoise-shaped central mound (a) was his tomb. The four corner 
mounds were called Mourning Mounds. The two larger mounds (66) 
directly north and south of the effigy were the burial places of chiefs. 
The number interred in each is recorded in the number of small mounds 
on each side of them— five in the northern and eight in the southern line. 
The two long embankments (cc) at the extreme right and left of the 
works, were known as points of honor, and are said never to occur 
except in connection with those works which symbolize royalty. The 
two pointed mounds {dd), and described as twenty-seven feet long, six 
feet in width at the larger end, tapering down from the top and sides to 
a vanishing point, are known as mounds of extinction, and tell us that he 



20 



AECH^OLOGY. 



was the last of his line. These too are never found alone, but always in 
connection with larger works. The mounds (ee) on either side of the 
central effigy are the burial places of prophets. In these it will be 
remembered small bits of mica were found mingled with the ashes. The 
presence of this substance in a certain class of mounds, in localities so 
remote from each other, from Minnesota to the Scioto Yalley — some- 
times in large circular plates, but oftener in countless smaller fragments, 
has called forth much speculation as to its use by the ancient inhabitants. 
It has been suggested that it may have been used for mirrors, or again 
for ornament, or, on account of its preciousness, as a medium of com- 
mercial transactions. But when it is remembered that it is never found 
indiscriminately with other deposits in many mounds of the same group, 
we may safely conclude that it was set apart for a special use. Tradition 
says that it was sacred to the prophets, and was deposited in their tombs 
alone ; — that they had the mysterious power of calling lire from heaven, 
which was distributed to the minor prophets by whom the sacred fires 
were kept perpetually burning ; that the fire used at the annual feast 
in their most holy places was thus received from the sun upon the 
summit of the sacred altars. This bringing fire from heaven is found in 
classic stories and in the traditions of many lands, as every school-boy 

knows. So Zoroaster taught his 
disciples, that the sacred fire 
which he committed to their 
care had been brought direct 
from heaven. "It is possible 
that the prophets of the ancient 
Americans were able in some 
^1 maimer to construct lenses from 
plates of mica, of sufficient pow- 
er to ignite the fuel upon the 
sacrificial altars." ^ The Mexi- 
cans in ancient times called ob- 
sidian "the shining god," and 
held it in high estimation. 

Several works have been ob- 
served of the form shown in Figure 4. The one here represented 
is described as located on the lowlands of the Kickapoo Eiver in 
Wisconsin. The central work, with radiating points, sixty feet in 




Fig. 4. 



' Pidgeon. 



BURIAL MOUNDS. 



21 



diameter and three feet in height. This is inclosed by five crescent- 
shaped works, having an elevation of two feet, and all presenting 
a level surface at the top. It is traditionally represented to have been 
occupied only during sacrificial festivities consequent upon the off'ering 
of human sacrifices to the sun, which the central mound was said to 
represent. Upon excavating, after removing the soil from the top, the 
central portion, for a space twelve feet in diameter, is found thickly 
studded with plates of mica set in white sand and blue clay; and, says 
the observer "had this surface soil been removed with care, and the 
stratum beneath washed by a few heavy showers of rain, under the sun's 
rays it would have presented no unapt symbolical representation of that 
luminary." The sacred Pentagon, Fig. 5, is found in close proximity. ^ 

As before stated, no class of 
works has awaked more curiosity, 
or elicited more unsatisfactory spe- 
culations, than these animal effi- 
gies ; and among these the most 
singular and enigmatical are those 
representing the larger animals, 
and the human form on a gigantic 
scale, and generally with such ac- 
curacy of delineation as to leave 
no doubt as to what particular ani- 
mal was intended to be represented 
by the figure. Sometimes these 
huge representations of beasts, 
birds and men are grouped to- 




Fig 5. — Sacred Pentagon. 



gother in such strange and grotesque combinations as to forbid all 
attempts to discover the design of the builders in their erection. A few 
of the most common forms are shown in the accompanying engravings. 

That the mastodon is intended by figure 1 is conceded by all— as 
far as known— who have described it. I am not aware that it has ever 
been found outside of Wisconsin. There it frequently occurs, either 



' This is represented here because of its intimate relation to the one just described, 
which is found associated with it. The outer circle is twelve hundred feet in diameter, 
in the center is the sacrificial altar, upon which human sacrifices were said to have been 
offered twice a year. In the spring the oldest man of the nation, wiUmgly-so great 
was the honor-presented himself as the victim. In the autumn a female was sacrificed. 
If the day was cloudy, the off'ering was left upon the altar of sacrifice until the sun 
looked down upon it, which was considered a sign that the sacrifice was accepted, llie 
people then repah-ed to the festival circle with rejoicing, where the feast was celebrated 



22 



aECH OOLOGY. 




Fig. 6. 
Bird and Beast. 



.'iloiie or in compiinionship with other mounds. As men in all ages, in 
their first attempts at pictorial art, have been accustomed to delineate 
only those objects which were most striking and with which they were 
most familiar, we may well, believe that the ancient Americans were not 
unacquainted with this Iving of beasts, and that they liv.ed in those days 
when those gigantic animals roamed over the pUiins in vast numbers, 
whose skeletons l.ave been so often found in Missouri. 

The combined figures of bird and beast as repres- 
ented at Fig. 6 are also of frequent occurrence, parti- 
culary in Wisconsin. The one here delineated is one 
hundred and eighty feet in length, and forty-four in its 
greatest breadth. The whole is composed of reddish clay, 
but covered to the depth of twelve inches with a black 
alluvium. It was designed to record the change in 
title of a sovereign line of rulers. The head of the 
beast being merged in the body of the bird concedes 
to the conqueror the right of dominion. The two 
truncated mounds, one on each side of the beast, record 
the extent of his humiliation. They are altar mounds, on 
which were sacrificed his descendants both male and 
female. 

The effigy shown in Fig. 7 is unmistakably human. It memorializes a 
hereditary chief of royal line, but who, according to the record, could 
not yet have been a sovereign ruler, as no mound of honor indicating that 
condition is found in connection with it. He was thus memorialized 
because he fell in battle, and with him his son, whose memory is perpet- 
uated in the truncated mound between his feet. 

The amalgamation group (Fig. 8 ) is more complicated and enig- 
matical, and but for the traditions concerning it would doubtless always 
remain so. The beast is one hundred and eighty feet in length ; the 
human efiigy perpendicular to it is one hundred and sixty. On either 
side of the horizontal figure is a ti'uncated work eighteen feet in diameter 
and six feet in height. The summits of both are flat. The representations 
of horns, which are very distinct, are of different dimensions. The 
main stem of the front horn is eio;hteen feet in length. The one 
which inclines backward is twelve, the longest antlers are six, and 
the shortest three feet in length. At the foot of the human effigy 
is attached an embankment running parallel with the horizontal figure, 
eighty feet in length, twenty-seven in diameter and six in height. On a 
line with this is a series of conical mounds, the largest of which is also 



SACKIFICIAL AND HISTOEICAI. MOUNDS. 



23 



twenty-seven feet in diameter and six in 
heisrht. From this the others diminish on 
either side and terminate in monnds eigh- 
teen feet in diameter and three in height. 
The group thus described is represented 
to have been erected to commemorate an 
important event in the history of two 
friendly nations, which were once great 
and powerful, but now reduced by long- 
continued wars against a common foe ; and 
beino; now no lono;er able to maintain a 
separate national existence, they resolved 
to unite their forces under one title and 
sovereio-n. One was known as the Elk 
nation, the other was the Butfalo. This 
work was designed as a public record and 
seal of their amalgamation. This fact is 
plainly expressed by the union of the head 
of the Buifalo with that of the human 
effigy representing the sovereign of the 
Elk nation, and also by the joining of the 
hand of the one with the foot of the other. 

Horns appended to effigies represent warriors; their length and 
number the relative power of the two nations at the time of their union. 
The Buffalo was therefore manifestly recorded as the weaker of the 

two, as his antlers 



are seen to be 
smaller and in a de- 
clining position. The 
fact is also here re- 
corded that, when 
the union was fully 
consummated the na- 
tionality of the Buf- 
falo became extinct. 
This is shown hy 
the pi'esence of the 

Fig. 8. — Amalgamation Group. t ^ , . , . 

mound ot extinction 
— ^before described — in connection with the Buffiilo and terminating 
at his hind feet. The two truncated mounds on either side of the 




Fig. 7. — Human-Sliaped Mound. 




24 



AECBL^OLOGY. 



animal effigy are sacrificial altars upon which appropriate sacrifices 
were offered, not only at the time of the erection of the works, 
but annually thereafter ; the fires of which were kept burning 
until the smoke from both united in one column above the 
mound. This annual sacrifice symbolized the renewal of the covenant 
entered into when the compact was made. The seven truncated mounds 
in a line with the embankment upon which the human figure stands, 
( and known as a symbol of nationality ) are matrimonial memorials, and 
record the international marrias^es of seven chiefs which occurred during 
the construction of the work, and which were also a further ratification 
of the national union here perpetuated. Upon excavating the altars, 
after the alluvial soil was removed, a stratum of burned earth mingled 
with ashes and charcoal was disclosed, to the depth of fourteen inches. 
This group was found upon the northern high land of the Wisconsin 
River, about fifty miles from its junction with the Mississippi. 

In that part of the work where the heads of the two effigies unite, an 
oak was standing at the time of its first examination. Upon a second 
visit it was not there, but the stump showed by its concentric annual 
rings of growth that it was four hundred and twenty-four years old. 
Works of this description, which occur so frequently'" in AVisconsin, have 
also been observed in Northern Illinois. 




Lance Head. 



- CHAPTER IV. 

The Arch^ological Monuments of Missouri.— Their Rapid Destruction.— Sites of 
Towns and Cities — The Labous op H. M. Brackenridge.— The Big Mound at St. 
Louis —Col. O'Fallon's Residence Erected on an Ancient Mound.— The Mounds 
IN Forest Park.— Evidences of a Vast Population.-^New Madrid its Center.— 
Description of Various Works. 

The preceding remarks upon the general subject of Archaeology, with 
the few notices of traditions concen^ing the ancient inhabitants of 
America, are all that the limits of this article will permit, as well as all 
which our present purpose demands. Nor has it seemed necessary to 
describe those extensive and imposing works, which are found scattered 
through the Central States, from the lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, and 
especially in the Ohio Valley, consisting of walled towns, embankments 
enclosing large areas of land, in squares, circles, octagons and the like, 
associated with mounds of prodigious size; for these have been so 
often described and delineated that whatever comparison of them with 
the monuments of Missouri may be thought desirable may be readily 
accomplished by reference to the works of those authors, who have 
published so many valuable 'descriptions of these antiquities, and which 
are to be found in almost every public library. 

That Missouri was once the home of a vast population composed of 
tribes who had fixed habitations, dwelt in large towns, practiced agricul- 
ture on an extended scale, with a good degree of method and skill ; who 
had also a well-organized system of religious rites and worship, and 
whose esthetic tastes were far in advance of the savage tribes who 
ro.imed over her prairies and hill ranges when her great rivers were first 
navigated by the white men, is, I am confident, no difficult matter to prove. 
Says Mr. H. M. Brackenridge, who- was an extensive traveler, and a 
man of excellent judgment, in speaking of the ancient works in the 
Mississippi Valley : "It is worthy of observation, that all these vestiges 
Invariably occupy the most eligible situations for towns or settlements ; 
and on the Ohio and Mississippi they are most numerous and consid- 
erable. There is not a rising town, or a farm of an eligible situation, in 
whose vicinity some of them may not be found. I have heard a 
surveyor of the public lands observe, that wherever any of these 
remains were met with, he was sure to find an extensive body of fertile 
land." 

Although, for more than three-quarters of a century since that time, 



26 AUCH^OLOGY. 

the waves of an advancing civilization and the hand of agriculture have 
passed over them and utterly destroyed vast numbers, including many 
of the most remarkable ones, which arrested the attention of every 
beholder, — still, any one at all familiar with those which now remain 
would write the same things to-day. The name of the city of St. Louis 
was once Mound City, called so on account of the number and size of 
those ancient works which once stood upon her present site. The larger 
of them are all demolished, while the few which yet remain are so small 
that they would hardly be noticed save by the eye of a practical observer. 
The same may be said of nearly all which once crowned the terraces of 
the Mississippi along her eastern border, and those of the Missouri and 
her tributaries. 

Notwithstanding all this widespread demolition and obliteration, there 
is doubtless now no richer field for archaeological research in the great 
basin of the Mississippi than is to be found in the State of Missouri. 
As has been already stated, the most important works are found 
located in the vicinity of extensive areas of fertile lands, and upon the 
most eligible sites for towns and cities. The same locations would 
naturally be the first to be occupied by the pioneer settlements of our 
own times, and these aboriginal remains would be the first to be oblite- 
rated. It is not surprising, therefore, that the earlier notices of the 
ancient monuments of this valley are so meagre and unsatisfactory, 
especially when we remember the peculiar vicissitudes of a frontier life, 
which necessitated unceasing toil and eternal vigilance : continually men- 
aced, as the early settlements generally were, by a wily, savage foe. 

It should also be remembered that until quite recently the prevailing 
opinion concerning mounds and embankments was that they were the 
work of the red men, and to this day they are known among the masses 
as Indian mounds. 

Notwithstanding the fact that multitudes have been destroyed, there 
still remain so many vestiges of an ancient race — not only upon the 
alluvial plains of our larger rivers, but also in the interior valleys, 
watered by smaller streams and rivulets, and also upon the sterile slopes 
and summits even of the Ozarks — that Missouri still presents a most 
inviting field for the labors of the archaeologist. A proper examina- 
tion and description of them all would involve no inconsiderable 
expenditure of time and money, and require a volume for their 
elucidation. It cannot therefore be expected that we can do more 
in this article than to describe the different classes of those remains — 
with their most prominent characteristics — which are best known and 



AECH^OLOGICAL MONUMENTS OF MISSOURI. 27 

which have been the most thoroughly explored. In carrying out this 
design, it will perhaps best serve our purpose in the way of method 
and convenience to consider them under the following general divisions : 
1st, Sites of towns or cities. 2cl, Burial mounds, caves and artificial 
caverns. 3d, Sacrificial or temple mounds. 4th, Garden mounds. 
5th, Miscellaneous works. 6th, Pottery ; and 7th, Crania. 

/. — Sites of Towns or Cities.— The early French explorers of the 
Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and the territories through which they 
flow, seem to have taken no notice of the ancient monuments along their 
course ; or if they did, they doubtless ascribed their origin to the red 
men, who were found occupying, in some instances works of similar 
construction. 

But when permanent settlements had been established along their 
banks, with the consequent increase of travel, these works ere long 
attracted the attention of the historian, and awakened an interest which 
resulted in their more careful examination. The early writers, as they 
became familiar with the habits and social condition of the Indians, and 
in view of the magnitude of the structures they so freepiently met with, 
as well as the skill and herculean labors required for their erection, make 
frequent mention of their doubts as to the ability of the Indians to erect 
monuments of such prodigious proportions. And not until St. Louis 
became an incorporated town, and the capital of that vast extent of 
territory then known as Upper Louisiana, do we find any descriptive 
accounts of the ancient works which at that time occupied the terraces 
upon which this great city now stands. 

Notwithstanding the meager and unsatisfactory character of the 
accounts which have been preserved, still, we are thankful for the crumbs 
of information the early observers have left us, and will endeavor to 
make the most of them. 

Mr. H. M. Brackenridge, 1 writing in the yeax 1811, says: "I have 

The work of this autlior ( " Views of Louisiana " ) seems to have been the perennial 
fountain from whence many subsequent writers upon American Archajology, both in 
this country and in Europe, liave drawn much of their inspiration and many of the 
facts and germinal suggestions which they have elaborated with extended speculations, 
and frequently without any mention of their obligation to this writer for the facts and 
suggestions which have been so freely made use of. Mr. Brackenridge, I believe, was 
the first American author who alludes to the statements of Plato concerning a 
people who had come from an island in the Atlantic, in great numbers, andoAorran 
Europe and Asia, and known as the Atlantides, which island was said to have been sunk 
by an earthquake 9000 years before his time. He notes, also, a similar tradition among 
the Eomans, and thinks it possible America may have been referred to. 



28 ARCHAEOLOGY. 

frequently examined the mounds at St. Louis. They are situated on the 
second bank, just above the town, and disposed in a singular manner ; 
there are nine in all, and form the three sides of a parallelogram, the 
open side towards the country, being protected, however, by three 
smaller mounds, placed in a circular manner. The space inclosed is 
about three hundred yards in length and two hundred in breadth. 
About six hundred yards above these is a single mound, with a broad 
stage on the river side ; it is thirty feet in height, and one hundred and 
fifty in length ; the top is a mere ridge of five or six feet wide. Below the 
first mounds there is a curious work called the Falling Garden. Advant- 
age is taken of the second bank, nearly fifty feet in height at this place, 
and three regular stages or steps are formed by earth brought from a 
distance. This work is much admired — it suggests the idea of a place 
of assembly for the purpose of counselling on public occasions." 

Accompanying the foregoing description is a simple diagram which, 
as it does not seem to be the result of any actual survey, and therefore 
of no scientific value, need not be reproduced in this connection. 

Dr. Beck, who noticed them twelve years afterwards, presents in his 
work another diagram, which seems to have been the result of more 
careful observation, although in this, however, one of the nine, and the 
three smaller mounds described by Mr. Brackenridge as protecting the 
side of the parallelogram opening towards the country, are wanting. 
From all the information I can gather, I believe the following plan will 
present the true relation of the mounds here described : 



Diagram of St. Louis Mounds. 



THE BIG MOUND AT ST. LOUIS. 29 

One of the above group undoubtedly represents the old landmark 
known as the Big Mound, ( a representation of which as it appeared at the 
time of its removal, faces the first page of the opening chapter), which 
once stood at the corner of Mound street and Broadway, but which was 
entirely demolished in 1869. This I suppose to have been the terraced 
mound, represented by Mr. Brackenridge to have been located six hun- 
dred yards north of the main group. The Big Mound is known to have 
been beautifully terraced, and nothing of the kind is mentioned in con- 
nection with those constituting the parallelogram. Nor is the Falling 
Garden spoken of as a mound, but only as a terraced bank. For these 
and other reasons which need not be dwelt upon, after much reflection, 
I am persuaded that the terraced mound, afterwards known as the Big 
Mound, was the last to disappear before the encroachments of the 
rapidly-growing city. Be this as it may, this most interesting work will 
be particularly described under the more appropriate head of Sepulchral 
Caverns, when I shall be able to speak with more confidence, as I shall 
give there the result of my own observations. There were formerly 
many other mounds in the immediate vicinity of St. Louis, rivaling in 
magnitude and interest those described by the authors just quoted, but 
which escaped their notice In fact, the second terrace of the Mississippi, 
upon almost every available commanding point of elevation, was finished 
with them. Nineteen years ago, in a conversation with the late Col. John 
O'Fallon, he informed me that his family residence on the Bellefontaine 
road was erected upon one of those ancient mounds. It must have been 
very large, although I do not recall the dimensions. He stated, further, 
that as the summit was being leveled, preparatory to building, human 
bones by the cart-load were disclosed, along with stone axes and arrow- 
heads and the like, without number. He then led me to the forest west 
of his dwelling, and called my attention to the small hillocks which 
abounded there in prodigious numbers, which he conjectured were the 
residence sites of former inhabitants, because of their regularity, and 
from the fact that upon excavating them they disclosed ashes and 
charcoal. 

Still farther north, upon the highest points of the second terrace, I 
have traced the remains of others which must have been quite imposing 
before they were subjected to the leveling influence of agriculture. 
In Forest Park, a few miles west of the city, there is a small group of 
mounds which the park commissioners, 1 am happy to know, have 
resolved to preserve. It is a pity that none of the larger ones have been 
spared, to stand hereafter as the memorials of a people whose origin is 



30 



AKCH^OLOGY. 



hid in the night of oblivion. But let them remain, such as they are, and 
Avhen future generations shall throng the green groves and shady walks 
of that beautiful garden of their great city, these shall recall the fainting 
echoes of another race, whose homes once clustered, in days long gone, 
upon the banks of that great river v^^here a statelier — can v^e say happier 
— city stands to-day. 

The works thus briefly noticed are only a few of the great group of 
large circumference, of which that king of mounds, on the fertile plains 
across the river, known as Monk's Mound, was the radiating center. 
That high place was a temple mound — the holy mountain for this whole 
region, doubtless, — and the smoke which ascended from the perpetual 
fire of its sacred altar could be seen for many miles on every side. . 

But while our business now is with the ancient people of Missouri, it 
should be borne in mind that the imaginary lines which divide us into 
States had no existence in those other times, when a mighty people 
dwelt upon either side of the Mississippi, outnumbering far, perhaps, 
the present occupants; who were homogeneous in their commercial 
pursuits, arts and worship. They traded with the nations who dwelt by 
the sea, and brought from thence the shells and pearls of the ocean, and 
left them in their tombs, along with the precious wares of their own 
handicraft, for our admiration and instruction. 

But before we leave St. Louis, another work demands a notice, 
which the following (Fig. 9), will illustrate. 

This class of works 
appears frequently in Iowa, 
but was formerly found in 
greatest numbers in Mis- 
souri. The one figured 
here was located on Root 
River, about twenty miles 
west of the Mississippi. 
The central mound is repre- 
sented as being thirty-six 
feet in diameter, and 
twelve feet in height. The 
circle inclosins: it was 
nearly obliterated. The 
long embankments which 
form the sides of the triangle were each one hundred and forty- 
four feet in length, and respectively three, four and five feet in 




Fig. 9. — Historical Mound. 



EVIDENCES OF A VAST POPULATION. 31 

heiijht, and twelve feet in diameter; and what is singular, the sum 
of the heights of the embankments equals the vertical height of the 
central mound, and these two amounts multiplied together, give the 
exact length of the embankments. Sometimes works of this description 
are built in the form of a square, with four embankments ; but of 
Avhatever form, it is stated that the same relation of the sum of the 
heights of all the embankments to the height of the central mound 
is always presented, and the product of these gives the length of the 
embankments. 

A group precisely similar to the one just described, and of large 
dimensions, once stood near the village of St. Louis. Its precise 
location cannot be learned, as it was demolished somewhere between the 
years 1835-40. This class of mounds will be further noticed under the 
head of Miscellaneous Works. 

The evidences of a dense pre-historic population in Missouri are no- 
where so abundant as in the southeastern counties of the State. These 
consist of mounds of various dimensions and forms, sometimes isolated, but 
oftener in groups of peculiar arrangement ; also embankments and walls of 
earth inclosing large and small areas, in which may be traced the lines 
of streets - if such they may be called — of a village or city, and 
numberless sites of former residences. One of the largest mounds in 
this region, is about four miles from New Madrid, and, as described in 
1811, is twelve hundred feet in circumference, forty feet high and 
surrounded by a ditch, five feet deep and ten feet in width. New 
Madrid was unquestionably once the great metropolis of a vast popula- 
tion, the remains of whose villages are everywhere met/\Yith, upon the 
banks of the numerous bayous which abound in the several counties in 
this portion of the State. For the reason before mentioned, one group 
only can be particularly described. 

The one selected is situated upon Bayou St. John, about eighteen 
miles from the town of New Madrid. The bayou at this point is one 
mile and a half in width ; its whole length may be stated in round ntimbers 
to be about seventy-five miles. While, in the notices of the earlier 
travelers, it is described as a lake with a clear, sandy bottom, it is now 
a sluggish swamp, filled to a great extent with cypress trees. 

Upon the western bank of the bayou the works to be described 
are located. They consist of inclosures, large and small conical and 
truncated mounds in great numbers, and countless residence sites of 
the ancient inhabitants. From the level of the bayou to the prairie 
land above, the ascent is by a gradual slope to a vertical height of 



32 ' AECH^OLOGY. 

fifteen feet. Upon this belt of sloping ground, now covered with a 
heavy growth of timber, the works are most numerous ; while from its 
edge, westward, the level prairie (that is, the alluvial plain of the 
Mississippi) has been under cultivation for sixty or seventy years. 
Here, including forty acres of the cultivated field and ten of the sloping 
timber belt, is an area of about fifty acres, enclosed by earthen walls 
which may be distinctly traced for several hundred feet, but gradually 
disappear on the western side, having been nenrly obliterated by the 
long cultivation of the field. Where it is best preserved in the timbered 
land, its height was found to be from three to five feet, and fifteen feet 
wide at the base. ^ In the centre of the western side of the enclosure 
and close to the wall, is a mound of oblong shape, three hundred feet in 
lenofth at the base, and at its northern end one hundred feet wide, and 
twenty feet high at the present time, as near as could be estimated by 
careful stepping. The top of it slopes gradually to the south, and 
although the plow has passed up and down its sides for sixty years, still 
on its eastern side may be distinctly seen the evidences of a graded way 
to its summit. Close to its northeastern side, where the mound is 
widest, is a deep depression in the field, about ten feet in diameter. 
Mr. Wm. M. Murphy, a farmer who has long resided in the neighbor- 
hood, told me that when he first saw it he could not get in and out of it 
without a ladder, and that it had since been nearly filled up by the 
tillers of the soil with stumps, logs and earth. In the centre of the 
enclosure stands a circular mound seventy-five feet in diameter, and 
also twenty feet high, which upon examination disclosed nothing but 
broken potteuy. It belongs to that class usually termed residence 
mounds. The view from its summit towards the west and south 
commands a prospect several miles in extent ; on the north the view is 
cut off by a heavy growth of timber, and on the east by the cypress 
swamp. In a direct line with the tvvo mounds thus described, partly 
upon the edge of the cultivated field and partly upon the declivity which 
descends toward the swamp, in the midst of a group of smaller works, 
stands a large burial mound, twelve to fifteen feet in height, and 
one hundred feet in diameter. Its original height could only be 
conjectured, as it has long been occupied as a residence site by the 
present inhabitants. The ruins of a log house are still standing upon 
its summit. It has been the sepulchre of many hundreds, perhaps a 



1 It will readily be perceived that absolute accuracy of measurement would be impossible, 
where the ground has been so much disturbed by cultivation. 












Small vessels of Pottery, Stone Pipe, Stone Implements and discoidal Stone from New Madrid, Mo. 



34 ARC'S JEO'LOGY. 

thousand individuals. The manner of interment, as far as my own 
observations extended, was to place the corpse upon the ])ack, with the 
head towards the centre of the mound ; the vacant space between each 
deposit beino; generally two or three feet. When the inner circle was 
full, another would be formed outside of it. In two burial mounds in 
this region, which were only from three to tive feet in height, and fifty 
or sixty feet in diameter, I found this process of burial continued far 
beyond the circumference of the mound ; in which cases the graves had 
been dug in the natural bed of the plain, upon which the mound was 
erected, and were generally from three to four feet in depth. The kind 
of pottery found in these is precisely similar to that taken from the 
centre of the mound, and was always in the same relative position to the 
skeleton. Three vessels were usually found with each individual. Two 
were water jugs, and placed on each side of the head; the other, a 
receptacle for food, rested upon the side of the chest, and was kept 
in place by the angle of the arms, which were folded across the breast. 
These vessels will be more particularly described hereafter. 

Within the enclosure, before described, beginning near the margin of 
the bayou, extending up the side of the declivity, around the burial 
mound, and continuing quite a distance into the inclosure, are great 
numbers of depressions, or shallow pits in the soil, from one to three 
feet in depth and from fifteen to thirty in diameter ; sometimes in par- 
allel rows, and usually about thirty feet from centre to centre. In many 
of these, forest trees of large size are still growing, and others equally 
large are lying upon the ground in various stages of decay. Upon 
digging into them, almost every shovelful of earth disclosed pieces of 
broken pottery ; many of these fragments indicated vessels of large size 
which must have had a capacity of from ten to fifteen gallons. Upon 
joining the fragments together, the mouths or openings were found to 
vary from three to twelve inches in diameter. They were doubtless 
stationary receptacles of food or water, as they were so thin that it 
would hardly seem possible they could be moved, when filled, without 
bi-eaking. In many of these depressions were observed large rough 
masses of burnt clay, of the color of common brick, full of irregular 
and transverse holes, which seem to indicate, that, before it was burned, 
the desired form of a chimney, or oven, had been rudely made out, by 
intertwining sticks, twigs and grass, and the whole plastered inside and 
out with moist clay, to the thickness of several inches, and then burned 
until it became red and nearly as hard as the bricks now in use. At the 
depth of about two feet, at the bottom of all which were examined, what 



THE NEW MADKID MOTJNDS. 



35 



seemed to have been a fire-place was disclosed. The earth was also 
burued, so as to present the color and hardness of the fragments of brick, 
to the depth of several inches. Along with the broken pottery were 
found, quite often, fragments of sandstone of various sizes, the larijer 
pieces with concave surfaces, and all showing that they had been used for 
polishing or sharpening purposes, especially the smaller ones, which are 
covered with small grooves one-eighth of an inch deep across the whoL 
length and width, and at various angles with each other, as thouo-h the- 
had long been used for sharpening some small metallic instrument or 
oraver's tool. 





Water Jugs and Food Vessels 

Another interesting and suggestive feature of these works is worthy of 
notice. Along the shore of the bayou, in front of the enclosure, small 
tongues of land have been carried out into the water, from fifteen to 
thirty feet in length by ten to fifteen in width, with open spaces between, 
which small as they are, forcibly remind one of the wharves of a sea- 
port town. The cypress trees grow very thickly in all the little bays 
thus formed, and the irregular, yet methodical, outline of the forest, 
winding in and out, close to the shore of these tongues of land, is so 
marked as to remove all doubt as to their artificial orio;in. Althousfh the 
channel of the Mississippi is now from fifteen to eighteen miles east of 
this point, there is no question that this long bayou was one of its aneien; 
beds. It is well known that at New Madrid the river has receded at th< 
rate of one mile in seventy years. With the supposition that its recession 
has been uniform, at this rate nearly a thousand years must have passed 
since the Mississippi deserted the banks upon which these works are 
located. But this, could it be proven, would give us no positive testis 
mouy concerning their age. When the river changed its course, a lake 



36 



AECH^OLOGY. 




Large Water Vessel. 



took its place. The change therefore must have been somewhat sudden, 
for according to its prevailing habits, while it wears away the shore upon 
one side it leaves a corresponding deposit of alluvium upon the other. 

The numerous miniature wharves would suggest that the inhabitants 
were fishermen and had plenty of boats of some sort, which being so, 
^hese waters must have been navigable and not filled up as now with an 
jilmost impenetrable cypress forest. 

While it is true that the most im- 
portant works are all situated upon the 
hio:h oround, fifteen feet above the water 
level, some of the smaller ones are 
located upon the intermediate declivity, 
and near the shore of the bayou, as also 
^iS some of the residence sites. 

If we assume their occupancy to have 

I been contemporaneous with the presence 

■ of the river, they would be subject to 

overflow by the annual floods, and the 

wharves would be swept away. It seem 

i^obable therefore that the time when they were occupied was long 

r jhisequent to the change in the course of the river. The idea of the great 

■ itiquity of these works, entertained when I made the report of their 

lamination, to the St. Louis Academy of Science, I confess has since been 

' mewhat shaken, the reasons for which may appear as we proceed. I am 

, vininded however that, for the work of which these are the initial 

' japters, a picturesque and, so to speak, a topographical description 

;j the ancient monuments of Missouri is desired, rather than a dry 

vi. {tail of facts with extended generalizations. Considerations therefore 

^ iiich might otherwise be appropriate in this connection will be reserved 

; i" a more fitting opportunity. 

One mile south of the remains under consideration, 
and about three hundred feet from the margin of the 
bayou, is a peculiar work, in the form of an oval or 
egg-shaped excavation, one hundred and fifty feet long 
in its largest diameter and seventy-five feet wide and 
about six feet deej). It is surrounded by an embank- 
ment about eight feet in height around its northern 
curve: on the southern end the wall is not over five 
feet, in which is a narrow opening, and extending from it is a curved, 
elevated way to the swamp, in which the earth taken from the excavation 




Small Drinking Vessel, 
and Stopper. 



THE NEW MADEID MOUXDS. 37 

seems to have been deposited, until a circular mound or wharf was raised 
about twenty feet in diameter and five feet high in the centre. The same 
opening and elevated way is seen at the northern end, extending to the 
water. It is doubtless an unfinished work, but its purpose cannot be 
conjectured. 

About eight miles, in a southeasterly direction, from the works upon 
Bayou St. John, upon what is known as West Lake, is another exten- 
sive group almost identical with those described above, differing chiefly 
in this, that they are covered throughout with a heavy growth of timber; 
and the residence sites are found covering a much larger space, and in 
prodigious numbers ; w^hile in the center of the group is an open space 
of several acres which seems to have been made perfectly level, contain- 
ing no elevations or depressions whatever save what may have been 
produced by the uprooting of timber. 

The aboriginal remains thus briefly described are only small groups of 
the multitudinous works with which this whole region abounds, and in 
many instances are still covered with the primeval forests. 

They seem to increase in number and size as we approach the town 
of New Madrid, where they appear in structures of much greater magni- 
tude, one of which has been already noticed. Their character at this 
place would seem to indicate that here was the seat of government and 
commercial metropolis of a dense population, which occupied a large extent 
of territory, embracing not only New Madrid county, but also the 
counties of Mississippi, Scott, Perry, Butler, Pemiscot, Scotland, 
Madison, Bollinger and Cape Girardeau, all of which contain the same 
class of works, and whose authors were the same people. Further 
explorations, I have no doubt, will disclose their presence in other 
counties adjoining. 



CHAPTER y. 

One People the Builders of these Mounds.— Cremation and Burial Mounds.— 
The Big Mound at St. Louis.— Mistaken Views.— Minute Description op the 
Work.— Stone Mounds.— Stone Sepulchers in St. Louis and Perry Counties. 

Notwithstanding the variety of form presented in the multitudinous 
structures throuohout the continent of North America, the comparison 
of many of their most prominent characteristics makes it reasonably 
certain that one people were the authors of them all. While many of 
them in the order of their age belong to periods more or less remote, 
reaching back many hnndreds and perhaps thousands of years, many 
others are comparatively recent. Taken as a whole, the thoughtful 
observer will see,' in this diversity of configuration and grouping, that 
natural order of growth which might be looked for in the slow develop- 
ment of a national life, whether generated among the people themselves 
or helped forward by occasional and accidental impulses from without. 
It seems highly probable that there were two slowly-moving streams of 
migration from the north ; the most important one on the east of the 
Mississippi, the other through the territories lying west of the river. 
This southward movement of a vast people seems to have been arrested 
in the valley of the Ohio for a long period of time. Otherwise the fact 
can hardly be accounted for that here occur the most stupendous monu- 
ments of their industry and skill, and also the most striking evidences 
of the stability and repose of their national life. Here the mound- 
builders reached the highest stage of civilization they ever attained this 
side of Central America and Mexico. The movement upon the western 
side of the river, while it had its source in the one great fountain-head 
at the north, does not seem to have been so well defined in all its 
characteristics, notwithstanding the fact that the population in Mis- 
souri at one time was as great, and, we have reason to think, greaier 
than in Oliio. The cause may have been that they never enjoyed a 
season of repose and exemption from war to such a degree as to render it 
possible for them to devote the time and C(mcentrate their energies upon 
their internal affairs to the extent which resulted in the more advanced 
civilization of the eastern tribes. There seems to have been one prevail- 
ing system of religion among them all, which was based upon the 
worship of the heavenly bodies. This remark applies not only to 
people of North America, but to the ancient inhabitants of the southern 



CKEMATION AND BUKIAI. MOimDS. 39 

continent as well. The temple mounds in both, though built of different 
materials, are the same in form and purpose. 

While the oneness of their forms of worship of itself proves nothing 
as to the unity of their origin, still, when taken in connection with the 
fact of their constant intercourse, and the identity of so many rites and 
customs among them all, it is believed no extended argument is needed, 
as before stated, to prove that, whatever may be the relative age of the 
groups of works found in diffei'ent localities, they were all built by one 
people. In view of the foregoing it ought not to be surprising if, as we 
trace the history of their development as recorded in their remains, we 
find here and there traces of a radical change in some of their customs. 
The one we have now to consider is a most important and significant one, 
which relates to the disposition of their dead. This has already been 
noticed (see p. 17, fig. 2), as illustrated in the two cemeteries in Carroll 
County, Illinois, with traditional reasons for the substitution of mound 
burial for cremation. Many able writers upon American antiquities have 
given much attention to the numerous class of works which have usually 
been denominated sacrificial mounds. 

These are described as presenting upon excavation a basin-shaped 
cavity of varying dimensions : frequently paved with stones, and con- 
taining ashes and charcoal, which are sometimes mingled with various 
implements and ornaments, all showing the action of fire. To my own 
mind the evidences are almost conclusive that these should be denom- 
inated Cremation Mounds ; and that up to a certain period this was the 
usual, and perhaps, universiil, method of disposing of the remains oi 
departed friends. The size of the mound would then indicate the rank 
of him whose body was thus consumed therein. Upon no other hypothe- 
sis can we account for the earth being heaped upon the so-called altars 
while the fires were yet burning, leaving some portions of the wood 
yet unconsumed. At length this practice ceased and mound burial took 
its place. The latter custom seems to have been the one universally 
practiced by the mound-builders of Missouri. 

While cremation mounds occur in Iowa and Wisconsin, if any exist in 
Missouri they are yet to be discovered. But here even the mode oi 
burial was not uniform throughout the State, nor always in the same 
locality even. One class, in the bayou St. John group, has already been 
described. It is to be remembered that in these no implements what- 
ever were found with the interments — nothing save the earthen -vessels 
for food and drink. Occasionally a flint spear and arrowhead would be 
disclosed, but in such relations that I have no doubt their presence was 



40 AECH^OLO&Y. 

accidental. These mounds I believe to have been the ordinary burial 
places of the jaeople. In others, as was the case with the one upon 
which the O' Fallon mansion stands, great numbers of stone axes, arrow- 
points, and the like abound. 

In the one case, only those domestic utensils were deposited which 
minister to the comfort of their domestic life ; in the other, those which 
served them in war and manly activities. Nor does this seem strange, 
when we remember the belief, so common among mankind in certain 
stages of civilization, that those pursuits to which the individual was 
devoted in this life are continued iu the life beyond the grave ; conse- 
quently, if he had been a great hunter or mighty in war, it would be 
most natural to deposit with him, in the tomb, his arms. But if the 
nation were at peace, and unused to the arts of war, his friends would 
think only of a necessary supply of food and drink ; hence vessels of 
pottery would be the sole accompaniments of his journey. 

Should the idea here advanced be substantiated by future investigation, 
that cremation was once the prevailing custom and that at some period it 
was discontinued and mound-burial adopted in its place, then it would 
seem altogether probable that Southeast Missouri was peopled at some 
time subsequent to that event, and therefore the works so abundant there 
are more recent than those of the Ohio Valley. 

Another class of sepulchral mounds, whose occurrence is somewhat 
rare, has been observed more particularly in the Western Central States. 
Generally they are of large dimensions and contain a chamber or vault, 
which is sometimes rudely finished with stone. The floor is usually 
on a level with the naturar surface of the soil, upon which the dead were 
placed, in a reclining posture. The most conspicuous example of this 
class is the one known as the Big Mound, which once stood at the corner 
of Mound street and Broadway in St. Louis, but which, as before stated, 
was removed in 1869. A representation of it, as it appeared, is given 
on page 4. 

Of all sepulchral mounds thus far examined, this was the king. If 
its magnitude, or rather the size of the vault within it has any signifi- 
cance, it would seem to have been the tomb of the most holy prophets 
or of the royal race. The statements concerning its dimensions are 
widely different. According to one observer, it was four hundred feet 
in length, two hundred feet wide at the base and over fifty feet high. 
According to Mr. Brackenridge, it was one hundred and fifty feet in 
length and thirty in height. 'The latter figures are probably not far from 
the truth. 



THE BIG MOUND AT ST. LOUIS. ^1 



These discrepancies are not difficult of explanation when it is remem- 
bered that in its construction, advantage was taken of the highest point 
of the terrace, and when the streets were cut through it, on its northern 
and southern ends, the grade was nearly twenty feet lower than the top 
of the terrace upon which it was erected. A casual observer, therefore, 
would be likely to take the whole as artificial, whereas more than one- 
half, as it then appeared, was of fluviatile origin. The dividing line 
between the natural ground and the mound proper is shown in the 
eno-ravino-. It is about midway between the level of the street and the 

top of the monnd. 

The demolition of this ancient landmark was an event which awakened 
much interest among the citizens, who gathered in crowds, from day 
to day during the many weeks occupied by its removal. Numerous 
and conflicting accounts were published at the time concerning it, with 
any amount of speculation and hasty conclusions. Some of them have 
been perpetuated in one recent work, at least, upon the pre-historic 
races of America ; on which account I think it proper to say that the 
statements which follow are based upon personal and careful examination 
of the work during the process of its removal, until its destruction 
was accomplished. 

This mound, as is well known, was used by the Indians as a burial 
place, and only about sixty years since, it was visited by a small band, 
who disinterred and carried away the bones of their chief who had been 
buried there. But their interments here, as was their unvarying 
custom, were near the surface. 1 have observed the same in other 
localities, sometimes not more than eighteen inches from the top of the 
mound,— as was the case with some I examined in Washington County, 
on the banks of the Missouri. On account of this it is not difficult to 
distinguish the Indian burials from those of the Mound-builders. Had 
this fiTct been better understood, we would have been spared many erro- 
neous statements, as well as hasty generalizati(ms upon articles taken 
from the mounds, which were attributed to their builders, but which, 
in fact, were deposited by the Indians; and many of them even, subse- 
quent to their first acquaintance with our own race. A strikuig example 
of this occurred during the removal of the "Big Mound." Near the 
northern end, and about three feet from the surface, two skeletons were 
discovered very near each other, one evidently that of a male, the other 
a female With the larger of the two were found the spiral spines ot 
two conch shells, much decayed, nine ivory beads of an average size, as 
I can recollect, one inch in length and nearly one-half m 



near as 



42 AKCH^OLOGY. 

diameter, an ivory spool with short shaft but very wide flanges, which 
were much broken around the edges, and two curious articles of copper, 
about three inches in length and about half as wide, resembling some- 
what in shape the common smoothing iron of the laundry. The under 
side, which was concave, showed the marks of the mould in which they 
were cast. The upper side, which was much corroded, showed traces 
of an elaborate finish in the way of engraving. From the center of the 
finished upper side an arm projected at a right angle, about five-eighths 
of an inch in continu(ms width and two-eighths in thickness at its junc- 
ture, which tapered to a thin edge. 

Embedded in the verdigris with which they were encrusted were plainly 
visible the marks of a twisted string just like ordinary wrapping twine, 
wliich had been clumsily tied about them, and upon which the beads had 
been strung. All the above articles were about the head and neck of the 
skeleton, and had evidently been interred with the possessor just as he 
wore them in life. 

I have been thus particular in the account of this "big Indian" and his 
treasures — for such he undoubtedly was— because these articles of copper, 
and the ivory spool, which must have been turned in a lathe, (and I 
must include also the pieces of cloth found with them, which however I 
did not see) have been taken as the exponents of the state of the arts 
among the Mound-builders, and have been made the subject of the most 
extravagant statements. Although I was not present when these articles 
were taken out, they were placed in my hands a short time afterward, 
by the person who unearthed them, who also kindly gave me portions of 
the skull, the larger bones of the legs, and a loch of hair! from the head 
of both the sachem and his squaw, which are still in my possession. 

But the most interesting feature of this truly great structure is the 
sepulchral chaml)er which it once contained. By what means the 
ponderous mass of earth which formed its roof was sustained, the mound 
itself furnished no clue, for it had long ago fallen in and crushed almost 
to atoms the already decayed bones of the skeletons lying upon the 
floor. The original length of the chamber could only be conjectured, as 
portions of the mound had been removed when the street was cut 
through upon the southern end, as seen in the engraving. It could be 
traced, however, for seventy-two feet. For this distance the sides were 
perfectly smooth and straight, and sloped outwardly a few degrees from 
the perpendicular, and the marks of the tool by which the walls were 
plastered could be plainly seen. One circumstance, which was very 
■puzzling for a while, was the curious appearance of the surface of the 



THE BIG MOUND AT ST. LOUIS. 43 

Walls. They were covered with a complete network of black lines, 
interlacing and crossing each other with all sorts of beautiful and fanciful 
complications, resembling more than anything else the delicate tracery of 
a frosted window pane. Upon careful examination, these proved to be 
the remains of rootlets from the trees which once grew upon the surface 
above ; which, finding easy ingress along the face of the wall, had thus 
covered its surface, but were now completely carbonized. 

The manner of its construction seems to have been thus : The surface 
of the ground was first made perfectly level and haid ; then the walls 
were raised with an outward inclination, which were also made perfectly 
compact and solid, and plastered over with moist clay. Over these a 
roof was formed of heavy timbers, and above all the mound was raised 
of the desired dimensions.^ The bodies had all been placed in a direct 
lin«, upon the floor of the vault, a few feet apart, and equidistant from 
each other, with their feet towards the west. These were disclosed, 
several at a time, as the laborers detached long, vertical sections of 
earth by the simultaneous use of crowbars inserted at the top. Mingled 
with the black deposit which enveloped the bones, were beads and shells 
in prodigious numbers, though in no instance were both deposited with 
the same individual. 

The beads, so called, are the sq,me as are found in the mounds of Ohio, 
and evidently cut, as Dr. Foster thinks, from the Busycon, from the 
Gulf of Mexico. They are small discs perforated in the center by drill- 
ing. From the many specimens in my possession in various stages (;f 
their manufacture, the conclusion is warranted that the hole was first 
drilled and the edges rounded afterwards. Many of these seem to have 
been cut from the common mussel-shells which are abundant in this region. 
The small sea shells {Marginella apicina), were only found with a few 
skeletons, possibly five or six at the southern end of the vault, and w^ith each 
one from four to six quarts, all of which were pierced with small holes 
near the head, by w^hich they were undoubtedly strung together. With 
the majority, however, only the perforated buttons were found, but in 
such numbers that the body from the thighs to the head must have been 
covered with them. 

Being very desirous of securing, if possible, a perfect skull, or at 
'least the fragments from which one miijht be reconstructed, and as ail 



^ Although not a vestige of wood was discovered when it was removed, in a work 
"across the river, more recently destroyed, whicli contained a similar vault, were found 
-sticks of red cedar, much decayed, but in such positions as showed that they had been 
the supports of the superincumbent earth. 



44 



ARCHEOLOGY. 



which were thrown out by the excavators were in small pieces which 
crumbled at the touch, I began a careful excavation with a common 
kitchen knife near the feet of a skeleton, following the spinal column to 
the head. My work was soon interrupted however by the crowd of 
eager boys from the neighboring schools, who scrambled for the beads 
which were thrown out with every handful of earth, with such energy 
that I was lifted from my feet and borne away. By the aid of a burly 
policeman, however, I was able to finish my excavation, but without 
beino- able to secure what was so much desired. The bones were so much 
decayed, when the roof fell in, that all the larger bones were crushed, 
and only small fragments of the skull could be obtained, and of course 
no cavity corresponding to its shape remained from which a plaster cast 
might have been taken. 

The last visit to the mound was most interesting of all. The 
night before, the workmen had made a vertical cut directly across 
the northern end of the small portion of the work which yet remained. 




Cross-Section of the Big Mound at St. Louis. 

What was there revejiled is well repr<'sented in the engraving. The 
sloping walls were of compuct yellow clay, the intermediate space filled 
with blue clay in a much looser condition, in perfect agreement Avith the 
idea of its having fallen in from above by the decay of its support. Here 
too, at the northern end, I conjectured, was the entrance to the sepul- 



STONE Momros. 45 

cher, for the reason that here the walls were about eight feet in height, 
from six feet to eight feet apart, whereas the first measurements at the 
top, when the walls were discovered, showed a diameter of eighteen feet. 

Here, then, was an artificial sepulchral tomb, whose dimensions we 
may safely state to have been from eight to twelve feet wide, seventy- 
five feet long, and from eight to ten feet in height, in which from twenty- 
to thirty burials had taken place. If any other deposit had "been made 
with the dead, save the before-mentioned beads and shells, the tomb must 
have been desecrated by some savage who had no regard for its sacred 
character, for not a vestige of anything else was disclosed at the time of 
its demolition. 

Another evidence of a large aboriginal population is furnished by the 
stone mounds which are very numerous in certain localities, particularly in 
those counties through which flow the Osage and the Gasconade rivers. 
Not being so conspicuous as the others already noticed, they would not 
be likely to attract the attention of ordinary travelers, and may therefore 
be found covering a much larger area than is at present known. These 
are simple heaps of stones, of such size as could be conveniently carried 
from the ravines where they are found to the highest elevations — the spots 
usually chosen for their erection. I have seen them in groups on a con- 
tinuous line running back from the very brow of a precipitous escarpment 
two hundred and fifty feet above the Gasconade, which swept majestically 
below. In fact, those commanding elevations, no matter how difiicult of 
access, from whence the view of the surrounding landscape was most 
extended and lovely, seem to have been the ones most preferred. The 
Ozark Hills, clothed with the primeval forests, are full of them. They 
are generally considered more recent than the earthen tumuli. In all 
that I have opened nothing was discovered which shed any light upon 
their history, save a few human teeth and the smallest bits of the larger 
bones, which proved them to be burial mounds. It is stated by Adair 
that soijie of the nomadic tribes of Indians thus disposed of their dead, 
and as they passed and re-passed those graves, from j^ear to year each man 
of the tribe was accustomed to add another stone to the heap which had 
been raised above them. In agroup of seven, I observed one which showed 
some skill in masonry; one of the walls was built up with a smooth face 
about three feet in height, in which the joints were beautifully broken, 
althouo;h there was no evidence of mortar having been used. 

In this connection should be noticed still another class ; the most note- 
worthy examples of which, were discovered about the year 1818, in tlie 
town of Fenton, about fifteen miles from St. Louis. These were stone 



46 ABCH^OLOGY. 

oraves or cists, each inclosino; a siiio;le skeleton, or the dust of one — as all 
were in a crumbling condition tliere. Not one of the many examined 
exceeded fifty inches in length. Tliey were built of six flat stones, single 
slabs forming the bottom, top, sides, and ends. 

According to Dr. Beck, of Gazetteer fame, much discussion was elicited 
at the lime and many communications appeared in the newspapers. The 
chief point upon which it all centered was the shortness of the graves. 
As was the case in Tennessee, a few years since, it was considered as 
proving the former existence of a race of pigmies. But the fact that in 
some of them the leg bones were observed lying parallel with and along- 
side of the bones of the thigh, accounted for the shortness of the graves ; 
and this, taken along with the well-known custom practiced by some 
tribes, of suspending their dead in the branches of trees until the bones 
were denuded of flesh and afterwards depositing them in their common 
burying place, was regarded as a sufficient answer to all the pigmy spec- 
ulations. 

About one hundred yards from the ancient b'r hig ground at Fenton 
were once a number of mounds, and remains of an extensive fortification, 
Avhich also attracted the attention of the curious in those early days. 
And if files of the old Missouri Gazette of sixty years ago could be 
found, no doubt many interesting facts would be recovered which are 
now forgotten. Similar stone graves are found in Perry County, seventy- 
five miles from St. Louis. 



CHAPTER VI. 

"The Cave-Dwellers." — Tales of Discoveries in Kentucky, etc. — The Caves op 
THE Ozark Mountains. — Proofs of Long Occupancy. — Skeletons and other 
Kelics Found. — The Cave-Dwellers a Different Race from the Mound- 
Builders. 

To the general student of Ethnology and Archseology, no one depart- 
ment of antiquarian research has yielded grander or more satisfactory 
results than those which have rewarded the explorers of the caves and 
rock-shelters of some of the mountain chains of the old world. Concern- 
ing the relative age of the earthen structures of the vast alluvial plains 
of America there may be much ditference of opinion. But in his 
occupancy of the caves of Europe, primeval man has so inscribed the 
records of his early life and presence, during those geologic changes 
which he witnessed, in the succession of the glacial and diluvial epochs, 
that they are somelir is as sharply delineated and legible as are those 
of the various orders of animal life in the stratified rocks By these 
faithful chronographs of the childhood of the race, we are carried back 
irresistibly to a period so remote, that the cave-dwellers from Mount 
Hor, who joined the confederate kings, and were so signally overthrown 
by Abram in the plains of Sodom, were but of yesterday. 

In America, this field is compai-atively unexplored, or perhaps we had 
better say, is undiscovered. Indeed, it may be that we have nothing 
here which shall be found to correspond to or compare with the drift 
period and bone-caves of Europe. It is true we find, in the early tales 
of border life in Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, accounts which 
must contain some elements of truth, of caverns filled with human bones ; 
others whose walls are pictured and sculptured with strange devices, of 
animals, known and unknown; and representations of the heavenly 
bodies ; and others still, containing mummied corpses, embalmed and 
wonderfully preserved, clad in robes of feather-work like those of Peru- 
vian fabric which so filled the Spanish conquerors with admiration. But 
alas ! these were long since destroyed. Then, they had little or no 
scientific value, consequently there was no motive for their serious 
examination, or preservation. 

Still, however, we may indulge the not unreasonable hope that others 
may yet be discovered, whose disclosures shall be equally precious. In 
this hope we are the more encouraged by the fact that the few which 
have been noticed and described, furnish indubitable proof that they 



48 ARCHEOLOGY. 

were once the favorite resorts, for burial purposes, of some pre-historic 
race. Wlien tlie stones shall be rolled away from the doors of the sep- 
ulchral caverns in the limestone hills of Missonri, the long-forgotten 
dead may again come forth re-vivified, rehabilitated, and the Ozark 
Mountains may yet disclose materials for a chapter in the life of her 
primitive people, which shall equal in interest the records of the mounds. 
The Ozarks, thanks to their sterile slopes, have preserved their sacred 




Among the Ozarks. 

treasures well. They are honeycombed with caves, some of unknown 
extent. Their openings maybe seen in the precipitous bluffs along the 
Gasconade River, in great numbers, on either side, or the majestic arches 
of their openings span the divides where the smaller hill ranges meet. 
Do these numerous caves and channels evidence an ancient system of 
drainage, in operation long before the Gasconade had asserted its "right 
of way " and scooped for itself a course through the rocks by its cease- 
less flow? ^ 

In these caves the ancient dead were buried and the funeral feasts 
were celebrated. The deep deposit of rich nitrogenous earth in the 

1 See Sir Charles Lyell's remarks upon the Valley of the Meuse, " Antiquity of Man," 
p. 73. 



THE CAVE DWELLEES. 49 

larger chambers, and the bones of various animals, birds, and mussel 
shells — -the refuse of the funeral feasts, — the alternate layers of ashes and 
charcoal mingled with earthy matter, containing human bones in different 
degrees of preservation, tell of oft-repeated visits and recurrence of the 
funeral rites. 

What little we have learned from the few thus far explored makes us 
only the more eager to examine still further the records they contain. 
A description of one must serve our present purpose. The one selected 
is in Pulaski County, and is one of the many famous saltpetre caves so 
often mentioned in the early annals of the State, with which the country 
of the Gasconade abounds. The opening is in the face of a perpen- 
dicular limestone bluff which extends along the river for many miles. 
While the scenery of this whole region is very beautiful, the view from 
the mouth of some of the caves is enchanting. Standing in the shadow 
of one of their lofty arches, the eye is charmed with the peculiar beauty 
of the landscape spread out before it. The Gasconade flowing far below, 
the stately trees which fringe its banks and mark the course of its long 
graceful curves, until it loses itself in the dim outlines of the Ozarks, 
which swell and roll away until their opalescent hues melt into the mel- 
low light of the autumn sky, — all conspire to awaken the liveliest 
feelings of respect and admiration for a people whose aesthetic taste was 
so refined and tender as to lead them to select a place so charming for 
the long repose of their loved ones. But poetry and science have but 
little in common : one must end where the other begins. So turning my 
back upon the beautiful scene, and repressing all compunctious for the 
sacrilege we are about to commit, the impatient workmen are directed 
to begin the labor of cutting a trench one hundred and seventy-five feet 
long, through the deposit at the bottom of the cave. At the end of this 
distance the perpetual gloom begins. Here the torches are brought into 
requisition, by whose dim light, as the laborers proceed with their work, 
the sectional notes and measurements are taken. 

The whole surface of the deposit seems to have been much disturbed, 
to the depth of from eighteen inches to two feet. It is composed of 
earth and ashes, mingled profusely with broken potterj^ frjigmeuts 
of human bones and flint-chips. Below this, the deposit is hard and 
compact. Selecting a point about midway from either end of the trench, 
we proceed to make more critical examination. Continuing the excav- 
ation to the depth of six feet, the natural deposit at the bottom is 
reached, composed of a tough reddish clay, which contained nothing 
but decayed mussel shells. All above this showed the continual 



50 , AECH^OLOGY. 

occupancy of the cave during its deposition. A vertical section at tlie 
point above named, disclosed the following strata : 

Alluvium, mingled with ashes, bits of pottery, etc 18 inches. 

Stratum of different colored ashes 2 " 

Clay and dark Alluvium 2^^ " 

Ashes ■ yi " 

Alluvium • 3 " 

Mixture of Ashes and Clay 3 " 

Pure Ashes >^ " 

Alluvium • • 3>^ " 

Pure Ashes, mingled with Charcoal 4 " 

Alluvium, " " " 7 " 

Ashes 3 " 

Alluvium, mingled with Charcoal 20 " 

At the depth of about two feet, the first skeleton was reached, lying 
npon its back, with head towards the east. All the small bones were 
thoroughly decayed. About six feet north of this, another skeleton was 
disclosed, evidently bnried in a sitting posture. This was so much 
decomposed that only a few of the thicker portions of the skull could 
be secured. Near this was also found the skeleton of a very aged 
female, the skull in a better state of preservation. In companionship 
with these was a flint spear-head of the rudest pattern, as were all the 
implements of stone — which were not numerous — which the deposit 
contained. With the exception of the rude spear-head, their presence 
seemed to have been accidental, and this also may have been so. 
Among the most interesting relics, were articles of bone, such as awls, 
scrapers, and the like, and occasionally one made from the inner surface 
of a shell, with a sharp edge. 

What was most surprising was the prodigious number of mussel 
shells which were continuous through the whole deposit, decreasing in 
size and more decayed as we descended, until their whole substance was 
a chalky paste. These are still abundant in the river below. Inter- 
mingled with the alluvium and ashes, as far as the excavation extended, 
Avere skulls and bones of fishes, deer, bear, mud-turtle and wild 
turkey. The skulls were always broken, no doubt to obtain the brains, 
which have always been esteemed a great delicacy among the civilized 
and savage as well. While, for purposes of ethnological study, a more 
detailed description of the crania contained in this cave would be 
instructive, and other particulars here suggested might be properly 
enlarged upon, still, enough has been stated to indicate the desirable- 
ness of a more thorough exploration of this comparatively new class 



THE CAYE DWELLERS. 



51 



of antiquities. But keeping in mind that we have more to do in these 
chapters with the traces of the aboriginal inhabitants of Missouri than 
with lengthy generalizations upon the facts they disclose, we can only 
hint at one or two conclusions. 




Bone Implements. 

Here was the burial place of a people who w^ere not insensible to 
those beauties wn'th which nature around them was glorified, and who 
sought those places with the most lovely surroundings in which to deposit 
the remains of their friends. Here were laid to rest from time to time 
the old and young, the aged matron, and the child, the fragments of 
whose thin, paper-like skulls suggested many thoughts of maternal love 
and tears of sorrow. The vast numbers of shells, and bones of beasts 
and birds, bear witness to the oft-repeated funeral feasts beside the new- 
made graves of the departed, and point to a belief in a life continued in 
another world. Who they were, or when they lived, it is not our 
province now to try to answer. The Indians, it is well known, regarded 
these gloomy caverns Avith superstitious fear, for in them they believed 



52 AUCH^OLOGY. 

the great Manitoii dwelt. In view of this fact, so well attested by early 
writers, the idea that they were the occupants becomes a matter of grave 
doubt. The skulls thus far examined, are also wanting in those peculiar 
and generally very marked characteristics which are so evident in the 
crania of the mounds. With this allusion to a question so interesting, 
we must leave its discussion to a future occasion, when we may reason- 
ably hope to be able to continue it in the light of more extended 
information. 



CHAPTEE VII. 

Temple Mounds.— Growth op Ancient Religious Systems.— Characteristics op this 
Class of Monuments.— The Great Mound at Cahokia, its best representative 
IN North America.— Brack rnridge's Description of it in 1811.— How it came to 
BE called " Monks' Mound."— The Ceremonies of the Sun-Worshippers.— Other 
Temple Mounds.— The Indi vns not descended prom the Mound-Builders. 

Althotio-h the propriety of some of the monnd-classifications of the 
earlier writers has sometimes been questioned, no doubts are entertained 
as to tlie purpose of those which have been denominated Temple Mounds. 
In treating of this class, we enter at once upon a field almost as vast as 
the two continents of America. For, whatever may have been the 
material used in their construction, whether stone, or earth alone, or 
both combined, they present such uniform characteristics, so identical in 
evident purpose and design, that they link together by one prevailing 
system of religious worship, of which they are the striking exponents, 
unnumbered tribes and peoples, scattered up and down the two continents 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Keason as we may, the more they are 
studied, and considered in their relation to other groups and classes with 
which they are found associated, we can hardly escape the conviction 
that they point to one common origin. 

Before yielding a hasty assent to a general conclusion, a proper caution 
would suggest the possibility of accounting for this uniformity of struc- 
ture by other and natural considerations. It is well known that barbaric 
tribes in all lands and times have manufactured their first implements of 
war and the chase from stone and bone, and have learned, by means of 
some hint which Nature, perhaps, afi'orded, to fashion rude vessels of clay 
for domestic use. It is also true that their petitions and adorations have 
been addressed to the same class of imaginary beings, or objects and 
active forces whose effects they were accustomed to behold around them; 
among which the heavenly bodies appear to have occupied a conspicuous 
place, particularly during some stages of their progress from barbarism 
to a higher life. 

Possessed of the same faculties, appetites and passions, inheriting the 
same necessities, meeting always the same difiSlculties in their struggles 
for existence, it is not surprising that rude nations have ever followed the 
same paths in all the activities of their wild, infantile life. Indeed, it 
would be surprising if they had not. From these and similar considera- 
tions it may be thought that the identity of form, structure and relation. 



54 AUCH^OLOGY. 

and also apparent oneness of purpose which characterize the Temple 
Mounds, demonstrate only the operation of a universal law, in the 
progress of a people from a state of barbarism through the slow stages 
of its developement towards a higher civilization. The sun and moon 
have been worshiped in ages and countries widely separated, and by 
nations between which there could never have occurred any possible 
communication. 

Man never has attained by intuition or philosophy that knowledge of 
the unity and perfections of the Supreme Being which Eevelation presents : 
and wanting that knowledge, he naturally worships those visil)le objects 
which are mosi conspicuous and which most inspire his reverence, 
especially those which, he conceives, exei-t the greatest influence upon 
his life and destiny. But when each nation starts out for itself in the 
path of a progressive civilization, the prevailing forms of worship, being 
subjected to the same influences which mould the national polity, must 
necessarily, under the new impulse, become also materially changed, or 
as has sometimes happened, dis^Dlaced altogether, by a system entirely 
new. From this point, the forms of Nature-worship would cease to be 
identical, and each resultant system become thereafter more and more 
divero-ent ; and long periods of time must necessarily be required for the 
working out of a complicated and well arranged sj^stem of popular 
relio^ion which should be able to enforce the ready obedience and subjec- 
tion of a vast people to its mandates, and enlist the energies of the 
nation in the erection of their most imposing structures, for no other 
purpose than the observance of their religious rites and ceremonies. Such 
structures, among the memorials of an ancient people, are very inter- 
estino- and instructive, from the fact that religion has ever exerted such 
controUinp" influence in the establishment and perpetuity or decline of 
countless nations, whose history has been preserved. 

They are the records, therefore, of more than the religious faith and 
practice of a particular people ; but, because of the leavening influence 
of relio^ious ideas when crystallized into systematic forms, they become the 
interpreters of many things which otherwise would never be understood. 

It will readily be seen, therefore, in the light of the foregoing, that 
the Temple Mounds of America are invested with an interest and 
importance outside of their purely religious character; and which is 
greatly enhanced by the fact that wherever they are found, along with 
them invariably occur the most striking evidences of the former presence 
of a numerous population, whose civil and social condition was separated 
by a wide gtdf from that of the red race who occupied their ancient seats 



TEMPLE MOUNDS. 55 

when America was discovered ; and whose government was so well 
established and enduring, as to render it possible for vast numliers to 
be employed for a series of years in their erection. 

Temple Mounds, according to Sqnier and Davis, "are distinguished 
by their great regularity of form and general large dimensions. They 
oonsist chiefly of pyramidal structures, truncated, and generally htive 
graded avenues to their tops. In some instances they are terraced or 
have successive stages. But whatever their form, whether round, oval, 
octangular, square or oblong, they have invariably flat or level tops." ^ 

"The summits of these structures were probably crowned with 
temples, but having been constructed of perishable materials, all traces 
of their existence have disappeared. The truncated pyramidal form, 
which often rises to no great height, was obviously the foundation for 
such structures. In the works at Aztalan, Wisconsin, we trace the out- 
lines of this form of mounds at the angles of the bastions, and this may 
be said to be their northern limit. They are not recognized on the' 
southern slope of Lake Erie, and are seen at only three points in Southern 
Ohio, viz: Marietta, Newark and Chillicolhe. 

"The stupendous mound at Cahokia in Illinois, with its graded way, 
its terrace and level summit, was the best representative of this class. ^ 
In Kentucky they are not rare ; the great mound near Florence is of this 
character, and that near Claiborne — fifty feet in height — has a level 
summit with a gradual slope on the east, and a succession of ten terraces 
on the west. In this class, too, must be included the great mound at 
Seltzertown, Mississippi, and most of those in the Gulf States. 

1 Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, p. 173. Smithsonian Contributions to 
Knowledge. 

" When he wrote this, Dr. Foster was under the impression that this great work was 
destroyed. While he was mistaken, it is understood to be for sale, and may soon be 
reckoned among the things that wei-e, provided some railway shall be constructed near 
enough to render its huge mass — containing over twenty million cubic yards of earth- 
desirable to elevate its grade. What a graceful thing it would be for the State, or 
National Government to purchase it and decree its perpetual preservation! Men of 
science all over the world and in all future time would be so thankful for such an act. 
Thus the Government of Denmark has done with her antiquities. Whether either of 
our great political parties could be persuaded to assume such a tremendous responsibility 
is very doubtful. Our legislators are so conscientious and so intent upon " retrenchment 
and reform, "that the expenditure of a few hundred dollars for the preservation of the 
stupendous work which must have occupied the ceaseless labor of thousands of men 
through a life-time to erect, would be a precedent too dangerous to think of — such an 
act might shake the foundations of the Kepublic. No partizan would dare favor such a 
proposition, lest it should be followed by his speedy consignment to a political grave 
from which there could be no resurrection. 



56 AKCILffiOLOGY. 

"In Mexico and Central America, we see the culmination of this form 
in the Teocallis, which were faced with flights of steps and surmounted 
b}' temples of stone." ^ 

The identification of some of the mounds in their enumeration as 
Temple Mounds, by the authors above named, I cannot but regard as 
lacking confirmation. Indeed the evidences derived from my own obser- 
vations are conclusive that some of them belong to quite another class. 
Those of the " truncated pyramidal form which often rise to no great 
height," were doubtless crowned with the residences of the chiefs and 
rulers. These are often found in groups. I have counted seven or eight 
very near each other, a few feet in height, with flat or level tops : the 
central one generally larger than those around it, which tradition affirms 
was occupied by the dwelling of the chief. The others of the group were 
erected from time to time for residence sites for his sons, as they came to 
man's estate and had families of their own. In all which I have excavated, 
nothing was disclosed but fragments of pottery. 

The only structures which can with certainty be identified as Temple 
Mounds are those whose perfect model is seen in the Teocallis of Mexico 
and South America. 

In whatever group they are found, they are the most imposing. 
Generally oblong, with one or more stages, and ascended by graded 
avenues. Such was one of the large mounds at St. Louis, and I am 
disposed to believe that the beautiful Falling Garden was an unfinished 
work of this class, whose three stages, about fifteen feet each in height, 
were finished, but the elevated work which was to crown the whole was 
wanting. 

The great Cahokia Mound is the best representative of this class to be 
found in North America. This was examined by Mr. Brackenridge in 
1811-12. His interesting description of it, along with the numerous 
works of smaller dimensions with which the American Bottom is filled, — 
or was in his day — may well be quoted entire in this connection : 

"To form a more correct idea of these, it will be necessary to give the 
reader some view of the tract of country in which they are situated. 
The American Bottom is a tract of rich alluvial land, extending on the 
Mississippi, from Kaskaskia to the Cahokia River, about eighty miles in 
length and five in breadth ; several handsome streams meander through it ; 
the soil is of the richest kind, and but little subject to the effects of the 
Mississippi floods. A number of lakes are interspersed through it, with 

' Foster's Pre-Historic Races, etc., p. 186. 



THE GEE AT MOUND AT CAHOKIA. 57 

fine high banks ; these abound in fish, and in autumn are visited by 
millions of wild fowl. 

"There is perhaps no spot in the western country, capable of being 
more highly cultivated, or of giving support to a more numerous 
population, than this valley. If any vestige of ancient population were 
to bo found, this would be the place to search for it ; accordingly this 
tract, as also the bank of the river on the western side, exhibits proofs 
of an immense population. If the city of Philadelphia and its environs 
weie deserted, there would not be more numerous traces of human 
existence. 

"The great number of mounds, and the astonishing quantity of human 
bones everywhere dug up, or found on the surface of the ground with 
a thousand other appearances, announce that this valley was at one 
period filled with habitations and villages. The whole face of the bluff, or 
hill which bounds it on the east, appears to have been a continued burying 
ground. But the most remarkable appearances are two groups of mounds 
or pyramids, the one about ten miles above Cahokia, and the other 
nearly the same distance below it, which in all exceed one hundred and fifty 
of various sizes. The western side also contains a considerable number. 

"A more minute description of those above Cahokia, which I visited in 
the fall of 1811, will give a tolerable idea of them all. I crossed the 
Mississippi at St. Louis, and after passing through the wood which 
borders the river, about a half a mile in width, entered on an extensive 
plain. 

"In fifteen minutes I found myself in the midst of a group of mounds, 
mostly of a circular shape and at a distance, resembling enormous haystacks 
scattered through a meadow: one of the largest, which I ascended, was 
about two hundred paces in circumference at the bottom, the form nearly 
square, though it had evidently undergone considerable alteration from 
the washing of rains ; the top was level, with an area sufiicient to contain 
several hundred men. The prospect from this mound was very beautiful ; 
looking towards the bluffs, which are dimly seen at the distance of^six 
or eight miles, the bottom at this place being very wide, I had a level 
plain before me, bound by islets of wood, and a few solitary trees : to 
the right the prairie is bounded by the horizon ; to the left, the course 
of the Cahokia may be distinguished by the margin of wood upon its 
banks, and crossing the valley diagonally S. S. W. Around me, I 
counted forty-five mounds or pjnramids, besides a great number of small 
artificial elevations : these mounds form something more than a semi- 
circle, about a mile in extent, the open space on the river. 



58 AECH^OLOGY. 

"Pursuing my Aval k along the bank of tlie Ctiliokia, I passed eight 
others in the distance of three miles, before I arrived at the largest 
assemblage. When I reached the foot of the principnl mound, I was 
struck with a degree of astonishment not unlike that which is experienced 
in contemplating the Egyptian Pyramids. AVhat a stupendous pile of 
earth ! To heap up such a mass must have required years, and the labor 
of thousands. It stands immediately on the bank of the Cahokia, and 
on the side next it, is covered with lofty trees. Were it not for the 
regularity and design which it manifests, the circumstances of its being 
on alluvial ground, and the other mounds scattered around it, we would 
scarcely believe it the work of human hands. 

"The shape is that of a parallelogram standing from north to south ; on 
the south side there is a broad apron or step, about halfway down, and 
from this another projection into the plain, about fifteen feet wide, which 
was probably intended as an ascent to the mound. By stepping around 
the base I computed the circumference to be at least eight hundred 
yards, and the height of the mound about ninety feet. The step or 
apron has been used as a kitchen-garden by the monks of La Trappe, 
settled near this, and the top is sowed with wheat. Nearly west there 
is another of a smaller size, and forty others scattered through the 
plain. Two are also seen on the bluff at the distance of three miles. 
Several of these mounds are almost conical. As the sward had been 
burnt, the earth was perfectly naked, and I could trace with ease any 
unevenness of surface, so as to discover whether it was artificial or 
accidental. 

"I everywhere observed a great number of small elevations of earth to 
the height of a few feet, at regular distances from each other, and which 
appeared to observe some order ; near them I also observed pieces of 
flint and fragments of earthen vessels. I concluded that a populous 
town had once existed here, similar to those of Mexico described by the 
first conquerors. The mounds were sites of temples or monuments to 
gTeat men. 

"It is evident this could never have been the work of thinly-scattered 
tribes. If the human species had at any time been permitted in this 
country to have increasecl freely, and there is every probability of the 
fact, it must, as in Mexico, have become astonishingly numerous. The 
same space of ground would have sufficed to maintain fifty times the 
number of the present inhabitants, with ease, their agriculture having no 
other object than mere sustenance. Among a numerous population, the 
power of the chief must necessarily be more absolute, and where there 



CEKEMONIES OF THE Sim-WOESHIPPEES. 59 

are no .laws, degenerates into despotism. This was the case in Mexico, 
and in the nations of South America, A great number of individuals 
were at the disposal of the chief, who treated them little better than 
slaves. The smaller the society, the greater the consequence of each 
individual. Hence, there would not be wanting a sufficient number of 
hands to erect mounds or pyramids." 

The largest mound of the Cahokia group, thus described by Bracken- 
ridge, is now known as Monks' Mound, on account of its having* been 
occupied in early days by a colony of monks of the order of La Trappe. 
This prodigious temple site, as before remarked, is the best represent- 
ative of its class in the United States, not only on account of its vast 
size, but also because it is the most finished model of all similar works 
which can with any degree of certainty be determined as temple mounds. 
The Teocallis of Mexico and the regions further south, though finished 
with stone, are of the same form, with graded ascents, or flights of steps, 
leading to the broad stage, or level top, at one end of which rose 
another elevation, upon which stood the most holy temple and sacred 
altars. 

Upon these burned the perpetual fire, to be extinguished only at the 
close of the year, and rekindled by the sun himself, as his rising beams 
were concentrated by the high pries^ts, when the new year began. This 
event was always observed with the greatest solemnity. 

When the sacred flame expii-ecl upon the altars, with the dying year, 
the whole land was filled with gloom, and the fire upon every domestic 
hearth must be extingui^^hed also. Then the people satr down in awful 
suspense to watch for the morning. Possibly their father, the sun, 
might be angry with his children, and veil his glory behind the clouds at 
the coming dawn. Then as they thought of their sins and bewailed 
their transgressions, their fears were expressed in loud hmientations. But 
as the expected dawn — the momentous time — approaches, all eyes are 
turned towards the holy mount where the now fireless altars stand. At 
length the eastern sky begins to glow with a golden light Avhich tells 
them that their god is near, and, while they watch, he rolls in splendor 
from behind the eastern hills, and darts his fiery beams upon the sacred 
place where holy men are waiting to ignite anew the sacriticial fires. 
Nor do they wait in vain, for soon the curling smoke and the signal 
flames are seen by the breathless multitude which fill the plains below, 
and then one Ions;, o-Jad shout is heard, and songs of jov salute the 
bright new year. Swift-footed messengers receive the new-lit tire from 



60 . AECH^OLOGY. 

the hands of the priests, quickly it is distributed to the waiting throng 
and carried exiiltingly to their several homes, when all begin the joyful 
celebration of the feast of the Sun. 

The peaceful tribes who once dwelt in this region of the Mississippi 
Viilley, upon either shore, found no quarries of stone of easy cleavage, 
or which could be wrought with their simple tools for the erection of 
their edifices. Doubtless wood was the only material at their command', 
or possibly smi-di-ied brick. The dust of their temples is gone with that 
of their builders ; their altars are crumbled — the sacred fire is extin- 
guished, which the sun shall nevermore rekindle. But the proud monu- 
ment of their national solemnities still rears aloft its majestic form in the 
midst of a vast alluvial plain of exhaustless fertility — a grand memorial 
of days more ancient than the last migration of the Aztec race to the 
plains of Anahuac, who found there the very same structures, which 
they appropriated and by which they perpetuated the worship of the 
land of their fathers as well as that of the people whom they subjugated. 
It is not unreasonable to suppose that when, from its elevated summit, 
the smoke of the yearly sacrifice ascended in one vast column heaven- 
ward, from the great work above described, that it was the signal for 
simultaneous sacrifices from lesser altars throughout the whole length of 
the great plain, in the centre of which it stands, and that the people 
upon the Missouri shore responded with answering fires from those 
high places which once stood upon the western bank of the river, but are 
now destroj'ed. 

Here, we may well believe was the holy city, to which the tribes made 
annual pilgrimages to celebrate the national feasts and sacrifices. But 
not here alone ; for this vast homogeneous race, one in arts and worship, 
had the same high and holy places, though of less imposing magnitude, 
in the valley of the Ohio, in Alabama, and Mississippi. 

In south-east Missouri, at New Madrid, is a similar work, surrounded 
by a ditch ten feet in width and five in depth. It is twelve hundred feet 
in circumference and forty feet in height. Among the ruins of almost 
every ancient town lying back from the river, upon bayous and smaller 
streams, may be found the oblong Temple-mound, which is always the 
highest work of the group, and commands a view of the whole. 

There are some who profess to believe that the Indians are the degen- 
erate sons of the authors of these extensive and complicated works. But 
when it is remembered that their languages, which are divided into many 
groups, present very few affinities which are common to all, and the 
dialects into which these groups are further divided are, many of them, 



THE MOUND-BUILDEES. 61 

SO distantly related as to show that the various tribes must have been 
separated from the parent stock in times very remote ; and when we 
take into the account also, the wonderful unity of the race of the mounds, 
as displayed in their works and worship, and the vast extent of territory 
they occupied, it will be seen that such a supposition involves an antiquity 
of the red race, which its most ardent defenders will find difficult to 
harmonize with the recognized facts. 

To my own mind the evidence is clear that the two peoples were as 
distinct as the Greeks and Romans. That the exodus of the mound- 
builders occupied long periods of time, is altogether probable, and com- 
prised several distinct migrations, to the south and southwest, which were 
brought about by the continued encroachments of the more warlike and 
savage hordes from the north and northwest. Here and there, no doubt, 
small bands were enslaved or absorbed by their conquerors, who adopted 
some of the customs of the subjugated race, particularly those pertaining 
to their worship, the traces of which are often well defined, — the practice 
of which was continued by a few Indian tribes as late as the beginning of 
the present century. 

If the views here presented are correct, it will be apparent that the 
Temple-mounds are invested with an interest peculiar to themselves, in 
as much as they give us an insight to the social and political condition of 
the ancient inhabitants of the State of Missouri and the Mississippi 
Valley, which can be gained from no other class of works. It will also 
be perceived that we have barely entered upon a most interesting field of 
research, which will well repay a careful and thorough examination. 



CHAPTEE Vm. 

Garden Mounds. — The Food of the Pke-historic Eaces. — Fish Probably one op their 
Main Resources. — The Use of the Ditches within their City Walls.— Domestic 
Animals.— Agriculture.— Religious Systems.— Dissimilarity between Northern 
AND Southern Tribes of Indians.— Traces of Aztec Culture among the Latter. — 
Vast Numbers of the Garden Mounds.— Proofs of their Purpose.— The Utah 
Mounds.— Interesting Discoveries. — Anew Variety of Wheat grown from Ker- 
nels found Therein.— An Opening for Further Researches. 

The foregoing evidences of an ancient people swarming in prodigious 
numbers throughout the vast territory in which these works abound, and 
who had their permanent dwellings in towns and cities which were well 
arranged and constructed with no mean skill, suggest the most interest- 
ing question, How did they subsist? The importance of this question is 
realized when we remember that it lies at the foundation of their whole 
social fabric ; and in fact, once determined, the answer becomes one of 
the chief exponents of their physical condition, intellectual capacity and, 
in a good degree, of their moral status as well. Many of the staple arti- 
cles of food upon which all civilized nations depend for subsistence are 
only to be procured by intelligent labor, guided by a plan and forethought 
which are the result of a more or less extended observation of nature's 
la w.>= . 

Here were large cities ; then here also must have been trade and com- 
merce of some sort. Merchandise may not have been bartered for gold 
and silver, but more likely — as was the case with the Peruvians — the 
products of the field, the fold, or the chase, were exchanged for those 
of the workshop and domestic handicraft. Again : their means of sup- 
port must have been so certain and reliable, and withal so abundant, that 
large numbers of the people could be emploj^ed continuously upon those 
monuments of their industry which they have left behind for our admira- 
tion. The probability that fish formed no inconsiderable item of their 
food supply has already been suggested. The name of our great river, 
which it is thought has come down to us from their time— JVemesi-sipu, 
which means Eiver of Fish — if it be true, bears Avitness to this. The 
prodigious shell heaps along the southern coast, from Florida to the 
mouth of the Mississippi, may also be noticed as evidence of the fact 
that they were not unskillfid fishermen. These accumulations of 
the refuse of their kitchens have often proved peculiarly interesting 
and instructive, inasmuch as they abound in numerous relics which, 



TOWNS OF PKE-HISTOKIC AMERICANS. 63 

under other circumstances would have been destroyed. The shell heaps 
of the Baltic coast are complete zoological museums of the fauna 
of the period when they were formed, containing, as they do, the 
bones of many animals long since extinct in those regions, and pre- 
sentino; also the bones of the few domestic animals which were the com- 
panions of man in that remote period. 

The most important sites of the toAvns of the pre-historic Americans 
are found upon the shores of lakes or banks of rivers, and generally — 
though not always — contiguous to, or upon extensive areas of fertile 
land. We are not compelled to suppose, however, that they were always 
inflnenced by agricultural considerations in the location of their permanent 
homes, for the ruins of some towns have been observed upon the sandy 
beaches of lakes, and where, too, there was no fertile land near, which 
was suitable for agricultural purposes. It is, therefore, natural to sup- 
pose that the inhabitants of towns so situated were fishermen. 

The wide, deep ditches on the inside walls of some of their enclosures 
have called forth much speculation as to their purpose. It has generally 
been assumed that the walls which enclosed their towns, were erected 
for defensive purposes. But the puzzle has been about the location 
of the ditch along the base of the wall within the enclosures. According 
to all our notions of warfare, the ditch — to serve any defensive purpose 
— should have been outside the walls. Moreover, many of the walled 
towns were so situated in valleys, which were overlooked by the near 
hills which surrounded them, as to be totally incapable of defense in any 
kind of known warfare. The theory, therefore, that this inside ditch 
was one of their means of defense, seems hardly satisfactory. I have 
somewhere met with the statement that there Avas a tradition to 
the effect that the ditches were receptacles for water, or rather, 
artificial channels for water conducted from the natural streams near 
which the towns were located, thereby furnishing the inhabitants with a 
constant and flowing supply. Without stopping to discuss the question, 
it may be remarked that the idea seems altogether probable, and their 
construction for such a purpose a very natural thing to do, while the 
control of the stream, by gates and locks, would require no greater en- 
gineering skill than they have displayed in their more durable works. 
They would also have been specially adapted to the culture of fish, or 
they may have been the receptacles for their winter's supply. Speculative 
as the above may appear, it is certainly as rational as the notion that 
the inside ditch contributed in any way to their defense against the 
attacks of their foes. 



64 AKCH^OLOGY. 

What sort of domestic animals, if any, were reared by the ancient 
inhabitants of Missouri, we have no knowledge; but there can be very 
little doubt that game was abundant and that they were successful in the 
chase. There is satisfactory evidence that the huge Mastodon was their 
cotemporary whose bones are so abundant in our alhivial plains ; and also 
that he was conquered and slain by their seemingly feeble weapons. I 
have myself exhumed from the ruins of one of those towns fragments of 
the vertebral column of the buffalo. ; 

However all this may have been, concerning their agricultural skill, 
we are not left to conjecture ; and we may confidently assert that their 
main dependence for subsistence was upon the labors of the husbandman. 
They worshipped the sun, and invoked his benign influence upon the 
occurrence of the great annual festival when their crops were sown in the 
spring; and when these were gathered, in the autumn they offered up 
the first fruits to him as lord of the harvest. 

That this was their custom we may with confidence assume ; nor is it, 
indeed, mere assumption. The largest of these structures — the Temple 
Mounds — are found to be precisely similar in form and character to those 
of Mexico ; and the Spanish historians have given the fullest accounts of 
the manner in which their religious exercises were performed upon their 
summits, or in the temples which crowned the Teocallis. And as the be- 
lief prevails that the builders of these were of the same race as the Mound- 
builders, and probably their descendants, it becomes almost certain that 
structures of the same form in both countries were erected for the same 
uses and ceremonies. If it be true, as we believe, that when the great 
majority of the race of the Mound-builders had been destroyed, or driven 
from their habitations in the Mississippi Valley, some of whom are 
known to have migrated to the southwest — some remnants of the tribes re- 
mained, and were absorbed by their conquering successors, then we might 
expect to find some of the customs of their fathers still practiced by those 
who were left behind ; and more particularly, those pertaining to their 
religious rites and manner of providing for their subsistence. The 
student of the history of the red men cannot fail to notice the^ fact that 
a few of the southern tribes possessed traits and customs peculiar to 
themselves, and in which they differed widely from those of the north 
and east. The former had a complicated and well-arranged system of 
religious worship, with the perpetual fire of the altars ; also a line of 
priests or prophets, who enjoined seasons of rigorous fasting, and con- 
ducted the exercises upon the occasions of their festivities. The former 
can scarcely be said to have had any religious system or belief. Mr. 



ANCIENT METHODS OF AGEICULTUEE. 65 

Adair has given a detailed account of the religious rites aud ceremonies 
which were once practiced by a few southern tribes among whom he re- 
sided for many years ; and so impressed was he with their imposing and 
multifarious ceremonials that he believed they must have derived their 
system from the Jews. 

The dissimilarity between the tribes of the south and those of other lo- 
calities was equally striking in their manner of house-building, sports 
and games. The former had fixed habitations, in towns with streets aud 
public squares, and a love of home, with various other characteristics 
which belong to a higher civilization than the nomadic tribes of red men 
ever possessed. 

But perhaps in no one thing was the dissimilarity more strongly ex- 
pressed than in the methods of agriculture. The author quoted above 
speaks of having seen deserted cornfields seven miles in extent, and we 
know that they raised quite a variety of crops, and in abundance, chief 
among which was maize. Among the now numerous and roving tribes we 
discover only a methodless and scanty agriculture. 

The ancient garden beds supposed to belong to the Mound-builders, 
which in some instances are several hundred acres in extent, have fre- 
quently been noticed in several of the Western States.. These are said 
to have been laid out in straight parallel rows or drills across the fields ; 
but as none have been found in Missouri, as far as I am informed, they 
need not be dwelt upon in this connection. 

There are evidences of tilling the soil, of quite a novel character, which 
still exist in prodigious numbers, not only in Missouri but also in other 
regions west of the Mississippi. I have heard of very few east of that 
river. These works consist of low circular elevations, generally two or 
three feet above the level of the natural surface of the soil, with diame- 
ters varying from ten to sixty feet; all are round, or nearly so, sloping 
off gently around the edges. All that I have seen among the Ozark hills 
are composed of black alluvial soil, and disclosed, when excavated, no 
implement or relic of any sort. Their presence may always be detected 
in cultivated fields when covered with growing crops, by the more luxuri- 
ant growth and deeper green of the vegetation. They abound in all the 
little valleys among the flinty hills of the Ozarks, from Pulaski County, 
Missouri, to the Gulf of Mexico, and westward to the Colorado in 
Texas, and as far north as Iowa. Their size in the hilly regions seems 
to have been determined by the amount of rich vegetable mold which 
could be scraped together in a given spot. Eesidence sites they could 
not have been, or they would have contained some relic of stone or bone, 
5 



66 AUCH^OLOGY. 

or fragment of pottery, or at least the ashes of the family fire. To 
enable the reader to form some idea of their prodigious numbers, I can 
do no better than give the remarks of Prof. Forshey, as quoted by Dr. 
Foster, in his "Pre-historic Eaces of the United States," which I take it, 
refer to the same class. 

Says Prof. Forshey: "In my geological reconnoisance of Louisiana, 
in 1841-2, I made a pretty thorough report upon them. I afterwards 
gave a verbal description of their extent and character before the New 
Orleans Academy of Sciences. These mounds lack every evidence of 
artiticial construction, based on other human vestiges. They are nearly 
all round, none angular, and have an elevation hemispheroidal, of one foot 
to five feet, and a diameter from thirty feet to one hundred and forty 
feet. They are numbered by millions. In many places in the pine forests, 
they are to be seen nearly tangent to each other as far as the eye can 
reach, thousands being visible from an elevation of a few feet. On the 
gulf marsh margin, from the Vermillion to the Colorado, they appear 
barely visible, often flowing into one another, and only elevated a few 
inches above the common level. A few miles interior they rise to two 
and even four feet in height. The largest I ever saw were perhaps 
one hundred and forty feet in diameter and five feet high. These 
were in Western Louisiana; some had abrupt sides, though they 
are nearly all of gentle slopes." He further states that he "encount- 
ered hundreds of these mounds between Galveston and Houston, and 
between tlie Red river and Ouicita; that they were so numerous as to 
forbid the supposition of their having been the foundations of human 
habitations ; that the burrowing animals common to the region piled 
up no such heaps ; and finally, that the Avinds, while capable of 
accumulating loose materials, never distribute them in the manner 
above mentioned." In conclusion he adds : " In utter desperation I cease 
to trouble myself about their origin and call them inexplicable mounds." ^ 

Fom all that can be learned about them, I see no reason to doubt that 
they were erected for agricultural purposes, and have therefore pre- 
sumed to name them Garden Mounds. 

It would seem perfectly natural, in a sterile country, and where the in- 
habitants had few materials for artificial fertilization, to gather into 



^ The Professor adds, that " there is ample testhnony that the pine trees of the present 
forests ante-date these mounds." What the testimony is lie does not say. If they are the 
work of the Indians, then we must believe them to have been vastly more umerous than 
any other facts hitherto known would lead us to suppose. 



GAKDEN MOUNDS. 67 

heaps the thui vegetable mold upon the surface, thus increasiug its 
richness and capacity for retaining moisture. But the question may be 
asked, why should the same practice be necessary in the prairies and 
bottom lands, the richness of which is proverbial and inexhaustible. 
For the answer, we are not left to conjecture. 

In the rich lowlands of the west, the chief difficulty is too much moia- 
ture, especially in seasons of unusual rain-fall. This, the corn-raisers in 
the American bottom know from repeated experience. Hence, acres of 
corn are often utterly ruined in such seasons, when planted upon low and 
level fields which have not ample artificial or natural drainage : when, 
had the earth been raised a few inches even in drills or mounds, such as 
have been described, a good crop would have been secured. An Intelli- 
o-ent Iowa planter informed me that he had often seen this demonstrated 
in corn-fields which were filled with these mounds. The low ground be- 
tween them, if the season were unusually rainy, would yield no returns, 
while upon the mounds themselves the crop would be excellent. From 
these considerations, there can be but little doubt that the garden mounds 
were raised for the better cultivation of maize, which was doubtless the 
staple article of ancient husbandry. But w^e are not to suppose, however, 
that this was the only kind of grain known to the pre-historic Americans ; 
for evidence is not wanting that, in some sections at le-ast, they cultivated 
wdieat, and deposited it, along with those articles which were deemed 
most precious, in the tombs of their loved ones. Thus — thanks to their 
affectionate care in the disposition of the dead, — it has been preserved 
for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years ; and, like the few small 
grains in the hand of the Egyptian mummy, when brought forth to the 
sunlight and moisture, has germinated and ripened, and furnished 
us with a variety unknown before. 

From an interesting account of certain mounds in Utah, communicated 
by Mr. Amasa Potter to the Eureka Sentinel, of Nevada, as copied by 
The Western Review of Science and Industry, I make the following 
extracts : 

■ " The mounds are situated on what is known as the Payson Farm, 
and are six in number, covering about twenty acres of ground. They 
are from ten to eighteen feet in height, and from 500 to 1,000 feet 
in circumference." "The explorations divulged no hidden treasure so far, 
but have proved to us that there once undoubtedly existed here a more 
enllo'htened race of human beings than that of the Indian who inhabited 
this country, and whose records have been traced back hundreds of 
years." " While engaged in excavating one of the larger mounds, we 



68 AKCH^OLOGY 

discovered the feet of a large skeleton, and carefully removing the hard- 
ened earth in which it was embedded, we succeeded in unearthing a large 
skeleton without injury. The human framework measured six feet, six 
inches in length, and from appearances it was undoubtedly that of a male. 
In the right hand was a large iron or steel weapon, which had been buried 
with the body, but which crumbled to pieces on handling. Near the 
skeleton we also fouad pieces of cedar wood, cut in various fantastic 
shapes, and in a state of perfect preservation ; the carving showing that 
the people of this unknown race were acquainted with the use of edged 
tools. We also found a large stone pipe, the stem of which was inserted 
between the teeth of the skeleton. The bowl of the pipe weighs live 
ounces, and is made of sandstone ; and the aperture for tobacco had the 
appearance of having been drilled out." " We found another skeleton 
near that of the above mentioned, which was not quite as large, and must 
be that of a woman. There was a neatly carved tombstone near the 
head of this skeleton. Close by, the floor was covered with a hard 
cement, to all appearances a part of the solid rock, which, after patient 
labor and exhaustive work, we succeeded in penetrating, and found it 
was but the corner of a box, similarly constructed, in which we found 
about three pints of wheat kernels, most of which was dissolved when 
brought in contact with the air. A few of the kernels found in the 
center of the heap looked bright, and retained their freshness on being 
exposed. These were carefully preserved, and last spring planted and 
grew nicely. We raised four and a half pounds of heads from these 
grains. The wheat is unlike any other raised in this country, and pro- 
duces a large yield. It is the club variet}^ ; the heads are very long and 
hold very large grains." "We find houses in all the mounds, the rooms 
of which are as perfect as the day they were built. All the apartments 
are nicely plastered, some in white, others in red color. Crockery ware, 
cooking utensils, vases — many of a pattern similar to the present age — 
are also found. Upon one large stone jug or vase can be traced a per- 
fect delineation of the mountains near here for a distance of twenty 
miles. We have found several millstones used for grinding corn, and 
plenty af charred corn-cobs, with kernels not unlike what we know as 
yellow dent corn. We judge from our observations that those ancient 
dwellers of our country followed agriculture for a livelihood, and had 
many of the arts and sciences known to us, as we found molds made of 
clay for casting difl'erent implements, needles made of deer-horns, and 
lasts made of stone, and which were in good shape. We also found 
many trinkets, such as white stone beads and marbles as good as made 



THE UTAH MOUNDS. 69 

now ; also small squares of polished stones resembling dominoes, but for 
what nse intended we cannot determine." 

The above account we see no reason to discredit, and can only wish 
that the examinations had been more thorough and the account more 
explicit as to dimensions of rooms and other details. From what is 
stated, however, we. conclude that the authors of these works could not 
have belonged to the present Indian race, but were undoubtedly of the 
mound-building people of the Mississippi Valley. It is, at least, a most 
interesting discovery, and they may belong to a series of structures 
which shall yet reveal the history of their migrations. That there were 
two if not three, distinct and widely separated southward movements, 
in point of time, of the pre-historic race, has already been suggested ; and 
the Utah mounds may belong to that class which upon further investiga- 
tion shall furnish the clue to one of the routes pursued, and lead to its 
demonstration. Should the conjecture as to their authorship be verified, 
a new chapter of unusual interest in the history of the Mound-builders 
will be opened for our perusal ; and we may reasonably hope for much 
valuable information concerning the character and extent of their agri- 
culture, their esthetic taste, and their knowledge of the industrial arts ; 
and we may find that, in most respects, their social condition was in no 
wise inferior to that of Mexico and Peru. The wood-caiwing, plastered 
and tinted walls, painted vases, and the presence of that most precious 
of all cereals, wheat, are new and striking evidences of a higher social 
state than we have hitherto thought possible, whose luxury and refine- 
ment were but. the presage of a nobler civilization which found its 
realization and full development in Central and South America, or bj 
some dire calamity was overwhelmed and destroyed. 



CHAPTEE IX 

Miscellaneous Works— IIistokical or National Festival Mounds.— Stone Struc- 
tures.— Ruins ON the Gasconade River.— Group near Louisiana, Mo.— Some Indiana 
Relics.— Cremation Chambers.— Proofs of Architectural Knowledge.— Great 
Canals Ante-datixg the Erie.— Ancient Counterparts of Modern Achievements. 
—Our Southern " Bayous " of artificial Origin. 

The works to be described under the head of Historical, or National 
Festival Mounds have already been noticed. A representation of one 
of this class is given on page 30. (Fig. 9.) It consists of three 
embankments placed in a triangular form, enclosing a central monnd 
which is also enclosed by a circle of small elevation. The ends of 
the embankments do not meet, however, but narrow openings are 
left at the lines of intersection, and in these openings are found small 
truncated mounds. Sometimes, we are told, the group is composed 
of two parallel walls, but oftener of three, in triangular position 
as just described ; while some have been seen which had four embank- 
ments arranged in the form of a square ; all, however, containing the 
central mound with its enclosing circle. 

These groups have generally been thought to be defensive works. As 
far as known, none have been seen south of Missouri, but it is said they 
frequently occur in the States of Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, and some in ' 
Illinois. In the latter two States the usual form is square, while in Iowa 
and Missouri the triangular arrangement is most frequent. As the walls 
are generally of no great height, they are among the first to be leveled 
by the plough. But, of whatever form or size, there seems always to 
have been observed in their construction a fixed rule in the relative size 
of the several parts, whose uniformity invests them with an interest 
peculiar to themselves. The group figured on page 30, though found in 
Iowa, was selected for description because this form is said to have been 
of most frequent occurrence in Missouri. 

It will be remembered that the embankments which form the sides of 
the triangle were each one hundred and forty-four feet in length, and 
respectively three, four and five feet in height, and twelve feet in diame- 
ter. The sum of the heights of the embankments is twelve feet, which 
is the exact height of the central mound. These multiplied together 
equal the length of the embankments — one hundred and forty-four feet. 
In all which have been described, the same relation of the several parts 
is observed. The embankments are always of equal length, but never 



HISTOEICAL OR NATIONAL FESTIVAL MOUNDS. . 71 

of the same height, while the sum of the heights — whether the «Toup is 
composed of three or four — always equals the height of the central 
mound, and the product of both gives the length of the embankments. 
The tradition concerning them is, that they were erected to perpetuate 
the union of two or more tribes ; the number forming the compact is 
recorded by the number of embankments, and their relative power by 
the height of each. The circle in the center of the enclosure was known 
as the festival circle, and the small mounds in the angles, or openino-g, 
were matrimonial mounds. To these works the confederated tribes 
made annual visits, to celebrate the event of their union with sinaino-, 
dancing and feasting, and a great variety of festive games, which were 
performed within the enclosure. The national union thus celebrated was 
further cemented on these occasions by intermarriages among the mem- 
bers of the difterent tribes, which took place at the matrimonial mounds. 
The central mound was known as the union mound, and on festival occa- 
sions was occupied conjointly by the chiefs and prophets of each nation, 
who presided during the celebration. Concerning the relative ao-e of 
this class of works nothing is known, and though the tradition above 
given may be regarded as having no weight or importance, it is quite 
clear that all conjecture concerning them is equally valueless. 

The early Avriters upon the antiquities of Missouri make frequent men- 
tion of the ruins of buildings which were constructed of unhewn stone, 
and whose walls were said to have been built up with creditable skill and 
strength, though without durable mortar, if indeed any were used. 

Of this kind of structure, the examples are very rare east of the Mis- 
sissippi. Whether any are now to be found in any good degree of preser- 
vation is quite doubtful. I will present, therefore, such facts concernino- 
them as can be gleaned from the most trustworthy accounts of early 
writers. The first to be noticed are thus described by Mr. Lewis C. 
Beck, who, after speaking of the pine timber which abounded fifty or 
sixty years ago along the Gasconade river, and the saw mills erected 
upon its banks by which the lumber was prepared for the St. Louis 
market, goes on to state that "near the saw mills, and at a short dis- 
tance from the road leading from them to St. Louis, are the ruins of an 
ancient town. It appears to have been regularly laid out, and the dimen- 
sions of the squares, streets, and some of the houses can yet be discov- 
ered. Stone walls are found in different parts of the area, which are 
frequently covered by large heaps of earth. Again, a stone work exists, 
as I am informed by Gen. Ashley, about ten miles below the mills. It 



72* AKCH^OLOGY. 

is on the west side of the Gasconade, and is about 25 or 30 feet square; 
and, although at present in a dilapidated condition, appears to have been 
built with an uncommon degree of regularity. It is situated on a high 
bald cliff, which commands a fine and extensive view of the country on 
all sides. From this stone work is a small foot-path running a devious 
course down the cliff to the entrance of a cave, in which was found a 
quantity of ashes. The mouth of the cave commands an easterly view. 

"It would be useless at this time to hazard an opinion with regard to 
the uses of this work, or the beings who erected it. In connection with 
those of a similar kind which exist on the Mississippi, it forms an inter- 
esting subject for speculation. They evidently form a distinct class of 
ancient works, of which I have, as yet, seen no description." 

Another group, described by the same author, was located about two 
miles southwest of the town of Louisiana. " They are built of stone, Avith 
great regularity, and their site is high and commanding, from which I am 
led to infer thtit thej^ Avere intended for places of defence. Works of a 
similar kind are found on Buffalo creek, and on the Osage river. They 
certainly form a class of antiquities entirely distinct from the walled 
towns, fortifications, barrows, or mounds. The regularity of their form 
and structure favors the conclusion that they were the work of a more 
civilized race than those who erected the former — a race familiar with 
the rules of architecture, and perhaps with a perfect system of warfare." 
The description of those Avorks located near Louisiana is accompanied 
by a ground-plan or diagram made by the Eev. S. Giddings, a former 
clergyman of St. Louis, of which Fig. 1 is an exact copy. 

DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DIAGRAM. 

a, 6, c, d. outer wall, 18 inches in thickness; length, 56 feet; breadth, 22 feet. The 
walls are built of rough, unhewn stone, and appear to have been constructed with 
remarkable regularity. 

J7 is a chamber three feet in width, which was no doubt arched the whole way, as 
some part of the arch still remains. It is made in the manner represented at 3, and is 
seldom moi-e than five feet above the surface of the ground: but as iUis filled with 
rubbish it is impossible to say what was its original height. 

jp" is a chamber four feet mde, and in some places the remains of a similar arch stiJ 
remain. 

G^ is a chamber 12 feet in width, at the extremity of which are the remains of afurna ■■ , 

II is a large room with two entrances, I and K. It is covered with a thick growf;i ■ ' 
trees. The walls are at present from two to five feet in height. One of the trees ' 
work is two feet in diameter. 2 is a smaller work about W,';ods due east from the former. 

A and C are two chambers without anj)- apparent commJ nication with JS. 

5 is a room nearly circular, with an entrance. 

In the apartment (?, human bones have been found. 




Fig. I. — Ancient Works near Louisia 



74 AECH^OLOGY. 

The stone edifices thus described seem to have been peculiar to Mis- 
souri alone, as I find no notices of existing simihir works in any other 
locality, unless those described by Mr. Brown in his Western Gazetteer 
were such. Those were found near the town of Harrisonville, Franklin 
Co., in the State of Indiana. They were located on the neighboring 
hills, northeast of the town. The ruins of quite a number were observed, 
all of which, it is stated, were built of rough, unhewn stone. The wtdls 
were levelled nearly to the foundations, and covered with soil, brush and 
full-grown trees. Mr. Brown informs us that " after clearing away the 
earth, roots and rubbish from one of them, he found it to have been 
anciently occupied as a dwelling. It was about twelve feet square. At 
one end of the building was a regular hearth, on which were yet the 
ashes and coals of the last fire its owners had ever enjoyed, for around 
the hearth were the decayed skeletons of eight persons, of different ages, 
from a small child to the head of a family. Their feet were all pointing 
towards the hearth, which fact suggests the probability that they were, 
murdered while asleep." The bottom lands in this region are said to 
have abounded in mounds similar to those described elsewhere, and con-: 
taining human bones, implements of stone, and a superior article of glazed | 
pottery. A skull taken from one of them was found pierced with a flint 
arrow which was still sticking in the wound, and was about six inches 
long. The stone dwellings described by Mr. Brown were evidently of 
inferior construction to those of Missouri. The authors of the latter 
showed no mean skill in architecture ; while the rough and ruder walls 
of the Indiana structures, their diminutive size, along with the fact of 
the whole family lying together on the floor, would indicate a social con- 
dition but little removed from barbarism. Whether their builders 
belonged to the race of the mounds in the valleys near, is not certain, 
and the means of deciding the question are doubtless destroyed. 

Upon a recent visit to the site of the works near Lousiana, Mo., 
described by Mr. Beck, I found only a confused heap of stones, the walls 
thrown down and the stones scattered in every direction. The view from 
the summit of the hill where the building once stood was very extensive 
and lovely. Mr. Levi Pettibone, now ninety-seven years of age, and 
Mr. Edwin Draper, — both gentlemen having resided in the neigborhood 
of the work for nearly half a century — confirmed the account given by 
Mr. Beck, in every important particular.^ 



1 Mr. Stillman, the obliging and gentlemanly proprietor of the Laclede Hotel at Lou- 
isiana, also gave me much valuable information. He stated that formerly there existed 



STONE STKUCTUKES. 75 

III the February number of the Western lieviev; of the present year, 
appears quite a lengthy article, by Judge E. P. West, containing an 
account of the examination of several mounds near the Missouri river 
which contained "buried chambers, or vaults, built of stone, compactly 
and regularly laid." The stones, which are undressed on the inside, are 
laid horizontally, and apparently have been selected with great care, the 
walls presenting, whpn the earth is removed, a smooth inner face. The 
chambers were generally of uniform size, being about eight and one half 
feet square and four feet in height. Each had an opening, or doorway, 
towards the south, two and a half feet in width. The walls Avere about 
eighteen inches in width at the top, and five feet at the base. Some are 
described as containing " a large quantity of burnt human and animal 
bones, burnt clay, wood ashes and charred wood, all intermingled and 
extending entirely over the floor, at one point to the depth of eight 
inches." Judge West seems to favor the opinion that they were used for 
dwellings, before the dead were interred in them. This was possibly the 
case; but the commingled mass of burnt bones, charred wood, and 
burnt clay to the depth of several inches, would point to funeral rites by 
cremation. A house eight and a half feet square and four feet high 
would be a very confined habitation for a family of ordinary size. It 
seems more in consonance with the facts as stated to suppose them to 
have been furnaces for consuming the dead by burning. The Judge 
computes their age to be about two thousand years. Other and similar 
structures have been described to me, and the localities of their sites 
named, by respectable persons who claimed to have opened them, of 
much larger dimensions than any above described, and which are stated 
to have contained large quantities of human bones and implements of 
stone. One, I was told, contained a vault at least one hundred and fifty 
feet in length, fifty feet wide and above twelve feet in height. Another, 



upon his land, at a distance of about half a mile from the work described, a stone heap 
of quite large dimensions, similar in its appearance to those noticed in a previous chap- 
ter and conjectured to have been of Indian origin. Having occasion to use the stones 
for the walls of a cistern, he caused them to be removed. At the bottom of the pile he 
found a level floor, composed of flat stones of various sizes, but joined together, as he 
expressed it, as closely and evenly as any mason could do it to-daj^. From these, and 
similar facts, I am led to believe that possibly many of those which appear- outwardlj'to 
be simply piles of stones loosely thrown together, and which are to be counted by- 
thousands upon the hills in various parts of the State, maj^ be the remains of the un- 
cemented walls of ancient habitations. And this conviction receives additional strength 
from the fact that recent explorations of manj^ earthen mounds have disclosed a vault, 
walled and arched with stone, — some of large dimensions, — with contents similar to 
those of Utah. 



76 . AUCH^OLOGY. 

much smaller, was beautifully arched with stone. At the time the nar- 
rator saw it, it was cleared of the decayed skeletons and was used as a 
dairy-house. The two just mentioned were in Missouri, and distant 
from each other one hundred and fifty miles. Again the question recurs 
Wlio built them; and whence their architectural skill and knowledge? 

Says Dr. Foster : " A broad chasm is to be spanned before we can 
link the Mound Builders to the North American Indians." There are 
some who attempt to do this, but the difficulties which beset the task are 
insurmountable to those who have examined, with any degree of thorough- 
ness, the evidences of the vastly superior civilization of the people who 
erected the stone structures found in Missouri, to that of the North 
American Indians, during any known period of their history ; and to 
such, the belief that they were the authors of the multitudinous monu- 
ments of the Missouri and Mississippi valleys, becomes altogether 
improbable. But if all this is inconclusive of the proposition we main- 
tain, what shall be said of the ancient canals, some of which still remain, 
the indubitable evidences of an extended inland communication between 
lakes, rivers and bayous, and also of an industry, enterprise and skill 
which would be creditabe to the scientific engineers of our own times? 
In many of the great achievments of this age of ours we are only recov- 
ering the knowledge and wisdom of the long-forgotten past. 

When Gov. Clinton, of New York, first proposed the construction of 
the Erie Canal, the idea was greeted with scorn and derision ; and as the 
work progressed it was characterized as "Clinton's Ditch," the opposers 
of the scheme little dreaming that it was to become the great channel for 
the commerce of the nation; connecting, as it does, the great chain of 
lakes in the far Northwest with the Atlantic Ocean. And not until a 
thousand freighted boats began to pour the rich treasures of the prairies 
into the lap of the East, was the far-seeing wisdom of its projector fully 
vindicated. Then men began to point to it with boasting congratulation, 
as an evidence of the rapid and surprising progress which we of the 
nineteenth century were achieving. But alas for human pride ! we are 
but slowly learning again what other nations, who lived in the morning 
of the historic period, knew, and the world had long ago forgotten. 

Again, when the French began the Suez Canal, "all the world won- 
dered "at the grandeur of the enterprise. But they soon found that 
they were only clearing out the sands of three or four thousand years' 
accumulation from the old pathway of the commerce of the Pharaohs, 
who had built the canal when Egypt was the storehouse of the nations. 
These came through the canal to her door, in great ships laden with the- 



SOUTHEKN "BAYOUS" OF AETIFICIAL OEIGm. 77 

riches of the Orient, which they exchanged for corn, and then sailed 
back from the Nile, and through the Red Sea to their homes again. 
But at length the scepter departed from the throne of the Pharaohs ; the 
temple colleges, to which the philosophers of Greece resorted for instruc- 
tion six hundred years before Christ, were closed, and crnmbled in decay 
— the desert snnds swept over their rnins ; the canal was filled and 
forgotten through all the long dark ages. At length commerce revives, 
and men begin to dig canals again, with vain-glorious pride. 

It is with nations as with individuals who are taken with some deadly 
disease, from which they barely escape with their lives. Though their 
strength returns, their memory is utterly oblivious to all they have ever 
learned from books, and so they must begin with the alphabet once more. 
Nations have their deadly maladies from which few recover, and for those 
which do, how long and unpromising is the tutilage of their second child- 
hood. History is repeated here. The pre-historic people of Missouri 
were not only great in populous towns, in their agriculture, in their huge 
piles of earth and embankments and buildings of stone, but they, too, 
were canal-builders. With surprising skill they developed a system of 
internal navigation, so connecting the lakes and bayous of the southern 
interior of the State, that the products of the soil found a ready outlet 
to the great river. The remains of these artificial water-courses have 
been frequently alluded to by travelers who have seen them, but. never 
thoroughly explored. Dr. G. C. Swallow, while at the head of the 
Geological Survey, called attention to them, and described one which was 
"fifty feet wide and twelve feet deep." For the fullest description of 
this class of works, I am indebted to Geo. W. Carleton, Esq., of 
Gayoso ; who, in response to a note of enquiry, — in addition to many 
interesting facts concerning a great number of ancient structures in 
Pemiscot County, — kindly furnished the following account, which I give 
in his own words : 

"Besides our Mounds, we can boast of ancient canals. Col. John H. 
Walker informed me that before the earthquakes, these canals — we call 
them bayous now — showed very plainly their artificial origin. Since the 
country has become settled, the land cleared up, the embankments along 
those water courses have been considerably leveled dowai. One of these 
canals is just east of the town of Gayoso. It now connects the flats of 
Big Lake with the Mississippi river. Before the bank crumbled otf, 
taking in Pemiscot bayou, it connected this bayou with the waters of Big- 
Lake. Another stream, thnt Col. Walker contended was artificial, is 
what we now call Cypress Bend Ba30U. He said that it w:is cut so as to 



78 AUCH^OLOGY. 

connect the waters of Cushion Lake with a bayou running into Big Lake. 
Cushion Lake lies in the northern part of Pemiscot county. The canal 
was cut from the flats of the lake on the south side, about three miles 
into Big Lake bayou. By this chain of canals, lakes and bayous, these 
ancient mound-builders and canal-diggers could have an inland naviga- 
tion from the Mississippi river at Gayoso, into and through Big Lake 
bayou and the canal into Cushion Lake, through Cushion Lake and a 
bayou into Collins Lake or the open bay, thence north through a lake 
and bayou some eight miles, where another canal tapped this water course 
and run east into the Mississippi river again, some five miles below the 
town of jS'ew Madrid. Col. Walker, in referring to these water-courses, 
spoke of them only as canals. They show even now a huge bank of 
earth, such as would be made by an excavation, on the side opposite to 
the river, so that in case of overflow the water from the river would not 
wash the excavated dirt back into the canal." 

Although in the foregoing account the present depth and width are not 
given, from it and from the reports of others, there can be no doubt that 
the ancient inhabitants had constructed with a skill which would do no 
discredit to our own engineers, a system of connecting canals which 
nuist have been necessitated by an extended internal trade, and which 
required boats of respectable dimensions. The evidences of work of 
such magnitude as canals, widen the "broad chasm" which is to be 
spanned before we can link the Mound-builders to the North American 
Indians, until it becomes an impassable gulf. 



CHAPTER X. 

Pottery.— Superiority of Pre-Historic American Wares over Those of Europe.— 
Imitations of Living Objects.— The Materials Used.— Eeliquaries.— Skulls En- 
closed IN Earthen Yessels.— Bowls with Ornamental Heads.— Probabilities 
OF Higher Art Among the Ancients. 



The number of vessels of pottery which have been taken from the 
mounds in Missouri is prodigious, and ahnost endless in variety. In an 
instance which fell under my own observation, nearly, if not quite, one 
thousand pieces were obtained from a single burial mound ; and these 
were of various sizes and great diversity of form and workmanship. 
Some of the most characteristic ex- 
amples will be presented as we pro- 
ceed. The skill displayed by the 
pre-historic Americans in everything 
they manufactured from common clay 
is vastly . superior to that of the 
ancient civilizations of Europe, to 
which, in other respects many strik- 
ing similarities may be traced.. 

From the fsict that few articles 
which are the products of human 
ingenuity and skill are more endurino- 
than earthen-ware, this class of anti- 
quities, to the archseologist, is very 
interesting and instructive. The skill 
and taste displayed in its various im- 
itative forms, in outline and deco- 
ration, give us an insight into some 

phases of the domestic life, social condition and sesthetic taste of ancient 
peoples, Avhich can be derived from no other source. Fragments of 
pottery, to the archaeologist, therefore, are the imperishable leaves of a 
book, inscribed by the truthful hand of humanity, in legible characters, 
with the precious records of those feelings and tender sentiments which 
are recorded nowhere else, and which need no translation. Their value 
is enhanced so much the more by the fact that we possess specimens of 
these records from every quarter of the globe, and coeval with the remotest 
civilizations. 




Fig. I. 



80 



AECH^EOLOGY. 




Fig, 2. 



The successful attempts of the ancient Americans to imitate the forms 

of beasts and birds, which they saw every day around them, evince a 

contemplation, observation and affectionate communion with nature which 

fills us with surprise. 

The drinking vessel molded into the 

form of an owl, a representation of 

which is given in Fig. 1, seems, by 

its frequent occurrence in the mounds, 

to have been a favorite model. The 

most common form is the universal 

gourd-shaped water jug (Fig. 2). 

These are of various sizes, the largest 

being from eight to ten inches high, 

and the largest diameter not exceeding 

eio'ht inches. Sometimes the body of 

the jug is more ghjbular on the top 

than this figure shows. Fig. 3 presents 

a form of water jug which, as far as 

my own observation extends, is much 

more rnre than the preceeding. The engraving was made some years 

ao-o ; I have since seen a sufficient number to prove that the reconstruction 

of the neck is correct. From the greater size of the neck I am led to 

believe that it was an ordinary drinking-vessel ; while the form repre- 
sented in Fig. 2 is more properly that of a 
water-cooler, which, when filled, was hung up 
until the water was reduced in temperature 
by its slow evaporation through the pores 
of the vessel, after the manner of the in- 
habitants of the American tropics at the 
present time. 

In reference to the superiority of the skill 
displayed by the Mound-builders in the ce- 
ramic arts, to the corresponding civilization 
of ancient Europe, I can not do better than 
quote the words of Dr. Foster. ^ 

" In the plastic arts, the Mound-builuers 
attained a perfection far in advance jf any 
samples which had been found charac^erisii • 

of the Stone, and even the Bronze Age of Europe. We can i Jir 



/ 




Fig. 3. 



' Pre-historic Eaces of the United States, p, 236. 



POTTEKY. 81 

conceive that, in the absence of metallic vessels, pottery would be em- 
ployed as a substitute, and the potter's art would be held in the highest 
esteem. From making useful forms, it would be natural to advance to 
the ornamental. Sir John Lubliock remarks that ' few of the British 
sepulchral urns, belonging to the ante-Roman times, have ui)on them 
any curved lines. Representations of animals and plants are almost entirely 
wanting.' They are even absent from all the articles belonging to the 
Bronze Age in Switzerland, and I might almost say in Western Europe 
generally, while ornaments of curved and spiral lines are eminently char- 
acteristic of this period. The ornamental ideas of the Stone Age, on 
the other hand, are confined, so far as we know, to compositions of 
straight lines, and the idea of a curve scarcely seems to have occurred to 
them. The most elegant ornaments on their vases are impressions 
made by the finger-nail, or by a cord wound round the soft clay." 

" The commonest forms of the Mound-builders' pottery represent kettles, 
cups, water-jugs, pipes, vases, etc. Not content with plain surfiices, they 
frequently ornamented their surftices with curved lines and fret-work. 
They even went farther, and moulded images of birds, quadrupeds, 
and of the human form. The clay, except for their ordinary kettles, 
where coarse gravel is often intermixed, is finely-tempered, so that it 
did not warp or crack in baking, — the utensils, when completed, having a 
yellowish or grayish tint." 

In the group of vessels shown in Fig. 4, while the human fiices and 
heads of birds are crudely expressed, we find much to admire in the 
tasteful forms of the birds themselves. The flow of their outline, so to 
speak, evinces a degree of refinement of feeling which could only result 
from a culture of the sense for beauty, which must have required a lono- 
time for its realization. It will be noticed that the mouths or openings 
were, on all, macle at the back side of the head. This seems to have 
been the uniform practice, whether the head of the vessel was that of 
man, beast or bird. Sometimes the vessels with vertical openings, as 
of h and I, are fitted with covers of the same material, with projectiuo- 
knobs on the top for handling them. Sometimes, again, the smaller jugs, 
or bottles as they should be called, have nicely-adjusted stoppers, as 
shown at ^. These latter bottles are made of much finer material, and 
Avhile they are generally quite thin, they are so well baked that they 
seem to be almost as tough and strong as our own ware. On pao-e 23 
of the Eighth Annual Report of the Trustees of the Peabody Museum, 
a representation of two of these stoppers is given ; one of which is the 
same as shown at i (Fig. 4). They are described as "two articles 
6 




Fig. 4. — Varieties of Drinking Vessels from Southeast Missouri, a and b Front and Back View of same Vessel, i Small Bottle and Stopper. 



POTTERY. 



83 



carved from a hard clay slate and carefully smoothed. Their use is 
problematical, but they so closely resemble lip ornaments as to siioo-est 
that they were such." These are now in the " Swallow Collection "' of 
the museum. In its transportation from Missouri to Massachusetts, the 
report informs us, many of the articles were so broken as to make their 
reconstruction impossible. When I had the pleasure of examinino- this 
collection, some years since, these stoppers were then attached to the 
bottles with which they were found. The smaller bottle of the two, 
Professor Swallow informed me, when taken from the mound, contained 
a red liquid. 

Some, of the representations of the human figure are executed with a 
good degree of fidelity to nature, through all the members ; showing 
that the artist had studied carefully his model, and had evidently labored 
to tell the truth as he saw it. Some of the human figures have nn ex- 
pression so striking and individual that we can hardly believe that they 

are not portraits. This becomes more prob- 
able when we examine the animal represent- 
ations, or rather the heads of birds, with 
which the pottery is very often ornamented ; 
particularly those of the diiferent varieties 
of ducks, in which we observe in the shape 
of the head, line of neck, etc., the nicest 
distinctions in particular varieties, which are 
expressed with remarkable skill. This will 
be apparent when we come to the consider- 
ation of Food Vessels. 

In the annexed group (Fig. 5) are four 
varieties. In one, the head of the horned owl 
is skillfully joined to the body of the vessel. 
Another form of jug, which is of less frequent 
occurrence than the gourd-shape, is, as 
shown in the cut, supported by four and sometimes three hollow bulbous 
legs. The two human figures are coarsely executed, except the heads. 
They usually represent a hump-backed female figure in a sitting position, 
and the legs, when they are suggested, bent under the body, with arms 
resting upon the knees. They are simple water-jugs, having the mouth 
always in the occipital region of the head. Occasionally one is met with 
which is grossly indelicate. The vessels representing the human figure 
vary much in size. Some are so small that their capacity is not greater 
than two fluid ounces. The larger are from four to ten inches in height 





Fig. 5. 



84 



AECH^OLOGY. 



and hold from one to four pints. This is, however, a proximate esti- 
mate, but can not be fur wrong. 

Some of the smaller images are, of all that I have seen, altogether the 
most artistic aud expressive. They have been by some supposed to be 
idols, but there is no evidence whatever, that I have seen, which favors this 
supposition. They all have an orifice through which the cavities could 
be filled, which is constructed precisely like the commonest jugs ; while 
their relative position in the mounds, in companionship with other ves- 
sels, is conclusive to my own mind that they were used as receptacles of 
some precious articles of domestic use ; such as medicines, ointments, and 
the like. And again, there is very 
little in all we know concerning this 
poeple that would favor the idea 
that they had any idols, unless it 
may have been symbolic represent- 
ations of the heavenly bodies, 
which we know were the chief 
objects of their worship. In ad- 
dition to all this, they made images 
of beasts, as we shall see, which 
were unquestionably humorous car- 
icatures. 

The most elegant and artistic specimens of pottery which have been 
taken from the mounds in Missouri were quite recently discovered. 
Some vessels now in the museum of the St. Louis Academy of Science 
are very suggestive of the pottery of Ancient Egypt, and indeed, in their 
decorative forms, and coloring of black, red and white figures, are not 
greatly inferior to Etruscan art.^ 

The material of these articles is much finer than that of the common 
ware, which in the larger vessels, having a capacit}'^ of several gallons, is 
generally mixed with sand, and the medium sizes with pounded shells ; 
while the finest seems to be composed of a light-colored, very fine- 
grained, yellowish clay — perhaps mixed with gypsum. The diflferent 
varieties of ware, the different materials of which they are composed^ 
and the diversity of tastes displayed in their decoration, would " suggest 
a division of labor" amons: several classes of skilled artisans and artists. 




Fig. 6. Two Views. 



1 The St. Louis Academy of Science, under the supervision of the Archaeological 
Section, will soon publish a series of plates of these decorated jugs and vases, drawn 
on stone and printed in/ac simile colors, with descriptive text by F. F. Hilder. 



POTTEEY. 



85 



This was probably the case ; for, as is well known, however common tlie 
articles manufactui-ed may be as to their uses, in everything which 
comes from the hand of the skillful there is a finish or refinement (if 
treatment which is never seen in the work of the unpracticed hand. The 
annexed engraving (Fig. 7) represents a jug, about 
nine inches in height, of a light yellowish color, orna- 
mented around the neck with red and black lines, and 
around its greatest diameter with curved lines in red, 
white and black. It is very symmetrical in form, with 
a bottom sufticiently flat to cause it to stand firmly. 
I have exhumed one similar in shape and color, but 
differently ornamented. Around the largest circumfer- 
ence were six red circles ; close to these, and on the inside, 
:are white circles. Within these again, is a red circle, and in each of the 
spaces thus enclosed by the circles, is a white cross with arms of equal 




Fig. 7. 




Fig. 8. 



length. 



The stripes are ai)Out three-tenths of an inch in width. This 
combination of color and form has a striking and not unpleasing eff'ect. 
The knowledge and feeling evinced by the combination and contrast of 



86 AKCH^OLOGY. 

angles niid circles, in colors, is certainly quite remarkable. The colors 
of the stripes wei-e mixed with some sort of article which preserved them, 
and gave them a lustrous or varnished appearance, which they still to 
some dcOTee retain. 

In the next group (Fig. 8) are presented a few of the endless forms 
of the more common utensils. They are interesting as showing the 
constant and active presence of the inclination to beautify whatever 
vessel they manufactured. There are very few that are not ornamented 
in some manner. Some have the edges indented or dotted, as with the 
point of a stick or the finger-nail, while others have the rim slightly 
enlarged and marked with a spiral line, which gives the edge a beaded 
appearance. Some of these bowls and pans have a very familiar look as 
to their form. 

This class of pottery, as well as the ordi- 
nary jugs, are usually of dark gray and well 
baked, the clay, as before stated, having been 
tempered with pounded shells. 

In a previous chapter, describing the mode 
of burial in one of the mounds near West 
Lake, it was stated that with the skeletons 
were usually found two or three vessels, one 
or two jugs near the head, and a food- vessel 

in the bend of the arms, which were folded across the breast. The 
forms of food-vessels here presented are those most frequently found 
in that position. In some of them I have observed a very smal plot, 
not much laro-er than a hen's eo-o; .- in some instances containing a 
bone. In others carbonized fruit, resembling wild grapes, has been found ; 
in others, again, the soft remains of muscle shells, thoroughly decayed. 
The jugs and bowls which were interred with the corpse, no doubt, con- 
tained food and drink, for the purpose of sustaining the traveler during 
the long journey he was supposed to have entered upon. These pots 
suggest many interesting reflections concerning their Mth and notions 
of a future life. 

The forms represented in the preceding group are the simplest of all 
but not more frequent than those which are much more ornamental. 
Vessels in the form of the muscle-shell, and holding fully one pint, are 
by no means unfrequent ; and again a fish or frog will be used as a 
model. The two presented in Fig. 9 are quite common. Sometimes 
the legs and feet of the frog are well defined, but folded along the sides 
of the body. Usually, when a fish is represented, it is done by simply 




POTTEKY. 



87 



mouldino- the head, tail and fins upon the side of the dish, but occasion- 
ally the exact form of the fish is represented, scales and all. lu such 
cases, the orifice is in the side, and furnished with a tube which projects 
au inch or two, forconvenience in use as a driuking-vessel. In one in- 
stance, which came under my notice, the' body of a man lying upon the 
bacl^ was represented, with legs and arms rudely made out, and the tube 
projecting from the stomach. 




Fig. 10. Cooking Vessels. 



Their imitative feculties, as illustrated in their pottery, were certainly 
remarkable, and to give an adequate idea of the variety of their work in 
the subjects which might be chosen for illustration would require more 
space than is allotted to this essay. We proceed, therefore, to consider 
their cooking utensils. Some of the more frequent forms are grouped 
together in Fig. 10. 



88 



AKCH^OLOGY. 



While these vessels were doubtless for common, every-clay use, some 
of them are really quite artistic and graceful. The three larger ones 
(a, b, c) are particularly so. The forms and ornamentation of the others 
seem to be more experimental, and perhaps transitional, as though the 
maker varied a little from his usual manner just to see how they would 
look. The one at g, however, is a much bolder innovation, and is 
finished as there shown, with six hemispheroidal projections. It will 
be observed that all have two or more handles, by which they were 
probably suspended over the fire by passing through them green twigs , 

which they covered with moist clay to 
prevent them from burning. Examples 
might be multiplied, ad infinitum almost, 
of this class of vessels, but the above are 
sufficient to ilkistrate the inventive powers 
of their authors in this direction, as well 
as their constant striving to gratify their 
aesthetic feeling in the manufacture of those 
frao^ile articles which were designed for 
the commonest uses. 

Fig. 11 represents a pot very similar to 
a, of the preceding group, but entirely 
unique in this, that it contained the upper 
portion of a human skull and one vertebra. It was taken from a mound 
near New Madrid, by Prof. Swallow, who tells us that the vessel must 
have been moulded around the skull, as it could not be removed without 
breaking the pot. It is now in the Peabody Museum. The top of the 
skull is shown in the engraving. This is certainly a curiosity. Nothing 
like it has been found in any other burial mound here or anywhere else, 
as far as known. 

It may be remembered, however, in this connection, as before re- 
marked, that small pots have frequently been found in the larger pans, 
and which contained a decayed shell or fragment of bone. These were, 
very likely, valued relics or charms wdiich were buried with their pos- 
sessor. 

In Herbert Spencer's "Principles of Sociology, "^ in the chapter upon 
Idol-Worship and Fetich-Worship, the following interesting statements 
occur, which seem quite pertinent in this connection : 

"Facts, already named, show how sacrifices to the man recently dead 




Fig. II. 



1 Popular Science Monthly for December, 1875, p. 158, 



POTTERY. 89 

pass into sacrifices to his preserved body. We have seen that to the 
corpse of a Tahitian chief daily offerings were made on an altar by a 
priest ; and the ancient Central Americans performed kindred rites before 
bodies dried by artificial heat. That, along with a developed system of 
embalming, this grew into mummy-worship, Peruvians and Egyptians 
have furnished proof. 

" Here the tiling to be observed is that, while believing the ghost of the 
dead man to have gone away, these peoples had confused notions, either 
that it was present in the mummy, or that the mummy was itself con- 
scions. Among the Egyptians, this was clearly implied by the practice 
of sometimes placing their embalmed dead at table. The Peruvians, 
who by a parallel custom betraj'ed a like belief, also betrayed it in other 
ways. By some of them the dried corpse of a parent was carried romid 
the fields that he might see the state of the crops. 

"How the ancestor, thus recognized as present, was also recognized as 
exercising authority, we see in the story given by Santa Cruz. When 
his second sister refused to marry him, ' Huayna Capac went with pres- 
ents and oflerings to the body of his father, praying him to give her for 
his wife, but the dead body gave no answer, while fearful signs appeared 
in the heavens.' 

" The primitive idea that any property characterizing an aggregate inheres 
in all parts of it, implies a corollary from this belief. The soul, present 
in the body of a dead man preserved entire, is also present in preserved 
parts of his body. Hence the faith in relics. Ellis tells us that, in the 
Sandwich Islands, bones of the legs, arms, and sometimes the skulls, of 
kings and principal chiefs, are carried about by their descendants, under 
the belief that the spirits exercise guardianship over them. The Crees 
carry bones and hair of dead persons about for three years. The Caribs, 
and several Guiana tribes, have their cleaned bones distributed among the 
relatives after death. The Tasmanians show ' anxiety to possess them- 
elves of a bone from the skull or the arms of their deceased relatives.' 
The Adamanese ' widows may be seen with the skulls of their deceased 
partners suspended from their necks.' This belief in the power of relics 
leads in some cases to direct worship of them. Erskine tells us that the 
natives of Lifu, Loyalty Islands, who 'invoked the spirits of their 
departed chiefs,' also 'preserve relics of their dead, such as a finger 
nail, a tooth, a tuft of hair, and pay divine homage to it.' Of the New 
Caledonians, Turner says: 'In cases of sickness, and other calamities, 
they present ofierings of food to the skulls of the departed.' Moreover 
we have the evidence furnished by conversation with the relic. Lander 



90 



AUCIL^OLOGY. 



says : * In the private fetich hut of the King Adolee at Badagry, the 
skull of that monarch's father is preserved in a day vessel placed in the 
earth.' He 'gently rebukes it if his success does not happen to answer 
his expectations.' 




C ( 





Fig. 12. Bowls With Ornamental Heads. 



" Similary, Catlin describes the Mandans as placing the skulls of their 
dead in a circle. Each wife knows the skull of her former husband or 



POTTEKY. 91 

child, ' and there seldom passes a day that sue does not visit it, with a 
dish of the best cooked food. There is scarely an hour in a pleasant 
day, but more or less of these women may be seen sitting or lying by 
the skull of their child or husband, talking to it in the most pleasant and 
endearing language that they can use (as they were wont to do in former 
days) and seemingly getting an answer back.' 

"Thus propitiation of the man just dead leads to propitiation of his 
preserved body or a preserved part of it ; and the ghost is supposed to 
be present in the part as in the whole." 

From the foregoing remarks and array of facts presented by Mr. 
Spencer, there -can be but little doubt that the presence of the skull in 
the earthen vessel from the New Madrid mound is due to a belief in the 
presence of the soul in the relics of the departed, and which seems to 
have been a common belief among many savage and uncivilized nations. 

In the next group (Fig. 12) are presented a few of the most com- 
mon varieties of another and quite distinct class of bowls. They are 
peculiar in this : the bodies of the vessels are entirely devoid of orna- 
mentation. From the edge of the lip on one side projects a small handle : 
on the opposite side is moulded the head of some beast or bird, and quite 
often a human head is represented. 

The thing to be specially noticed is the diversity of form in the heads 
of the ducks. So faithfully are the distinctive features of the dilFerent 
varieties delineated, that those at all familiar with them must believe that 
the artist, according to the best of his skill, conscientiously copied 
nature. The beautiful curve of the neck, and its union with the outline 
of the vessel itself, could not possibly have been accidental. 

The best which these ancient workmen could do is so far inferior to the 
art of our own times, Ihat it is not easy for us to appreciate the difficulties 
they must have overcome, their many failures, the long time necessary for 
the acquisition of those habits of observation, and the development of 
the skill of hand sufficient to enable them to express themselves as cred- 
itably as they have done in all their imitative work. I.i the class of ves- 
sels under consideration, examples decorated with the human iicad and 
features are by no means rare. If the credit given them for conscien- 
tious observaticm of nature, and skill in expression of what they saw, is 
not an over-estimate, then we may believe that, in their delineation of the 
human face, they also copied nature with a sufficient degree of accuracy 
to warrant us in the idea that in their work we have at least character- 
istic likenesses of themselves. In the examples presented in Fig. 13, 
there is wanting that refinement of feeling and realistic portraiture which 



92 



ARCILgEOLOGY. 



are displayed in the preceding representations of animal heads ; but still 
sufficient individuality to make them very interesting, and, as before re- 
marked, to impress us with the belief that they too were copied from 
life. 

In the examples thus far given of the pottery of the Missouri Mound- 
builders, the aim has been 
to show the leading varieties 
and mode of decoration. 
The subject is by no means 
exhausted ; in fact, almost 
every mound opened discloses 
some new variety, and I have 
seen many other specimens 
of their ware entirely dif- 
ferent in form — some of them 
are beautifully decorated — 
but which are now scattered 
among private collections, 
and therefore not available 
for illustration here. There 
is one other curious form of 
drinking vessel which should 
be noticed. It has elicited 
much speculation as to what 
it was intended to represent. 
Several of this variety have been found in the Missouri mounds, unmis- 
takably representing the same animal, but no two alike. The general 
figure of this "what is it " is shown in the engraving. It has four clumsy- 
legs, a thick body, the usual drinking neck projecting 
from the back, and a swinish head. Sometimes they 
are made of very fine and finely-tempered yellowish 
clay, — the larger ones of the usual material of the dark 
gray ware, with a capacity of from one to two pints. 
The light-colored and finer ones are decorated with 
scroll-work made out with red and white lines. Some 
of the larger ones have human faces moulded upon the sides of the 
body, midway between the legs. In some instances the head proper 
has the eyes of a human face and the snout turned up to such an 
extent as to completely obstruct the front line of vision, which, with 
its half-human expression, make it very grotesque. If the hog were 




Fig. 13. Bowls With Human Heads. 




Fig. 14. 



POTTEKY. 93 

indigenous to America, it would at once be pronounced a represen- 
tation of that animal. The nearest approach to it which is native here, 
is the peccary, or Mexican hog, but that has no tail, while on one 
example of this figure a tail was well represented ; and as it would have 
been too easily broken in the natural position it was curled up on the 
hip. Some have pronounced it the hippopotamus. To my own eye it 
is intensely hoggish. But whatever was intended to be represented by 
it, — hog or hippopotamus, — it introduces a disturbing factor into the 
question of chronology which may require some time to adjust ; unless 
we can credit La Veo-a's statement in his Roval Commentaries of Peru, 
that the ancient Peruvians who dwelt in the mountains had hogs similar 
to those which the Spaniards introduced. Again, if the model after 
which these were moulded was the common hog, which was introduced 
by the first white settlers in this region, why is it that they took no 
notice of any other animal or bird which the earliest settlers brought 
with them, or why do Ave not find in companionship in the mounds some 
other human vestigia of European origin ? For the present we can only 
state the facts, with the questions wdiich they suggest, and wait for further 
developments. 

Writers upon American archaeology have been able to find no evidence 
that the Mound-builders knew anything about the use of the potter's 
wheel ; but it is difficult to believe that some of the finest of their work 
could have been so gracefully and symmetrically moulded by ordinary 
manipulation, and without some mechanical appliances 
and adjustments, by which a uniformity of action and 
pressure would be brought to bear upon the whole 
mass. Without discussing the question, however, I 
desire simply to call attention to two discoveries, which 
at first sight may seem unimportant, but after all may 
have some value, should they stimulate further and 
more careful observation in this direction. The first 
is represented in the engraving. Fig. 15, and was taken from a New 
Madrid mound by Prof. Swallow. "It is one-half of a rough ball of 
burnt clay, about 3.5 inches in diameter, and shows the impression of 
the skin and finger-marks of the hands that moulded it. This mass w^as 
perforated through the center, as shown in the figure giving a section of 
it."i It had perhaps been designed to be fashioned into a vessel of some 



1 Eighth Annual Eeport of the Trustees of the Peabody Museum. 




'94 



AKCm^OLOGY. 




Fig. 16. 



sort, but by some menns burnt before the design Avas carried out. The 
perforation would suggest that it hiid been attached to a stick or spindle 
for convenience in handling. The other article is much more suggestive. 
It belongs to that class of implements usually denominated spindle-whorls. 
They are found scattered over the whole country, at least wherever the 
principal works of the Mound-builders are to be seen. This was taken 
from a mound about eighteen miles from New Madrid. When I attempted 
to wash it, I discovered that it had not been hardened in the fire, but 

onl}^ sun-dried, as it fell into fragments under 
the action of the water. With great care, these 
were collected and glued together again. It is 
about 2.5 inches in diameter, and three-fourths 
of an inch in thickness at the periphery. Both 
sides are concave. .The most interesting fact about 
it is this : It has around the outer edge a rudi- 
mentary groove, as represented in the engraving. 
Fig. 16. I can only wish the groove had been 
deeper. But as it was unburnt, I am led to be- 
lieve that the article was unfinished ; and that 
had it been, it would have furnished some evidence that the maker was 
not unacquainted with the use of the pulley, or potter's wheel. 

The necessity for condensation demands that here our consideration of 
this part of our sul)ject should end. The variety and beauty of many of 
the objects of their fictile skill are very suggestive, and furnish much 
material for extended generalization. But a remark or two must suffice 
in this connection. To suppose that all this taste and feeling — this close 
observation of nature and fidelity in delineation, displayed in the potteiy 
of the Mound-builders, found no expression in any other direction, and 
was expended upon their domestic utensils alone, is simply incredible. 
Very dififerent must have been the homes of a people furnished with 
such tasteful articles, from those miserable huts which the nomadic 
Indians constructed for their habitations ; and it is quite likely that in 
their dress as well as their dwellino-s thev evinced the same ideas of taste 
and convenience which we perceive in their domestic utensils. In some 
of their human effigies we do find the manner of arrano-ino- the hair dis- 
tinctly delineated, and we may yet discover those which shall furnish us 
with correct representations of their mode of dress. Indeed I have seen 
one vessel with figures of men rudely painted in outline upon its sides, 
who were clad in a flowing garment, gathered by a belt around the 
waist, and reaching to the knees. In this connection I may mention the 



ENGKAYED SHELLS. 



95 



engraved shells which have frequently been found with skeletons, both 
in Missouri and Illinois. One of the most interesting is represented 
in Fig. 17,1 which gives also the natural size. When taken from the 
njoiind, the shell was quite soft and brittle, and easily cut with thefino-er- 




Fig. 17. 



nail. The outer edge was much broken or worn away, as shown in the 
eno-ravino-. The design was enclosed by six circular lines, portions of 
which still remain. On one side were two perforations, designed doubtless 
for the string by which it was suspended from the neck. All similar 
shells that I have seen are so perforated. It seems quite evident from 
the picture that it memorializes the victory of the individual represented 
as standing over an enemy who lies on his face at his feet. The victor, 



1 For the photograph of which this is an accurate copj', I am indebted to the late 
Captain Whitley. 



96 ARCHAEOLOGY. 

it will be observed, holds in his right hand a weapon or symbol of 
authority, with which he seems to be pressing the prostrate figure to the 
earth. Many of the accessories are unintelligible. While the whole 
work is very crude, and the figures out of all proportion, there is here 
and there an outline which shows earnest endeavor ; as the leg of the 
standino- fio-ure, for example, in which also the action is so well expressed 
as to suggest that, by an impetuous onset, he has just felled his antago- 
nist to the o-round. The artist seems to have had most difficulty with the 
eye, or rather, has made no attempt at imitating that organ. 

There is now in the museum of the St. Louis Academy of Science a 
similar shell, upon which is portrayed, in a creditable manner, the figure 
of a spider. I have also been shown another by Dr. Eichardson, from 
a mound in Illinois, almost precisely like it, and difi'ering only in a small 
symbolic device, which is carved upon the back of each. Engraved 
shells are generally found upon the breast of the skeleton, or in such 
a position as shows that they were originally placed there, and also 
where they were probably worn during life. According to Mr. Pidgeon^ 
the spider emblem is perpetuated in the mounds far to the north. He 
describes one which he saw in Minnesota, about sixty miles above the 
junction of the St. Peters river with the Mississippi, which covered 
nearly an acre of ground. Upon ascending its highest elevation, he 
tells us, it was very evident that the spider was intended to be repre- 
sented by it. I bring these facts together for the benefit of future 
observers, without speculating as to their significance, further than to 
venture the remark that they point to a great diffusion of one people, or 
their migration from the north, southwardly along the Mississippi valley. 



CHAPTEE X. 

Crania.— Differences Between the Skulls of the Mound-Boilders and the Indians. 
—Difficulties of the Subject.— Two Varieties of Crania in the same Mounds.— 
Principles of Classification.— Influence of Local Customs.— Peruvian Skulls.— 
Characteristics of Missouri Specimens, etc —The Tools of Ancient Americans. 
-Proofs op a Knowledge of Iron. 

To the r mon observer, the unnumbered stars which shine nightly 

in the finnam nt above utter no voice, and give no sign concerning their 

physical condition, their individual motions, or relative distance from 

'^ach other, All seemingly sweep on together with undeviating regular- 

' ifferiug only in the intensity of their light. But when the appliances 

. M v'v ':u science are brought to bear upon the facts within our grasp 
' .i-ning them, and their dim rays are gathered up by the spectroscope, 
^e feint star becomes a fiery orb and the theatre of the conflict of forces 
of r>vnr|ifrious powcr. The sun is seen to be a fiery, fluid mass, in whose 
citui. sphere are aeaseiess storms of flaming elements and tempestuous 
cyclpues, which burst forth on every side with awful grandeur and incon- 
ceivable velocity. 

Alike uninteiiigible to a common observer, in their ethnic relations, 
would be a collection of skulls brought together from difierent lands, as 
throw'ing any light upon the long history of the diflerent races of man- 
kind. Some would appear shorter, rounder or more irregular than 
others, but the same general features which characterize them all — with 
the exceptions named — would be about all that would be specially 
noticed. But when viewed in the resultant light of all the study which 
has been bestowed upon them, and the cautious inductions of the wisest 
ethnologists, they become vocal with revelations of transcendant interest. 
We are not to suppose, however, that there are no great and decided 
variations in the crania of a particular race, for these are as widely difi'er- 
ent as the varying expressions of the human face, and yet all the while 
presenting certain broad distinctions and characteristics by which the 
particular race to which they belong may generally be determined. 

Says Dr. Foster: " While the individual variations in the crania of a 
particular race are so great as to present intermediate gradations from one 
extreme to another, thus forming a connecting link between widely sepa- 
rated races, yet, in a large assemblage of skulls derived from a particular 
race, there is a general conformation, a predominant type ; which appears 
7 



08 AECHJEOLOGY. 

io have been constant as far back as human records extend; to have 
been unaifected by food, climate, or personal pursuits; and which has 
been regarded among the surest guides in tracing national affinities. 
Hitherto, our knowledge of the mound-builders' crania has been exceed- 
ingly scant — restricted to less than a dozen specimens — which, if authen- 
tic, clearly indicate for the most part the Indian type. The results of 
my observations have led me to infer that the mound-builders' crania were 
characterized by a general conformation of parts, which clearly separated 
them from the existing races of man, and particularly^from the Indians of 
North America." 

While the number of authentic skulls from the mounds has been 
greatly multiplied since the above was written, not much has yet been 
done in the way of classification, measurement and tabulation,, so as to be 
available for serious study. But enough has been already determined to 
show how premature were the broad generalizations of Dr. Morton — and 
others who accepted his opinions — deduced from the few examples of the 
crania of the mounds which he was able to add to his large collection of 
other types from all parts of thew^orld. While questioning some of his 
conclusions with which he sums up the results of his long-continued 
labors, no contrary deductions can detract in the slightest degree from the 
inestimable value of his labors and splendid contributions to ethnological 
science. While many, in view of more extended observations and discov- 
eries since his time, will withold their assent to the proposition, "that 
the American nations, excepting the polar tribes, are of one race an'd one 
species, but of two great families, which resemble each other in physical, 
but differ in intellectual character," all will heartily subscribe to the 
statement of Dr. Daniel Wilson that, "following in the footsteps of the 
distinguished Blumenbach, Dr. Morton has the rare merit of having 
labored with patient zeal and untiring energy, to accumulate and publish 
to the world the accurately observed data which constitute the only true 
basis of science. His Crania Americana is a noble monument of well- 
directed industry ; and the high estimation in which it is held, as an ac^^ 
curate embodiment o£ facts, has naturally tended to give additional 
weight to his deductions." 

Nor was this great naturalist less mistaken in his opinion as to the 
mode of burial practiced by the aborigines of the American continent. 
He tells us "that from Patagonia to Canada, and from ocean to ocean, 
and equally in the civilized and uncivilized tribes, a peculiar mode of 
placing the body in sepulture has been practiced from immemorial time. 
This peculiarity consists in the sitting posture." That this was not the 



CEANIA. 99 

universal, nor even the most common mode of burial, those who have 
read the foregoing accounts of explorations in bnrial mounds in various 
parts of the continent, have already seen. 

He found some difficulty at first in reconciling the peculiarities of the 
long and flattened Peruvian skulls with the round-headed type of the red 
Indian, but finally decided that these were only variations of the same 
type produced by artificial pressure in infancy. But the evidence is 
abundant and convincing that there was one race in Peru — probably older 
than the Incarace — with which this peculiarity was not artificial, but con- 
genital, and the skull of the adult retained through life the strangely 
elongated shape with which it entered the world. Dr. Wilson further 
remarks in this connection : " The comprehensive generalization of the 
American cranial type, thus set forth on such high authority, has exer- 
cised an important influence on subsequent investigations relative to the 
aborigines of the New World. It has, indeed, been accepted with such 
ready faith as a scientific postulate, that Agassiz, Nott, Meigs, and other 
physiologists and naturalists adopted it without question, and have rea- 
soned from it as one of the few well-determined data of ethnological sci- 
ence. It has no less effectually controlled the deductions of observant 
travellers." 

With such examples before us, a becoming modesty should character- 
ize the conclusions of those laborers in the same great field, who at best 
may only hope to contribute a page or two to the volume of truth which 
he has bequeathed to his followers. 

The caution with which we should proceed in every step of our inves- 
tigations becomes all the more imperative on account of the difficulties 
which meet the observer at the very threshold of his enquiries. One of 
the difficulties has been already suggested, which is the small number of 
skulls concerning which there can be no doubt whatever, that they be- 
longed to the race of men who erected the mounds. While it was the 
custom of the Indian tribes to bury their dead in the mounds which they 
found ready made, yet their interments may generally be easily distin- 
guished from those of the race of the mounds themselves by the shallow- 
ness of the graves, which are usually near the surface. Still, for the want 
of close !)bservation among cranial collectors, and attention to this fact, 
much CO jfusion has been the result. Another perplexity is caused by 
the fact that in i.he same burial mound are sometimes found — at least in 
Missouri^ — two entirely different classes of skulls, with distinctions al- 
most as' strongly marked as those which pertain to the Caucasian and Ne- 
groid types, whose position in the mound and companionship iu the 

i-ora 



100 ABCHJEOLOGY. 

way of implements and utensils invest neither class with any distinct- 
ive claim over the other, as being the individuals for whom the memorial 
was erected. But, not to specify further, it may be remarked that sa 
great are the perplexities caused by these disturbing elements, in the minds 
of some, that they have been led to question w^hether we are justified in 
assuming that we have a predominant cranial type of the Mound-building 
race, with characteristic conformations so constant as to distinguish them 
from all others, wherever found, so that they may be relied on as sure 
guides in our investigations. 

Assenting, as I do, to the conclusions of such distinguished naturalists 
as Wilson and Foster, to the effect that we are justified in assunaing that 
the crania from localities so far asunder as Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio 
and Missouri, present a "similarity of type in those crania, apart from the 
similarity in weapons of warfare, pottery, personal ornaments and earth- 
works, which would indicate a homogeneous people distributed over a 
wide area," yet, to present representative specimens of the skulls which 
have been collected from the mounds which are scattered over such an 
extended territory, along with the necessary descriptions, measurements 
and illustrations as would be requisite for scientific accuracy and induc- 
tion, would extend our investigations far beyond the limits of the pres- 
ent essay. We must content ourselves, therefore, with such illustrations 
and considerations as are more general in their character, but sufficiently 
specific and particular, it is hoped, to make them of some scientific value,- 
at least in clearing the way somewhat for other observers. 

For convenience in the study of ethnic relationships, craniologists have 
recognized three distinct classes of skulls under which all are grouped. 
The principle upon which this classification is made, is based simply upon 
the relation of the breadth to the length of the skull. Taking the length 
of a skull to be one hundred, when the breadth is less than seventy- 
three to one hundred, it is called Dolicocephalic, or long head; those 
whose proportions are from seventy-four or seventy-nine to one hundred 
are termed Orthocephalic, or regularly formed ; those skulls whose pro- 
portions are from eighty to eighty-nine to one hundred are called Brachy- 
cephalic, or short heads. It may be remarked with reference to the 
classification of skulls, that some have been found in Europe presenting 
such phenomenal characteristics that another class has been proposed, 
called Scephocephalic. But, as it is quite likely that the peculiar elonga- 
tion of those classed under this head may have been produced by artificial 
means, they need not be dwelt upon here. Concerning tne skull known 
as the "Scioto Mound Skull", which was taken by Squire and Davis from 



CKAIflA. 101 

a mound in the Scioto valley, and figured and described in their grent 
work, Dr. Morton says it is "perhaps the most admirably formed head 
of the American race hitherto discovered. It possesses the national 
^characteristics in perfection, as seen in the elevated vertex, flattened 
occiput, great interparietal diameter, ponderous bony structure, salient 
nose, large jaws and broad face." This skull was I'egarded by the 
discoverers as the one of all othei'S concerning which there could be no 
•doubt that it belonged to the race of the mounds ; and other eminent 
writers have accepted the opinion of the finders. Dr. Foster, however, 
(because of its decided. Brachycephalic form doubtless), says that ''txnj 
comparative anatomist will instantly recognize it as of the Indian type."i 

As far as my own observation goes, I am persuaded that those ethnol- 
ogists who have taken one specific form as the type, rejecting all others 
which do not closely resemble it, do not make sufficient account of the 
wide extent of territory in which they are found, the length of time 
which must have passed while the civilization of the race was being 
developed, nor the influence of local habits and customs in modifjdng the 
estoological conditions of the individual members of communities isolated 
as they must have been for a long series of years ; nor of the recognized 
fact that " individual variations in the crania of a particular race are so 
great as to present intermediate gradations all the way from one extreme 
to another, thus forming a connecting link between widely separated 
races." The burial mounds of Missouri present well-defined Brachy- 
cej)halic specimens, often flattened in the occipital region, as well as the 
longer and more symmetrical Orthocephalic type ; and sometimes both 
are observed in one mound. The assumption, therefore, that the one or 
the other is the exclusive typal form, cannot be maintained ; nor on such 
a narrow basis can these seemingly wide divergencies in the shape of 
individual skulls be satisfactorily explained. We may safely conclude, 
therefore, that the idea that one uniform constant type prevailed during 
the centuries of the occupancy of the Mound-builders of the vast con- 
tinent of America, through all its fixed communities, is a sweeping 
assumption which finds no support from the history of other races of 
men, nor from the facts which the mounds disclose. 

The influence of local customs, as exhibited in the difierent manner of 
flattening the skull by related tribes of Indians, is a case in point. 

1 It should be remembered that very manj^ other considerations enter into the account 
in determining the chiss to which ' certain slvulls belong besides the proportion of 
breadth to length. This, however, is the first and most important, and the one which I 
shall chiefly consider 



102 



AUCH^OLOGY. 



Included under the general name of Flatheads, are at least twenty 
different tribes. With some, the head of the child is strapped to the 
cradle-board until its transverse diameter is enormous, when seen in 
front or from behind, while the longitudinal diameter is only about half 
as great. In others the skull is shaped by winding a deer-skin cord 
around the head, beginning just above the ears and winding in such a 
manner that a uniform pressure is brought to bear upon the skull, forcing 
it upward until it assumes a tapering form, almost terminating in a point 
at the vertex. In others again, the pressure is so applied as to press 
back the frontal bone to such a degree that the forehead is almost entirely 
obliterated. Concerning the origin of these diverse customs among 
affiliated tribes we need not stop to enquire. They are sufficient to 

prove that peculiar practices, affecting 
the shape of the skull in contrary ways, 
do originate in communities dwelling 
near each other, and are persisted in, 
notwithstanding their constant famili- 
arity with the different customs of their 
neighbors. It is not surprising then, 
we repeat, that mounds a thousand 
miles from each other, or the same 
mounds even, should disclose cranial 
forms presenting distinct and contrast- 
ing characteristics. 

The skull represented in Fig. 1, it 
Avill be observed, is very globular in 
shape, with transverse diameter almost equalling the longitudinal, as 
will be apparent by comparing the front with the side view which is 
represented in the next engraving, Fig. 2. From the supercilliary 
ridges, which are prominent, the line of the forehead ascends almost 
vertically to a great height, and then sweeps in a well-rounded curve tO' 
the apex, from whence it suddenly slopes off in an almost straight line 
to the occipital protuberance. The squamosal suture is exceptionally 
straight. The chief point to be noticed in the shape of this skull, is the 
evidence of artificial flattening seen in the almost straight line from the 
occipital protuberance to the top of the skull. With few exceptions, all 
the crania from the Missouri mounds which I have seen are more or less 
flattened in the occipital regions. Sometimes the pressure seems to have 
been applied to the right, or to the left of the occipital protuberance,, 
and occasionally directly to the back of the head, and so low down that 




Fig. I, Front View of Sl<ull from Bayou St. John Mound. 



CEANIA. 



103 



the line of the skull from the foramen magmim to the apex of the lamb- 
doidal sutm-e is almost vertical. And yet I cannot believe that this 
artificial conformation was designed. The absence of any sort of 
uniformity in the extent to which it was carried, as well as the indis- 
criminate application of the pressure to any part of the occipital reo-ions 
would suggest that it resulted solely from the method of treating the 
infant during the first year or two of its existence. The custom of the 
North American Indian nomads, of strapping the infant to a board or 
basket, for convenience in carrying, and from which it was removed but 
seldom until it was at least one year old, need hardly be mentioned. 
There is evidence that certain semi-civilized nations so treated their 
children as to produce an abnormal shape of their skulls. One reference 
must sufiice for illustration. Garcel- 
lasso de la Yega ^ in speaking of the 
manner in which the Peruvian in- 
iimts were reared, tells us that all 
classes, rich and poor, "bred up their 
children with the least tenderness 
and delicacy that was possible ; for 
as soon as the infant was born they 
washed it in cold water. Their arms 
they kept swathed and bound down' 
for three months, upon supposition 
that to loose them sooner would 
weaken them ; they kept them always 
in their cradle, which was a pitiful 
kind of a frame, set on four legs, one of which was shorter than the rest, 
for convenience in rocking ; the bed was made of a sort of coarse knit- 
ting which was something more soft than the bare boards, and with a 
string of this knitting they bound up the child on one side and the other 
to keep it from falling out. When they gave them suck they never took 
them into their lap or arms, for if they had used them in that man- 
ner, they believed they Avould never leave crying, and would always 
expect to be in arms, and not lie quiet in their cradles ; and, therefore, 
the mother would lean over the child, and reach it the breast, which they 
did three times a day, that is, morning, noon and night, and unless it 
were at these times, they never gave it suck." He tells us in the previ- 
ous chapter that they were not weaned until they were two years of 




Fig. 2. Side View. 



Boyal Commentaries of Peru, Chap . 12. 



104 



AKCH^OLOGY. 



ao-e. Some of the Peruvian skulls present a flattened occiput so similar 
to those of the mounds that it is highly probable this formation was 
produced by the same means, that is by fastening the infant to the cradle 
either upon its back, or witli the head turned more or less to the one side 
or the other, in which position it remained until the head became 
flattened in the region of its contact with the hard bed, thereby receiving 
a form which it ever afterwards retained. 

The skull represented in Fig. 3, when viewed from the front, shows 
much the same globular form of the brain-case as the preceding ones 
(Figs. 1 and 2). The vertical view, however, is very different. The 
flattened portion is more lateral, the pressure having been brought to 
bear upon the right side of the occiput. 





Fig. 3 ^ 

These decidedly Brachephalic skulls are very far from conforming to 
the Mound-builders' type for which Dr. Foster contends. Those rep- 
resented in his work, taken from mounds in Illinois and Indiana, and 
undoubtedly authentic, are Orthocephalic or regularly formed. Nor do 
they present this abnormal deformity of the occiput which characterizes 
the large majority of those from Missouri. I regret that circumstances 
forbid the reproduction here of the many cranial forms which are ne- 
cessary to properly illustrate this part of our subject. But as those 
figured above, according to the Doctor's views, should be regarded as 
belonging 'to the Indian type, I transcribe what he says concerning 
their peculiarities of form : " The Indian possesses a conformation of 
skull which clearly separates him from the pre-historic Mound-builder, 



CKAJS^IA. 105 

and such a conformation must give rise to different mental traits. His 
brain, as compared with the European, according to George Combe, 
differs widely in the proportions of the different parts. The anterior 
lobe is small, the middle lobe is large, and the central convolutions on 
the anterior lobe and upper surface are small. The brain-case is box- 
like, with the corners rounded off; the occiput extends up vertically ; 
the frontal ridge is prominent ; the cerebral vault is pyramidal ; the 
interparietal diameter is great ; the supercilliary ridges and zygomatic 
arches sweep out bej^ond the general line of the skull ; the orbits are 
quadrangular ; the forehead is low ; the cheek-bones high ; and the jaws 
prognathous. His character, since first known to the white man, has 
been signalized by treachery and cruelty." "He was never known volun- 
tarily to engage in an enterprise requiring methodical labor ; he dwells 
in temporary and movable habitations ; he follows the game in their 
migrations ; he imposes the drudgery of life upon his squaw ; he takes 
no heed for the future. To suppose that such a race threw up the strong 
lines of circumvallation and the symmetrical mounds which crown so 
many of our river-terraces, is as preposterous, almost, as to suppose that 
they built the pyramids of Egypt." 

In the examples I have given, many of the above traits of the Indian 
skull are wanting. The anterior lobe is not small ; the brain-case is not 
box-like, nor is the cerebral vault pyramidal ; the forehead cannot be said 
to be low, nor are the orbits quadrangular, or the jaws prognathous. 
Still, in some other particulars there is a striking conformity to the Indian 
portraiture. For example, the supercilliary ridges and zygomatic arches 
in the second example " sweep out beyond the general line of the skull." 
They are decidedly of the short-head type, and were it not for the de- 
rangement of the general outline by artificial means in infancy I imagine 
they would correspond in a striking manner to the Scioto Mound skull, 
which Foster believes to belong to the red race. The occipital and lat- 
eral depression shown in the vertical view. Fig. 3, is by no means 
confined to the skulls of the Missouri mounds, but is found in Peru. If 
the reader will consult Morton's Crania Americana, Plates B and C, he 
will find skulls with the identical characteristics of the one at Fig. 3. 
They occur in the mounds of the upper Mississippi region, and in Ten- 
nessee. In Harper^s Magazine of December, 1876, is a valuable arch- 
aeological article by Dr. Jones, in which I find the engraving of a skull 
whose resemblance to Fig. 3 is so striking that I rej^roduce them both 
side by side. The thing to be noticed is the general outline in which the 
similar depression is shown. In the Tennessee skull — assuming that 



106 



AECILEOLOGY. 



the same point of view is taken in both — the zygomatic arches are 
scarcely seen, while in that from Missouri they bulge out far beyond 
the general outline. 

While, as before remarked, the majority of the skulls found in the 
Missouri mounds possess the characteristics shown in the examples here 
given ; some which occur more rarely are so strikingly different that they 
can not by any reasonable theory be classed with them. While exploring 
a mound in southeast Missouri, before referred to as having been the 
burial-plnce of many hundreds, two skeletons were found lying beside 
each other, so decayed that the bones could scarcely be handled at all 
without crumbling to pieces. The skulls were entire when passed up to 
me from the excavation. They were so peculiar that I was filled with 





Skull from Mound in Tennessee. 



Fig. 4. 



Skull from Mound in Southeast Missouri. 



astonishment the moment I saw them. One crumbled to dust in a few 
moments after its exposure to the air, and fell from my hands, along with 
the earth with which it was filled, like all others, which are — as well as 
bowls and small-necked water-jugs — always densely packed with the loam 
which covers them. I proceeded to a more careful examination, as I 
suspected an intrusive burial. With much painstaking I was able to pre- 
serve the upper portion of the second skull, which was a duplicate of the 
one destroyed. The outline of this fragment is well represented in the 
engraving. Both skeletons were lying upon the back, with the head 
toward the center of the mound, with the usual drinking vessels close to 
the head, and a food-vessel in the angle of the folded arm upon the 
breast. It will be seen at a glance that the forehead is annihilated ; the 
frontal sinus is quite prominent, which, along with the almost horizontal 



CEAINEA. 



107 




line of the frontal bone, makes this part of the skull resemble that of a 
beast more than a human head ; and yet I am quite sure that its form 
was perfectly natural, for I could detect no indication of an artificial de- 
pression in any part of it. The frontal bone was curved backward, on each 
side of the occiput, and from the foramen magnum, or from the bottom of 
the brain-case to the apex, was one s^raceful curve. It mifjht be suofo-ested 
— as has been done in the case of the Neanderthal skull — that these were 
the skulls of idiots. But whoever they were, they were buried with 
tender care, and in the belief 
that they would enjoy an- 
other life beyond the grave 
in companionship with the 
many hundreds of others 
who were provided with the 
necessary food and drink to i' 
sustain them during their 
long journey. As so large 
a portion of the skull is wanting, it is perhaps useless to generalize upon 
so small a fraojment.^ Still I can but record mv own strons; conviction 
that we have here no idiotic anomaly, but characteristic examples of a 
race of men entirely distinct from those who piled up the mounds in 
southeast Missouri. Much evidence is gathered from widely separated 
localities upon the American continent, which suggests more than the 
probability that it was once inhabited by a race of men whose origin 
must ever be hid in the night of oblivion, and the date of whose occu- 
pancy may not be far from that of the Paleolithic races of Europe. 

The same configuration has been found in the bone caves of Brazil, 
and in companionship with extinct animals. Dr. Lund thinks they were 
contemporaneous. In some which he describes, the peculiarities Avhich 
characterize them are "in excessive degree,^ even to the entire disappearance 
of the forehead." The same form appears in the sculptures on the most ' 
ancient monuments of Mexico, as also in the bas-reliefs of Uxmal and 
Copan, in Central America. " Humboldt and Bonpland," says Foster, 
"were the first to draw attention to this remarkable configuration of 
skull. The former, as far back as 1808, thus stated : "This extraordinary 
flatness is found among nations to whom the means of producing arti- 
ficial deformity are totally unknown, as is proved by the crania of Mex- 



1 For the distinguishing traits of idiotic skulls, consult Humphrey's Treatise on the 
Human Skeleton, p. 233. 



108 AHOiL^OLOGY. 

ican Indians, Peruvians, and Atiires." Pentland, Cuvier, Gall and. 
Tiederaan believed this strange cranial form to be congenital. Rogers 
and Tschudi both were convinced of the former existence of an Autoch- 
thonous race in Peru with this peculiarity of skull, and " state that it is 
seen in the fcetus of Peruvian mummies." Dr. Lapham has observed 
what seems to be the same type, in Wisconsin. In a private note to Dr. 
Foster he says, concerning two skulls found at Wauwatasa : "The pe- 
culiar characteristics indicating a low grade of humanity, common to 
both, are a low forehead, prominent superciliary ridges, the zygomatic 
arches swelling out beyond the walls of the skull, and especially the 
prominence of the occipital ridge. The anterior portion of these skulls, 
besides being low, are mucii narrowed, giving the outline, as seen from 
above, of an ovate form. It seems quite probable that men with skulls 
of this low grade were the most ancient upon this continent, that they 
were the first to heap up those curiously-shaped mounds of earth which 
now so much puzzle the antiquary ; that they were gradually superceded 
and crowded out by a superior race, who, adopting many of their cus- 
toms, continued to build mounds and bury their dead in mounds already 
built. Hence we find Mound-builders' skulls with this ancient form, 
associated with others of more modern type. The discovery of these 
skulls, with characteristics so much like those of the most ancient of the 
pre-historic types of Europe, would seem to indicate that if America 
was peopled by emigration from the Old World, that event must have 
taken place at a very early time — far back of any of which we have any 
record." The occurrence of skulls with this unique and congenital con- 
figuration, in both continents of America, from Wisconsin to Peru, 
and many of them associated with those ancient structures whose authors 
are unknown to history or tradition, are facts not to be overlooked or 
lightly considered in tracing the ethnic distinctions of the pre-historio 
inhabitants of the, so-called, New World. They are certainly very 
suggestive, and invite the serious study of future observers. 

There are certain facts which have been noted from time to time, 
which fit into none of the popular theories concerning the state of the 
arts of the Mound-builders. It has been stated, and often repeated, that 
they had no knowledge of smelting or casting metals, yet the recent 
discoveries in Wisconsin of implements of copper cast in molds — as well 
as the molds themselves, of various patterns, and wrought with much skill 
— prove that the age of metallurgical arts had dawned in that region at 
least. 



CRANIA. 109 

And again : what shall be said concerning the traces of iron imple- 
ments which have been discovered from time to time in the mounds, but 
more frequently at great depths below the surface of the soil. Though 
accounts of such discoveries are generally from reliable sources, they 
have latterly received no attention, and always have been considered as 
so mnch perilous ware which no one cared to handle. The peculiar 
ovate form of skull with the retreating forehead, as has just been shown, 
points to the presence, in remote times, of a race of men entirely dif- 
ferent from that to which the authors of many of the earthworks of the 
Mississippi valley belonged. This form has been traced to Mexico and 
Peru. When the Spanish conqnerors pillaged those countries and laid 
waste their beautiful cities, they observed vast structures and ancient 
temples built of hewn stone, with consummate skill. When they ques- 
tioned the Aztec and Inca races concerning their origin they could give 
no answer but this : they were here wheu our fathers came ; they belonged 
to a people of whose history we know nothing. The Incas copied these 
ancient models iu the great structures which they erected. But with 
w'hat tools did they perform such wonders — were they of copper only? 
So we are told ; or copper alloyed with tin. It is said they had some 
secret method of making it hard as iron, but none of the copper tools 
which have been found confirm the statement. Mountains of stone were 
wrought into dwellings and temples of the gods ; huge walls were cut 
from the solid rocks ; the mountains themselves divided into galleries 
and fortifications rising one above the other, connected here and there 
by artificial breastworks, but generally cut out of the strata of the 
mouutain and left standing, one solid mass of stone. Common dwell- 
ings built of enormous slabs of stone seven feet wide and twelve feet 
long are met with. Porphyry, basalt and marble yielded alike to their 
magic touch, like clay in the hands of the potter. Vitreous obsidian 
was utilized by the excellence of their tools and the delicacy of their 
manipulation. Plates and cylinders of exquisite thiuness they made of 
this fragile substance for ornaments for their women. * 

The dexterity of these ancient lapidaries in cutting the hardest stone 
is amazing. And it is difiacult to conceive how, without cutting imple- 
ments equal, at least, to our own in hardness, such delicate and such stu- 
pendous works could have been executed. And to the question whether 
they possessed a knowledge of working iron, the wise mau will hesitate 
long before he answers in the negative. It should be remembered, too, 
how quickly — unless under most favoring conditions — iron corrodes to 
dust and leaves scarcely a trace behind. The piles of the Swiss lake- 



;110 AECH^OLOGY. 

dwellings, the cedar posts of the mounds, may endure for ages, while 
ii'on — so hard, and more precious than gold in the advancement of the 
world's civilization, — speedily melts away before the gentle dews and air 
of heaven. 

The idea that there once existed on this continent a race anterior to, 
^nd entirely distinct from, that which immediately preceded the red men, 
is no new and fanciful conjecture, but one which was held by the earliest 
and most cautious observers of the antiquities of America ; and we may 
yet be forced to adopt their conclusions, not only upon this point, but 
also their opinions as to the state of the arts in those remote times. 

According to Morse, the geographer: "In digging a well in Cincin- 
nati, the stump of a tree was found in a sound state, ninety feet below 
the surface ; and in digging another well, at the same place, another 
stump was found at ninety-four feet below the surface, which had evident 
marks of the axe ; and on its top there appeared as if some iron tool 
iTad been consumed by rust." 

Says Priest : " We have examined the blade of a sword found in Phil- 
adelphia, now at Peale's Museum, in New York, Avhich was taken out 
of the ground something more than sixty feet below the surface. The 
blade is about twenty inches in length, is sharp on one edge, with a 
thick back, a little turned up at the point, with a shank drawn out three 
or four inches long, which was doubtless inserted in the handle, and 
clinched at the end." 

"Twelve miles west of Chillicothe, on Paint Creek, are found the 
remains of a furnace, ten or twelve feet square, formed of rough stones, 
surrounded by cinders, among trees of full size. There are, at this 
place, seven wells situated within the compass of an acre of land, reg- 
ularly walled up with hewn stone, but are now nearly filled up with the 
accumulating earth of ages. Eight miles further up the creek, a small 
bar of gold was taken out of a mound, which sold in Chillicothe for 
twelve dollars. A piece of cast iron, we are further told, was taken 
fVom a circular embankment in Circleville." 

From the distinguished antiquary, Mr. Atwater, who was present 
when a laro;e mound near Circleville was removed, we learn that in addi- 
tion to the skeletons it contained, along with stone implements, was 
found " the handle, either of a small sword or large knife, made of elk's 
horn ; around the end, where the blade had been inserted, was a ferrule 
of silver, which, though black, was not much injured by time ; though 
the handle showed the hole where the blade had been inserted, yet no 
iron was found, but an oxide, or rust, remained, of similar shape aud 



CKANIA. Ill 

size." With another skeleton, in the same mound, was found a large 
plate of mica, three feet in length by one and one-half in width, and one 
inch and a half in thickness. On this was a plate of iron thorouo-hly 
oxydized, which crumbled to dust when disturbed by the spade, but 
resembled a plate of cast iron. This was doubtless a mirror. Both 
bodies had been burned, and mingled with the bones and implements 
were quantities of charcoal and ashes. The same author thinks that 
some of the supposed iron knives which have been discovered in the 
mounds may have been steel instead. The "huge iron weapon" found 
in the hand of the skeleton in the Utah mound before described, which 
crumbled to dust on exposure to the air, will be remembered. But here 
I must desist from further consideration of the question — for the present 
at least — as to the extent of the knowleds-e and uses of iron amonsf the 
ancient Americans, as I am not aware of any relics of this metal having 
been found among the antiquities of Missouri, save those made of native 
ore. But, as similar notices of its occurrence in the mounds, and on 
ancient levels, far below the present surface of the alluvial plains, are 
abundant in all the current antiquarian literature of the last half century, 
I felt that the subject was too important to be passed over in silence, 
especially as I had reason to suspect that those remote dwellers upon 
this continent, whose peculiar form of skull has been noticed by Hum- 
boldt, Foster, Lapham and many others, and lastly by myself in Missouri, 
were not unacquainted with the uses of iron and other metallurgical arts. 
That these were the opinions of that distinguished scholar and states- 
.man, William Wirt, the following quotation from his writings will show. 
After speaking of the various relics of vanished races, among which he 
mentions "iron and copper, buried in a soil which must have been undis- 
turbed for ages," he proceeds to say : "The mighty remains of the past, 
to which we have alluded, indicate the existence of three distinct races 
of men, previous to the arrival of the existing white settlers. The 
monuments of the first or primitive race, are regular stone Avails, wells 
stoned up, brick hearths found in digging the Louisville canal, nineteen 
feet below the surface, Avith the coals of the last domestic fire upon them, 
medals of copper and silver, SAVords and other implements of iron. Mr. 
Flint assures us that he has seen these strange ancient swords. He has 
also examined a small iron shoe, like a horse-shoe, encrusted Avith the rust 
of ages, and found far below the soil, and the copper axe, Aveighing about 
two pounds, singularly tempered and of peculiar construction." The 
second race, he thinks, were the authors of the mounds, Avho, in time, 
were succeeded by the Indians. 



112 AKCH^OLOGY 

A few weeks since I received, in a private letter from Prof. Tice, the 
distinguished meteorologist, an interesting account of the discovery, in 
one of the interior counties in Illinois^^f the corroded remains of some 
sort of cutting implement of iron or s^el. As I have not his communi- 
cation at hand at this moment, I cannot give the details ; but as I recall 
the statement, it was found several feet below the surface, in a gravelly 
river bank which had been washed away by the floods and thus exposed, 
and under such circumstances as to convince intelligent observers who 
saw it, and the bed from whence it was taken, that it was of great 
antiquity. What shall we say to these numberless and constantly 
recurring notices of the discovery of traces of iron? The journey of 
De Soto across the continent has been made to do good service in 
explaining the presence in the mounds of metal implements, as well as 
the immense defensive structures in some of the Southern States, which 
were thought to be beyond the skill of the ailcient inhabitants. A topo- 
graphical representation of all of the supposed routes of his journeyings 
would resemble a western railway chart. Had De Soto lived till now,^ 
and traveled incessantly, like the Wandering Jew, he could not have 
accomplished all that has been placed to his credit. Again, the bold 
Norsemen, under Eric the Red, and other adventurers on the ocean, 
whose ships, by adverse winds or favoring gales, were driven to these 
far off shores, — colonies of Welsh, Malayans — and the lost ten tribes of 
Israel — all have been marshaled by different authors in the interest of 
their particular theories, and made to do duty in explaining the inexpli- 
cable problems of our antiquities. In regard to the question thus touched 
upon, as well as many others equally perplexing, is it not better to sift 
and garner the grains of truth we have, and with childlike receptivity 
wait for greater light ? 



CHAPTER XI. 

Concluding Observations.— The Origin of the Pre-Historic Races of America.— 
Theory of Spontaneous Generation.— The Law Governing their Migrations.— 
Successive Movements of the Naiiua Race.— The Aztecs the last Colony of 
that People —Opinions op Baron Humboldt.— Our own Country probably the 
Original Home of the Aztec Civilization.— The Indian Races of Asiatic Ori- 
gin.— Facilities OF Immigration via. Behring's Straits.— A Personal Word.— Dry 
Bones Clothed. 

A proper completion of our investigations demands a brief notice ot 
the cnrrent opinions wliich relate to the origin, migrations and the ulti- 
mate fate of the race whose relics and monuments have been considered 
in the preceeding pages. By whatever theory we may be pleased to 
adopt as to the manner in which was first peopled, we are carried back 
irresistably to times so remote that we rise from our study of this sub- 
ject with the conviction that the origin of the first inhabitants of 
this continent must ever remain hidden in the darkness of oblivion. 

None of the many theories, some of which seemed quite probable at 
first view, have withstood the test of later investigations. One nation 
after another — European or Asiatic — has been put forward, as entitled to 
the honor of having been first in the field with its peopling or civilizino- 
colonies; prior to whose coming, it was assumed, this continent must 
have been a desolate waste, without inhabitants, or, in the latter case, at 
best, the home of wild and barbarous tribes. Another theory, which is 
maintained by a few distinguished writlers, is based upon the hypothises 
of spontaneous generation ; the natural sequence of which is that the abo- 
riginal inhabitants of America were Autochthons ;i or in other words, that 
man — in common with the plants and lower orders of animals — made his 
appearance on the earth spontaneousl}^ when, in the fullness of time, it 
had reached that condition which presented all those favoring and con- 
current circumstances which made his appearance a natural necessity. 

The spontaneous generation hypothesis is still so far from being verified, 
that the question of an autochthonous population need not be discussed ; 



1 Humboldt suggestively asks, " Did the nations of the Mexican race, in their migra- 
tions to the south, send colonies towards the east, or do the monuments of the United 
States pertain to the Autochthone nations? Perhaps we must admit in North America, 
as in the ancient world, the simultaneous existence of several centers of ci^^lization, of 
which the mutual relations are not known in history." Personal Narrative, Vol. VI., p. 
322. 



114 AECIL^OLOGY. 

inasmuch, also, as what we have to consider farther, relates to the ancient 
people of Missouri ; who, whatever may have been their origin, were so 
far removed in time from the parent stock, and changed in their physical 
and social condition by their evident snbsequent commingling with the 
Indian tribes, that they furnish us with few, if any, facts which can be re- 
lied (m as sure guides in conducting us to the origin of their national life. 

We must take them, therefore, as we find them, and in the light of such 
facts as we have been able to gather, and, applying also the mysterious, 
yet w^ell -established law which seems ever to have controlled -the migra- 
tory movements of the various nations of both hemispheres, deduce such 
conclusions as we may be justified in doing concerning their own migra- 
tions and their ultimate fate. 

The student of ancient history will observe that the migrations of rude 
and semi-civilized nations have generally, if not always, been from north to 
south. The exceptions to this, which are exceedingly rare in proportion 
to the vast number' of known movements of tribes and peoples in this 
direction, it is believed may readily be accounted for by some local and 
temporary cause — as stress of war, for example — which turned them for 
a time from their normal course. The constancy of the operation of this 
law — the causes of which are yet the subject of much learned specula- 
tion — I shall assume without stopping to illustrate it by quoting 
the numerous examples with which the pages of history abound, further 
than to give the opinion of one distinguished naturalist in its support. 
Says Von Hellwald,i "If we seek, however, to establish for historical 
events a basis in geographical relations — that is to say, if we carefully 
compare them together, analyzing the former and investigating their pos- 
sible causes, studying the latter and deducing as far as possible the 
resulting consequences — we shall iind that certain generally valid laws, 
which resolve in the simplest manner many an unexplained riddle, are 
evolved from such a study through the remarkable correspondence of 
facts. Thus, in reference to the migrations of mankind, it seems to 
result from the geographical structure of the continent that, as by virtue of 
an historical law we are not to look for men of comprehensive and 
deeply penetrating intellect in Lapland or Malta, in Bosnia or Asturias ; 
so, conformably with a strict geograpJiical law, the direction of the migra- 
tory stream icill he found always to lie in the axis of the greatest longiiudi- 



^ The American Migration, by Frederic Yon Hellwald — an admirable essay. Some of 
his facts and dates I have adopted. 
Smithsonian Eeport, 1866. 



OKIGIN OF THE PKE-HISTOKIC EACES. 115 

nal extension of the continent. In fact, no example from history informs 
us that the Tchapogires, Tunguses, Jakoots or people from the banks of 
the Amour, have ever descended into the Deccan or Malacca ; that the 
Ethiopians have ever migrated into Sennegambia, or the Finns into 
Greece. As a new proof how much nations and men depend on geo- 
giaphical circumstances, and even when they believe themselves ouided 
by their own will, merely obey a great natural law, the fact is of much 
sio-nificance that the American tribes form no exception to this general 
rule ; for here, also, the procession of the migratory races is in the longer 
axis of the continent, namely, from north to south. 

"That America, as well as Europe and Asia, was already inhabited 
before this great migration, and in many parts possessed of an ancient 
civilization, admits of no doubt. Occasional traditions of those early 
periods of culture have penetrated to us, and I cannot forbear soliciting 
the attention of the learned world to this legendary cycle of America, 
which is certainly worthy in mau}^ respects of a critical scrutiny ; for to 
judge from so much as is yet known, the inquiry cannot but yield inter- 
esting and valuable disclosures resjDecting the cosmogonic views of the 
American aborigines and the general tendencv of their ideas ; perhaps 
endow even the historian here and there with a fact of value. But to 
determine, from our present knowledge of the mystical traditions of 
these races, which of the tribes in America may have been the oldest, 
seems to me as impossible as superfluous. 

"Upon this soil multitudes of nations have moved and have sunk into, 
the night of oblivion, without leaving a trace of their existence ; without 
a memorial, throuofh which we might have at least learned their names. 
Those nations only, which by tradition, written records, monuments, 
or whatever other means, first guaranteed the remembrance of their own 
existence, belong to the domain of history ; and history which, to be true, 
accepts nothing but what is actually known, points to those as the primi- 
tive races which first transmitted a knowledge of themselves ; time 
begins for us when the chronology of such nations takes its rise. But 
all these so-called aboriginies might be only the remainder of previously- 
existing races, of whom, again, we knovv not whether they were indeed 
the first occupants of the land. In truth we meet in America, at more 
than one point, with traces of a rich civilization, proceeding demonstra- 
tively from much earlier epochs than the tribal migration itself; as, for 
example, in upper Peru, the gorgeous structures of the Aymaras, near 
Tiahuanco, on the beautiful shores of Lake Titicaca ; the mysterious 
monuments of Central America, between Chiapas and Yucatan, of which 



116 AECILgEOLOGY. 

the buildings of Paleiique constitute the most celebrated representative ; 
the earth and stone works of a people distinct from the above, on the 
banks of the Mississippi and the Ohio." 

In speaking of the migratory movements of the American tribes, it 
must be remembered that several distinct expeditions of the same people, 
at times more or less remote from each other, are often spoken of as one 
migration ; for example, the race which bore the name of Nahuatlacas, 
was composed of seven tribes ; namely, the Xochimilcos, Chalcas, Te- 
panicas, Tlahuicas, Colhuas, Tlaxcaltecas and Aztecs. All these tribes 
spoke the same Language, and, issuing from the same region far to the 
north, appeared in Mexico at successive periods, following each other in 
the order named. The Aztecs, renowned in the history of the Conquest, 
were the last to arrive. Some time prior to the commencement of the 
Christian era — many think not less than a thousand years must be 
assumed — the mysterious Nahoas, or Nahuas, appear in Mexico. Con- 
cerning their origin little is known, and none have been able to penetrate 
the Clouds of obscurity which envelop their history. This much, however, 
is established, namely, that all the Toltec and the later Aztec, or more 
properly Nahuatl tribes, were only branches of the great Nahua farail}^, 
and all spoke dialects of this ancestral race. This is a most important 
and significant fact, as affinities of language are considered among the 
most certain guides in ethnological investigations. But little more is 
known concerning the original Nahuas than to suggest the probability 
that they were the authors of some of the stone structures in Northern 
Mexico, and the builders of a few, and those the most ancient, mounds 
of the Mississippi Valley. With the advent of the Toltec domination in 
the country previously occupied by their NahuatU ancestors, the thick 
darkness begins to be dissipated, and the dawn of ancient American 
history is ushered in. 

The learned and able interpreter of the monuments and hieroglyphic 
annals of ancient Mexico, the Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg, regards 955 
years before Christ as the earliest reliable date which can be established 
in the Nahuatl language. Although the Toltec tribes did not make their 
appearance on the scene simultaneously, but at different times, and pos- 
sibly by different routes, as was the case with the Aztecs who succeeded 
them, their active occupancy began in the seventh century of our era, or, 
to speak more accurately, in the year 648. Clavigero, however, who is 
alone in his opinion among early writers, fixes the date at 596. This 

1 Pronounced " Know-all"; and according to de Bourbourg, it has the same meaning. 



OKIGEsr OF THE PKE-HISTOKIC KACES. 117 

people, after the lapse of about four hundred years, havhig been almost 
destroyed by famme, pestilence and civil wars, were succeeded by a more 
barbarous, though neighboring tribe, known as Chichimecs, who also 
have been supposed by some to have belonged to the same Nahua family, 
but whose peculiar language is now considered as convincing proof that 
they were from a separate and distinct stock, although they had been 
more or less influenced by association with their Toltec neighbors, and 
had adopted some of their arts and customs. Of course it should be 
remembered that the large territory of Mexico was occupied conjointly by 
nianv other pre-Toltec tribes besides the Nahuas, but whose languages 
Avere so radically different, so entirely wanting in linguistic affinities with 
the Nahuatl tongues, — among which may be mentioned the Almecs and 
the Otomi, whose speech was monosyllabic, — that they must be regarded 
as more ancient than the Nahuas even. But the reign of the Chichimecs 
was short. A tribe of immigrants, known as the Acolhuas, took up their 
residence with the Chichimecs, and the union resulted in the kingdom of 
Acolhuan. This kingdom was scarcely established when the great and 
last mio-rations we have to notice took place. The seven Nahuatla- 
cas tribes, as before noticed, arrived upon the scene, the Aztecs bringing 
up the reiir, after a longer interval than the others. This celebrated 
people, who, in the year 1090, had left their home in the mysterious 
Aztlan, after various wanderings and delays in their southward journey, 
finally reached the table-lands of Mexico somewhere between the years 
1186 and 1194, and took possession of the cities which the Chichimecs 
in turn abandoned, following in the path of the Toltecs, who had fled 
from these same seats less than two hundred years before. Adopting 
and improving upon the civilization of their predecessors, the Aztecs 
founded that kingdom whose magnificence and power filled the Conquer- 
ors with wonder. They displayed a bravery and heroic devotion in the 
defense of their rulers and their native land which awakens our liveliest 
sympathies, and the admiration of the civilized world; and their final 
and pitiless destruction has left a dark stain upon the character of their 
destroyers, which no excuses in the interests of religious zeal can 
diminish, nor the glory of their daring deeds efface ! 

In the preceding and incomplete outline sketch of the leading branches 
of the Nahua fiimily, with some account of their migrations, I have called 
attention to those facts only which seemed necessary to a more explicit 
statement of what has been incidentally assumed throughout these 
investigations. 
■ From my point, of view then, no theory is admissible which does not 



118 AKCH^^OLOGY. 

contemplate the migrations of the various tribes whicli appeared at dif- 
ferent times upon the table lauds of Mexico, during a period of two 
thousand years or more, as the movements of the different branches ot 
the one Nahua race, whose ancient seats must be sought for in the great 
alluvial plains of the Mississippi valley. Their precise location may 
never be discovered ; it is, however, quite probable that the unknown 
Aztlan, the Huehuetlapalan of the Aztecs (who, as has been shown, 
were the last to leave their primitive home), may yet be identified. At 
the commencement of my study of the antiquities of America, I accepted 
without question the views of distinguished early writers upon this 
subject, which I have since found no reason to reject during all my 
subsequent inquiries. And had I at any time been disposed to embrace 
opposite conclusions, I should have felt great diffidence in suggesting 
them, which to me would savor of presumption, thus to place myself in 
opposition to the mature convictions of the great men who have devoted 
years of patient labor in this direction, of whose names I need men- 
tion but one. Among the learned in all lands, the opinions of Humboldt, 
upon any subject which engaged the attention of his powerful intellect, 
command the most respectful consideration. The rare opportunities 
which he enjoyed, during his extended travels and prolonged stay on this 
continent, at a period, too, when many of the antiquities were in a better 
state of preservation and therefore much more intelligible and instructive 
than now, give great weight to his conclusions concerning the ancient 
races of America. In speaking of the races under consideration, he 
says: "The very civilized nations of New Spain, the Toltecs, the 
Chichimecs, and the Aztecs, pretended to have issued successively, from 
the sixth to the twelfth century, from three neighboring countries situa- 
ted toward the north, and called Huehuetlapalan or Tlepallan, Ama- 
quemacan, and Aztlan or Teo-Alcolhuacan. These nations spoke the 
same language, they had the same cosmogonic fables, the same propensity 
for sacerdotal congregations, the same hieroglyphic paintings, the same 
divisions of time, the same taste for noting and registering everything. 
The names given by them to the towns built in the country of AnahuMC 
were those of the towns they had abandoned in their ancient country, 
The civilization on the Mexican table-land was regarded by the inhabit- 
ants themselves as the copy of something which had existed elsewhere, 
as the reflection of the primitive civilization of Aztlan. Where, it may 
be asked, must be placed that parent land of the colonies of Anahuac, 
that officina gentium, which, during five centuries, sends nations toward 
the south, who understand each other without difficulty, and recognize 



OEIGIN^ OF THE PEE-HISTORIC RACES. 119 

each other for relations? Asia, north of Amour, where it is nearest 
America, is a barbarous country ; and, in supposing (which is geograph- 
ically possible) a migration of southern Asiatics by Japan, Tarakay 
(Tchoka), the Kurile and the Aleutian isles, from southwest toward 
the northeast (from 40 to 55 deg. of latitude), how can it be believed 
that in so long a migration, on a way so easily intercepted, the remem- 
brance of the institutions of the parent country could have been pre- 
served with so much force and clearness ! The cosmogonic fables, the 
pyramidal constructions, the system of the calendar, the animals of the 
tropics found in the catasterim of days?, the convents and congregations of 
priests, the taste for statistic enumerations, the annals of the empire held 
in the most scrupulous order, lead us toward oriental Asia ; while the 
lively remembrances of which we have just spoken, and the peculiar 
physiognomy which Mexican civilization presents in so many other 
respects, seem to indicate the existence of an empire in the North of 
America, between the 36th and 42d degree of latitude. We cannot re- 
flect on the military monuments of the United States without recollecting 
the first country of the civilized nations of Mexico." On a preceding 
page he also mentions the fact that " the country between the 33d and 
41st degrees of latitude, parallel to the mouth of the Arkansas and 
the Missouri, is considered by the Aztec historians as the ancient dwel- 
ling of the civilized nations of Anahuac." The views here expressed, 
and which all succeeding investigations have tended to verify, carry us 
back to very remote times, far beyond any authentic history or tradition, 
when America was peopled by rude tribes of a low grade of humanity, 
but which, nevertheless, possessing within themselves the germs of a 
civilization which slowly through the ages evolved a progressive 
national life, at length resulted in the establishment of the fixed com- 
munities in North America, whose skillful hubsandry, arts, commercial 
enterprise and original and complex system of religion we have already 
contemplated. All of those, however, were but the broad beginning — 
the prophecy of that higher development which found its fulfillment in 
the more sumptuous civilization in the rich valleys of Central and South 
America. The territory • occupied by the Mound-builders is too large, 
the evidences of a dense population throughout its length and breadth 
too numerous, to permit us to suppose that its occupancy was of short 
duration. There is also too wide a ditference in the respective ages of 
many of the mounds : some are manifestly hoary with age, while others 
are of recent date. 

While we believe, therefore, that a period of many centuries must 



'120 AKCIL^OLOGY 

have elapsed during the extension of a people so numerous over the vast 
area which they inhabited, and the erection of so many structures as are 
still to be seen, it is equally clear from my stand-point that we must also 
believe that all facts, when rightly considered, point to a gradual disap- 
pearance towards the south, and at different periods of time, which may 
be found to correspond to the known dates of the migrations of the Aztec 
tribes. As these occurred at times more or less remote from each other, 
it is altogether probable that, to different causes must the separate 
migrations be ascribed. Some tribes, as the ruins of their military forts 
and encampments show, retreated slowly before the encroachments of an 
invading force. Other sites seem to have been abandoned deliberately, 
without any attempt at defence ; or perhaps the impulse which set them 
in motion may have been the captivating accounts they had received 
' of the glory and riches of the distant land to which their brethren had 
departed years before. While long lines of military defence may be traced 
here and there across the continent at the north, and along the eastern 
plains of the valleys of the Mississippi and Ohio, very few have been 
observed upon the western side of the Mississippi, at least in Missouri, 
and -those are of small dimensions. I am led to infer that, however 
sudden may have been their abandonment, it was voluntary, and that the 
ancient Missourians were the last to leave the coimtry. While it may be 
impossible to decide whether they were the Aztecs themselves, or a 
remnant of that tribe which was left behind, I cannot forbear to express 
my own inclination to the latter opinion ; in which case they may have 
proceeded no further than the regions about the Gulf, where they became 
amalgamated with the Indians, who may have intercepted them in the 
journey, and by whom, as a tribe, they were exterminated. That some 
such event did take place, as before stated, many facts would induce us 
•to believe. Many of their customs survived them, in the practices of 
the more southern tribes, when the country was first occupied by the 
Europeans, which point strongly in this direction. Among these tribes the 
Natchez will be remembered, whose arts, worship, sacerdotal system and 
customs were very similar, and in many respects identical with those of 
Mexico. This identity of customs, worship, etc., 1 had intended to discuss 
moreat length, and also present the facts which bear upon the question, but, 
as I have already transcended my limits, I must desist. It seems to me 
to be established, that the ancestors of the Indian tribes came to America 
by way of Behring's Straits. These are frozen over every year as late as 
April, according to Professor Henry, who further states that "intercourse 
at present is constant, by means of canoes, in summer between the Asiatic 



OKIGm OF THE PKE-HISTOKIC KACES. 121 

and Americau sides. As a«other fact relating to the same question, we 
may state that, while the Asiatic projection near Behring's Straits is 
almost a sterile, rocky waste, the opposite coast presents a much more 
inviting appearance, abounding in trees and shrubs. Moreover, the 
climate, when we pass southward of the peninsula of Alaska, is of a genial 
character, the temperature continuing the same as far down as Oregon. 
The mildness of the temperature, and the descent of the isothermal line, 
or that of equal temperature, along the coast, are due to a great current 
called the Gulf Stream of the Pacific, which carries the warm water of the 
equator along the eastern coast of Asia, thence across the opposite coast 
of America, and along the latter on its return to the equator. The 
action of this current, which does not appear to have been considered by 
the ethnologist, must have had much influence in inducing and deter- 
mining the course of the migration." He adds "that the present 
inhabitants of the countries contio-uous to Behring-'s Straits on the two 
sides, in manners, customs, and physical appearance, are almost identical." 
It is believed that the hypothesis we maintain, which holds that the 
southern portions of this continent were peopled by tribes who had their 
origin in more northern regions, and who, in some cases at least, were 
driven from their ancient homes by mongrel hordes who made their 
appearance by way of Behring's Straits, is the only one which harmonizes 
the many otherwise inexplicable facts which continually confront the 
student of the antiquities of America. No other theory will satisfactorily 
-explain the presence in the same mounds of skulls of such different and 
.contrasting types, and which are so frequently met with in the tumuli 
of Missouri. 

In bringing our work to a close, I beg leave to say that, in the prepar- 
ation of the foregoing chapters, it has been my aim to present the subjects 
treated of in a form as attractive and popular as I was capable of, and in 
a manner in keeping with the historical character of the work in which 
they appear. If, to the scientific reader, I may seem at times to have 
expressed my views with a warmth and enthusiasm not always appropri- 
ate to scientific inquiries, my desire to invest with all possible interest, to 
the general reader, a subject which might ordinarily be consideied dry and 
unattractive, must be my apology. Having for fifteen years devoted all 
the time which could be spared from the labors of my profession to archae- 
ological studies, and especially the antiquities of my native land, the 
enthusiasm which I felt at the outset has been intensified rather than di- 
minished, at every step of the journey. Indeed, the results which hUve 
been attained already are of such absorbing interest as to arouse the 



122 AKCH^^OLOGY. 

enthusiasm of every student of these antique memorials ; and the zeal of 
the antiquary receives a fresh impulse from time to time, as he grapples 
with those questions which relate to the origin of the different races of 
men, their modes of development, the routes of their migrations and the 
like ; as also, while he labors to construct a pre-historic history from the 
ashes of forgotten cities, the debris of former habitations, and the 
mouldering relics which ancient tombs disclose. 

It is related in sacred story, of an old prophet, that he was set down 
in a valley of dry bones, and told to pass by them round about, and 
behold they were very many, and very dry. But, at the sound of his 
prophetic voice, there was a noise and shaking and coming together, bone 
to his bone, the flesh and skin covered them again, and there stood up 
an exceeding great army. So the scientist to-day passes up and down 
the valleys, and among the relics and bones of vanished peoples, and as 
he touches them with the magic wand of scientific induction, these ancient 
men stand up on their feet, revivified, rehabilitated, and proclaim with 
solemn voice the story of their nameless tribe or race, the cotemporan- 
eous animals, and the physical appearance of the earth during those 
pre-historic ages. 

The Christian scientist, pursuing his investigations regardless of all 
dogmatic theories concerning divine revelation, and bringing, at last, all 
right results of his work to the subjective light of that old record which 
thus far they have only served to glorify, discovers now and then the 
golden key by which the sublime and occult truths condensed in its sen- 
tentious statements may be unlocked, and the long 83ons understood, 
which are comprehended in the evening and the morning of the creative 
days. 




'V 




^^c^^ 




^^< 



Q__ 



/ 



Part II. History. 



SiB'i'oeicSL gKsivcs 



— OF — 



MISSOURI, 



—BY — 



Col. W. F. Switzler, 

Editor Missoun Statesman, 

COLU.MBIA. 



"1 see here one State that is capable of assuming the great trust of being the middle, 
main, the mediator, the common center between the Pacific and Atlantic — a State of 
vast extent, of unsurpassed fertility, of commercial facilities such as are given to no 
other railroad State on the Continent— a State that grapples hold upon Mexico and 
Central America on the south, and upon Eussian and British America on the north, and 
through which is the thoroughfare to the Golden Gate of the Pacific." — ^Wm. H. 
Sf;waed. 



INTRODUCTION. 

^EVERAL histories of Missouri, more or less elaborate, have ap- 
yD peared since the close of our civil war. Whence, therefore, the* 
necessity for another ? With as much reason it might be asked, Why 
more than one history of the war itself, or of the country and people 
and institutions affected by it? What good reason can be given for 
more than one history of the United States? After one was issued, and 
received it may be with more or less favor by the thoughtful and read- 
ing people of our country, what consideration justified the publication 
of a second, and of a third, or of a still greater number? 

Reasons as various, perhaps, as the minds which conceive them would 
be assigned for the appearance of a multiplicity of historic works in 
regard to the same country, and it is needless to trace them here. 

Two leading considerations justify, if they do not demand, other his- 
tories of Missouri than those now before the public : 1. The materials, 
not unlike tlie wealth and resources of the State, are inexhaustible — ^the 
field of exploration, discovery and discussion without limit. 2. Even 
if to a large extent the same events, records, traditions and reminis- 
cences are brought to view in each, and are made the subjects of 
comment and criticism, their presentation by different writers will be 
from different points of view, each disclosing new and valuable truths, 
and each essential to the fullest development of their just influence on 
mankind. 

No great and important truth attains its full strength, or to the fullest 
measure exerts its vital force on human destiny, unless it be faithfully 
presented in all its phases ; and no single mind, no difference how cultured 
and analytical it may be, will be found equal to the task of exhausting 
its virtues. 

The plan and scope of the History of Missouri now presented, differ in 
some particulars from any History which precedes it. Where some of 
these waste their strength in amplification, and in diffusiveness of style, 
this seeks to be terse, crisp and perspicuous. Where others dazzle the 
reader with the adornments of speech, and leave him to grope his way 
amid copious illustrations which are mere pictures of fancy, this subordi- 
nates everything to clearness and accuracy of statement, and to an honest 
effort to chronicle the truths of history and not the imaginings of the 
writer. 



126 mSTOEY OF MISSOURI. 

In the sketch which follows, Missouri will be considered under four 
general heads : 1, Province ; 2, District; 3, Territory and 4, State. 
As a Province, embracing the period from the date at which the first 
European set foot on its soil, in 1541, to 1804, when it became a part 
of the "District of Louisiana." As a District, from 1804 to 1812, when 
it was organized as a Territory. As a Territory, from 1812 to 1821, 
when it was admitted into the Union as a State. As a State, from 1821 
to the present time. 

Missouri has had a wonderful history. Within the memory of some 
of its oldest inhabitants now living, it was a part of the District of 
Louisiana, without population and almost without government, a wild 
waste of forest and prairie, the home of the Indian andbufialo, to which 
the arts of civilized life were almost unknown. 

In less than three-quarters of a century it ranks in population as the 
fifth in the sisterhood of thirty-eight States which compose the American 
Union, and boasts a taxable wealth of six hundred million dollars. 

The following words from ex-Governor Brown's Inaugural Address 
( 1870 ) have lost nothing of their truth, their force or freshness : 

" In all the elements of population, wealth, area, fertile soils, inexhaustible mines 
and manufactui'ing enterprise, the State of Missouri is an empire in itself. Devastated 
by armies, checked in production, girded by railways, it has yet risen, since the last 
census, from being the eighth to the position of the fifth in importance in the Union. 
For this large growth, with its attendant prosperity, we are deeply indebted to an 
immigration that has given us tlic assurance of sympathy by casting its lot in our 
midst. 

" To the young men and women of the land we can extend the broadest welcome; 
to the denizens of older States we can promise that the swiftest rewards shall await 
upon labor; and to those of foreign countries, the scholar, the skillful artisan, and 
the husbandman, we can assure hospitality and employment. Thus, and thus only, 
will the recital of the next census be made to transcend by far the marvel of the 
last. Thus, too, we may secure the means of a development of field and mine, of 
trade and manufacture, somewhat commensurate with our infinite promise. Thus 
will the burden of debt transform itself into a necessity for reduced taxation. Thus 
will wealth be diff^used into the equal life of all. In the old days of Haroun 
Alraschid, we read of genii that had the power to build up splendid palaces in a 
single night; but in these times the genii who construct gi-eat States are the master 
motives that direct the tides of a vast moving population, and be convinced that 
none are so strong as love, and peace, and freedom.'^ 




The Capitol at Jefferson City. 



CHAPTER I. 



Expedition of Juan Ponce de Leon in 1512, to Florida, in Search of Gold and the 
Fountain op Eternal Youth.— His Failure and Death.— De Soto's Marvelous 
Expedition in 1539.— A Splendid Pageant.— He Discovers the River Mississippi 
IN 1541— Crosses it, and Marches into the Present Territory op Missouri.— 
De Soto's Death and Eomantic Burial. 



M 



. he first European who set foot on the territory now embraced in the 

JL State of. Missouri, accompanied Hernando de Soto in his wonderful 

expedition in 1541-2 in search of mines of gold and- silver, and 

which resulted, among other things, in the discovery of the Mississippi 

river. ' 

This expedition, therefore, one of the most extraordinary of which 
history gives an account, cannot properly be ignored in a work of 
this character : for, to the discovery of that river and to the explorations 
along its banks in search of the precious metals, are we indebted for the 
first settlements of the white man in our great State. 

In connection with it, and as embracing " events which cast their 
shadows before" in the disclosure of the Mississippi river and the occu- 
pancy of the Province of Missouri, it would be thrillingly interesting to 
trace, did the limits of this sketch allow, the course of Spanish adven- 
ture in the early years of the sixteenth century, directed toward Central 
America, and leading in time to the discovery, by Vasco Nunez, of the 
Pacific Ocean, and to the conquests of Peru and Mexico. 



128 HISTOEY OF MISSOUEL 

While these adventures were prosecuted, it seems not to have been 
foro-otten that there were reo:ions to the north, and on the Atlantic coast, 
worthy of the marvelous enterprise and insatiable cupidity of the 
Spaniards. 

In demonstration of this statement, Juan Ponce de Leon, an old 
comrade of Christopher Columbus and a Spanish navigator who had 
amassed great wealth by the subjugation of Porto Rico, one of the West 
India islands, having heard of mines of gold and precious stones and a 
fountain of eternal youth at the North, determined to possess them. 
Already rich, he desired to be richer; already old, he coveted the vigor 
of youth. Enchanted by the marvelous stories of untold wealth, and by 
the legend of bubbling waters of which whosoever drank should never 
die, he fitted out three ships at Porto Rico in March, 1512, and set sail 
for the new El Dorado. After a delay of more than a month in leisurely 
sailing over this delightful sea, touching here and there at different 
islands, the adventurers finally crossed the old Bahama channel which 
lies between Cuba and the Bahama islands ; they discovered the eastern 
coast of Florida and landed near the present site of St. Augustine. It 
happened to be Easter Snnday, called by the Spaniards Pascua de- 
Flores. "Pascua" is the same as the old English "Pash" or Passover, 
and Pascua de Flores is the "Holy-day of flowers." 

In honor of the day of the discovery, and because of the beautiful 
flowers and luxurious groves which covered the shore, and birds of song 
which made melody in the trees, Leon called the country Florida, and 
took possession of it in the name of Spain. 

Having discovered and possessed a land so fair to look upon, with a 
sky of Italian beauty above it and a placid sea washing its flowery 
shores, Ponce de Leon was convinced that the mines of gold and the 
wonderful fountain which had been the subjects of his thoughts by day 
and of his dreams by night were now within his grasp. For more than 
a month, therefore, he diligently sought them by cruising along the 
coast on both sides of the Peninsula and among the adjacent islands. 
Whether it was one or the other, whether it was trading with the Indians 
or fighting them — or penetrating "the deep-tangled wild wood "of the 
main land, — his eager eyes glistened with the expectation of the grqat 
discovery. Patiently and persistently he pursued his explorations, 
searching for gold on the banks of every stream, drinking the waters of 
every spring, and bathing in every fountain. 

Neither coveted mines of wealth nor fabled fountain of eternal youth 
were found ; and this gay old cavalier, broken in spirit by disappoint- 



EXPEDITION OF PONCE DE LEON. 



129 



ment and bereft of his fortune, retired to the Island of Cuba to die of 
an arrow-wound received in one of his fights with tlie Indians. 

Notwithstanding the failure which attended the expedition of Leon, 
marvelous stories continued to reach Spain of inexhaustible mines of 
gold in all the country north of the Gulf of Mexico, and various 
expeditions were projected to discover them. But their object was 
gold, not youth-restoring waters which gurgled from the fabled fountains 
in the new world. 

Among those whose cupidity and curiosity were excited was Hernando 
de Soto, who had been with Pizzaro in the conquest of Peru in 1533. 
De Soto had returned to Spain from this conquest with a fortune of five 
hundred thousand dollars ; met a flattering reception from the emperor 
Charles V, and made a magnificent display at court. 

Although every previous expedition to Florida had resulted in disaster, 
the conviction was strongly entertained among adventurous Spaniards 
that mines of boundless wealth existed 
in that country. De Soto shared 
this conviction, and determined to 
stake his life and fortune npon it. 
Being successful in inspiring others 
with confidence in his plans, in 1538 
he collected a numerous band of Span- 
ish and Portuguese cavaliers, and, de- 
siring to make a lavish display of his 
wealth, clothed them in gorgeous 
suits of armor of knightly pattern, and 
at their head appeared before the king 
of Spain. A respectful audience 
being granted, he petitioned the king 
for permission to take possession of 

Florida at his own cost, and that to this end a commission as Adelantado 
be issued to him. His requests were complied with. 

The news of his intentions excited throughout Spain and Portugal the 
greatest enthusiasm, and hundreds of gentlemen of position and wealth 
flocked to his standard, eager to share his perils and successes. 

Collecting and splendidly equipping a noble and heroic band of six 
or seven hundred men — some historians say a thousand, — twenty-four 
ecclesiastics and twenty ofiicers, he sailed from San Lucar in April 1538, 
with a fleet of nine vessels, which carried, in addition to his men, two or 
three hundred horses, a herd of swine, and a number of blood-hounds — 
9 




130 



HISTOKY OF MlSSOUni. 



the latter seemingly an indispensable force in all Spanish attempts at 
conquest and colonization. 

After stopping at Santiago de Cuba, and then at Havana, perfecting 
arrangements, for the expedition, the fleet finally left the latter place for 
Florida, and in May, 1539, anchored in Tampa Bay. 

With very little delay, De Soto, organizing anew the most gaudily- 
attired pageant which ever proposed to march through the unbroken 
forests of a new world, entered upon his wonderful expedition into the 
interior, determined, notwithstanding the bloody resistance of the 
Indians, and failures to discover mines of gold, to succeed or perish in 
the effort. 







His route was through the 'country 
ah'eady made hostile by the violence 
of the Spanish invader Narvacz. 
Yet on and on the stern and in- 
trepid De Soto wandered, through 
Fleet of the Cacique. tangled forests and over deep mo- 

rasses, finding neither gold nor precious stones, nor cities rich in 
treasure and merchandise, until, April 25th, 1541, he reached the banks 
of the Great River of the West — the Mississippi — and thus achieved 
immortality. 



DE SOTO'S FAILUKE AND DEATH. 131 

The point at which De Soto first saw the Mississippi was not far from 
the 35th parallel of latitude, at the Lower Chickasaw Bluffs, a few miles 
below Memphis. 

His arrival awakened much curiosity and fear among, the Dacotah 
tribe of Indians, who inhal)ited the western bank. Therefore a great 
multitude of them, armed with bows and arrows, and richly painted, and 
gailj^ decorated with tall plumes of white feathers, their chiefs sitting 
under awnings as magnificent as the natives could weave, came rowinir 
down the river in a fleet of two hundred canoes, brino-jiiff to the delisfhted 
:Spaniards gifts of fish,* and loaves of bread made of the persimmon. 

Desirous to cross the wide and rapid stream, De Soto was compelled 
to construct eight boats for the purpose. This delayed him over a 
month. After the boats were completed, the expedition crossed without 
difficulty or opposition, andpnrsued its way north along the west bank of 
the river, into the region now known as New Madrid in our own State. 
At this point, therefore, and at this time, the first European set foot 
on the soil of the territory now known as Missouri. 

Thence the expedition marched successively southwest and northwest 
till it reached the highlands of White Eiver, the western limit of his 
explorations. De Soto then proceeded south to the present site of Little 
Rock, and to the Hot Springs in Arkansas, and spent his third winter oh 
the banks of a stream which may have been the Washita, the White or 
the Arkansas. The accounts do not agree. 

In March or April, 1542, he marched to the Mississippi, where he was 
attacked with a fever. Overcome by hardships, disappointment and 
disease, De Soto died. May 21, 1542, at a place called Guacoya, and 
priests chanted over his body the first requiem ever heard on the waters 
of the Mississippi. 

To conceal his death from the Indians, who believed him the son of 
the Sun, who could not die, he was wrapped in a mantle, and in the 
stillness of midnight all that was mortal of Hernando De Soto was sunk 
in the middle of the stream. 

The discoverer of the Mississippi slept beneath its waters. He who 
had crossed the Atlantic and a large part of the continent in search of 
gold and silver and precious stones, found nothing so remarkable as his 
own burial. After his death his successor, Moscoso, led the survivors of 
his army, in 1543, in boats, down the stream to the Gulf of Mexico. 

Such was the first visit of Europeans into the country now known as 
Missouri, and into the great western valley of North America. 

These adventurers came primarily for the purpose of gratifying their 



132 



HISTOEY OF MISSOUET. 



love of gold, and for conquest and colonization. How strange and mel- 
ancholy their failure ! Thev came splendidly and gorgeously equipped^ 
Avith richly-caparisoned horses, their riders glittering with burnished 
steel, scarlet plumes and silks of gaudy hue. They founded no settlement 
and left no traces of civilization. Indeed so fruitless of good and so full 
of disaster was this expedition, although entered upon with wondrous 
pomp and pageantry, that for more than a century after its close the 
West remained utterly unknown to the white man. 




Burial of De Soto. 



CHAPTER II. 

Louisiana.— French Explorations.— Acquisition of Louisiana.— Missouri a Portion 
OF the Province.— Expedition op Marquette and Joliet in 1673.— They Discover 
THE Upper Mississippi and the Mouth of the Missouri. 

As the portion of country now known as Missouri formed a part of 
Louisiana, which was purchased from France by the United States in 
1803, during the administration of Mr. Jefferson, it lies directly in the 
track of our "Sketch," to mark the origin and progress of the French 
power in North America. ^ 

1 The vast region known as " Louisiana " was claimed by France by right of discovery 
•■and settlement. 

November 3, 1762, by a secret treaty between the French and Spanish kings, the 
former ceded to the latter that part of the Province of Louisiana which lay on the 
Western side of the Mississippi river, including the Island and city of New Orleans on 
the Eastern. (See "Annals of the West," p. 122.) 

The war which was waged between France and England for the possession of the 
country in the valleys of the St. Lawrence and Ohio, and which commenced in 1754, 
was terminated by the Treaty of Paris, February 10, 1763. By this ti'eaty France ceded to 
Great Britain, Canada with all its dependencies, as well as the Island of Cape Breton, 
.and other islands and coasts in the gulf and river St. Lawrence— the parties also stipu- 
lating that in order to establish an enduring peace and remove forever all subjects of 
•dispute with regard to the limits of the British and French territories on the conti- 
nent of America, that the confines between their dominions should be fixed irrevocably 
by a line drawn along the middle of the river Mississippi, from its source to the river 
Iberville, thence along the middle of that stream, and the lakes Maurepas and Pont- 
■chartrain, to the sea — the navigation of the Mississippi being equally free to both 
nations. 

October 1, 1800, the secret treaty of St. Ildefonso was made between Napoleon, as 
First Consul, and the King of Spain, wherebj^ the latter re-transferred to France the 
Province of Louisiana, which by the treaty of November 3, 1762, had been ceded by 
Prance to Spain. 

January 11, 1803, Mr. Jeff"erson appointed Kobt. K. Livingston and James Monroe 
ministers to France, and Charles Pinckney and James Monroe ministers to Spain, with 
full authority to agree upon treaties for "•' enlarging and more effectually securing our 
rights and interests in the river Mississippi, and in the territories eastward thereof." 
Neither at that time nor for months afterwards did Mr. Jefferson or the ministers 
rappointed have any idea of purchasing Louisiana ivest of the Mississippi. They only 
Avanted New Orleans and the Floridas. But Napoleon, then about to renew his wars 
with England, proposed, through Marbois, his Minister of the Treasury, to Mr. Living- 
ston and Mr. Monroe, to sell to the United States Louisiana entire ; and the American 
negotiators, transcending the letter of their instructions, agreed to pay $15,000,000 
therefor. Although this agreement was unauthorized and wholly unexpected, Mr. 
Jefterson, as President, ratified it ; and Congress was at once convened to consider it. 
That body met on the 17th of October, 1803, and on the 21st the treaty was ratified. 
(See "American State Papers," Vol. IL, pp. 525-583. Also "Annals of the West," 
pp. 528-529.) 



134 HISTOEY OF MISSOURI. 

Spain, France and England were the three great colonizing powers 
which with great activity and various success projected expeditions of 
discovery and settlement in this division of the continent. And one 
surprising coincidence is true of them, namely, the Spaniards planted 
their first colony east of the Mississippi on the barren sands of Florida ; 
the French, their first in the icy and inhospitable region of Quebec, and 
the English, at Jamestown, in Virginia, a State in no way remarkable for 
its fertility, and at Plymouth, in Massachusetts, "a stern and rock-bound 
coast." 

From these feeble and unpromising settlements radiated the conquests- 
and colonies of the three great nations we have named. 

The Spaniards, although at this period less enlightened than the 
French, had the advantage of larger experience ; and therefore their 
colonial policy was not based, on theory or fancy. The English were 
characterized by more fixedness of purpose and greater perseverance- 
than either of their rivals, and yet the French, by their superior aptitude 
in assimilating with the savages, and adroitness in winning their confi- 
dence, had a clear advantage over both. 

While therefore the English were planting along the coast of the 
Atlantic, some of the most flourishing colonies of the New World, the 
French were penetrating the Indian tribes who inhabited the northern 
interior of the continent, navigating in bark canoes the mighty rivers, 
and coasting the shores of the boundless lakes of the country. They 
displayed remarkable enterprise and address, and although beset on all 
sides by great and singular perils, accomplished extensive explorations. 

We cannot follow the French colonies into Canada, along the shores 
of the St. Lawrence, and of Lakes Erie, Huron and Ontario ; but this 
Historic Sketch would be incomplete did we not refer to the expedition 
in search of the Upper Mississippi in 1673, by James Marquette and 
Sieur Joliet. 

"Just at this period," said Hon. Thomas C. Eeynolds, of St. Louis, 
in an address in that city, at the two-hundredth anniversary of the dis- 
covery of the Upper Mississippi, September 17, 1873 — "just at this 
period, when the missionary mind of Canada was excited on the subject 
of the mysterious river to the 'South Sea,' there lauded, at Quebec, on 
September 20, 1666, a young Frenchman from the picturesque old cathe- 
dral city of Laon, in the beautiful and fertile region which lies to the 
north of Paris. This famed municipality had existed since the times of 
the Romans ; his family was the most ancient in it ; and as modern re- 
search has shown how wondrously the towns of Gaul, especially those 



EXPEDITION OF MAEQXTJLTTE AISTD JOLIET. 135 

• 

which were under the immediate protection of Christian Bishops, pre- 
served their institutions intact even under the rule of the conquering 
Franks, it needs no great stretch of the imagination to believe that the 
patrician Marquettes of Laon were the descendants of Celtic nobles whom 
the profound policy of ancient Rome attached to her standards by leaving 
them in control of their ancestral territories under her almost nominal 
supremacy. These Marquettes were a martial race ; three of them died 
in the French army, which aided our ancestors in the war of our own 
revolution ; and when James Marquette enlisted under the banner of the 
cross, he naturally assigned himself to that order to which its soldier- 
founder gave the military title of the Company of Jesus. As chivalric 
courage descended to him through his father's house, so fervent devotion 
was his birthright from his mother. Rose de la Salle, kinswoman of John 
Baptiste de la Salle, founder of the educational order of the Brothers of 
the Christian Schools. He was twenty-nine years of age when his feet 
first touched American soil. * * * From all the contemporary 
accounts of the expedition it is evident that Father Marquette was its real 
leader, its very soul. But, as an ecclesiastic, he could not take command 
of an armed force, however small ; as an ambassador of Christ, to foreign 
heathen nations, he could not act as the agent of a king of France. It 
was "accordingly arranged that the Sieur Joliet, a native of Canada, should 
command the expedition, and that Marquette should accompany it as its 
missionary. The choice of Joliet was a wise and happy one." 

On the 17th of May, 1673, these two French missionaries, together 
with five boatm.en, left the strait connecting Lakes Michigan and Huron, 
called Michilimackinac (or Mackinac) in two bark canoes in search of 
the Great River of the West. In Marquette's simple language he says : 
" We were embarking on a voyage the duration of which we could not 
foresee. Indian corn, with some dried meat, was our whole stock of 
provisions. With this, we set out in two bark canoes, M. Joliet, myself 
and five men, firmly resolved to do all and sufier all for so glorious 
an enterprise." Joyously they sped their way down Lake Michigan and 
through Green Bay into Fox River, and crossed the Portage (carrying 
their canoes) to the westward-flowing river, the "Ouisconsin" (Wis- 
consin). 

The Indians endeavored to dissuade them from pursuing their perilous 
journey ; told them of tribes still more savage than themselves, of fright- 
ful monsters that iufested the great river, and of a demon, who stopped 
the passage and engulphed all who dared approach. Nevertheless 
they launched on the broad Wisconsin, rowed slowly down its current 



136 HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 

amid its viiie-cl:id isles, and its countless sand-bars. No sound broke the 
stillness ; no human form appeared ; and at last, after the lapse of seven 
days, on the 17th of June, 1673, they happily glided into the great river 
— the Wisconsin joining the Mississippi Kiver a few miles below what is 
now known as Prairie du Chien. Joy that could find no utterance in 
words filled the grateful heart of Marquette. The broad river of the 
Conception, as he named it, now lay before them, stretching away hun- 
dreds of miles to an unknown sea.^ 

It was on this day and at this spot the Upper Mississippi was first seen 
by Europeans. Surrendering their frail bark to the swift current of the 
river they descended to the mouth of the Illinois, and then to the mouth 
of the Missouri, called by Marquette PeMtanoui, that is, "Muddy 
Water." 2 

Thus we have seen that De Soto, Marquette and Joliet were the first 
Europeans who entered the territory now forming our great State ; the 
two last the first white men, for a period of one hundred and thirty-two 
years, after DeSoto, to float upon the Mississippi ! 

Leaving the mouth of the " Pekitonoui," Marquette and Joliet de- 
scended the Mississippi, passing the present site of St. Louis without 
taking the least notice of it, to the mouth of the Ohio, and as fiir down 
as the mouth of the " Arkamsas," or Arkansas. From the last point they 
returned to the north and reached Green Bay in September of the same 
year, without the loss of a man or any serious accident. 

1 Shea's " Discovery of the Mississippi Valley," p. 29. 

= In Shea's "Discovery of the Mississippi Valley," there is a note on this word, to the 
effect that "Pekitanoui," or Muddy Water, prevailed till Marest's time (1712), about 
which period it was called " Missouri," from the fact that a tribe of Indians known as 
Missouris inhabited the country at its mouth, the same country being now embraced 
within the limits of St. Louis County. 



CHAPTEE III. 

Discovery of the Mouth of the Mississippi.— La. Salle and Hennepin.— Seeking a 
NoBTHAVEST Passage to China They Discover the Mouth op the Mississippi and 
Take Formal Possession of the Country in the Name of Louis XIV.— In Honor 
of Him They Call it " Louisiana."— Missouri a Portion of it.— Letters Patent 
TO Cruzat.— John Law's Company. 

"While the simple-hearted and true Marquette," says Peck in the 
"Annals of the West," " was pursuing his labors of love in the West, two 
men differing widely from him and each other, were preparing to follow 
in his footsteps, and perfect the discoveries so well begun by him and 
Joliet. These were Robert de La, Salle and Louis Hennepin." La Salle 
was a native of Normandy ; was brought up by the Jesuits, and a man of 
enterprise and intelligence. For some cause, about which it is unneces- 
sary to inquire, he lost his patrimony in his native country, and about 
1670 reached Canada very poor. 

Sharing the conviction which prevailed among scientific men of that 
period, that there was from the great lakes a north-west passage to 
China and Japan, La S^dle, about the time of the return of Marquette, 
was busy in organizing an expedition to discover it. He was not only 
ambitious to establish his own fortune and reputation, but zealous for 
the honor of his nation to signalize the French name by the splendor of 
the achievement. 

Frontenac was then governor-general of Canada, and to him La Salle 
unfolded his plans and applied for assistance. Frontenac deeply sympa- 
thized with his views, and advised him to visit Louis XIV, then reigning 
sovereign of France, make known his embryo but gigantic scheme, and 
solicit the royal patronage and protection. He did so ; received the 
King's favor and a tender of assistance, with letters patent and important 
discretionary powers. 

On the 14rth of July, 1678, La Salle, with Tonti, an Italian, and about 
thirty men, sailed from Eochelle, France, for Quebec in Canada, arriving 
safely in September. Preparations were at once made for the contem- 
plated western expedition, the design of which Avas to discover the 
Mississippi, and to follow it to its source as well as to its supposed 
entrance into the Gulf of Mexico. In this enterprise La Salle and party 
were joined by Louis Hennepin, who was a Franciscan friar, and a man 
very ambitious to become a great discoverer, but who withal possessed 
the weakness of exaggerating his own powers and exploits. 



138 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

The limits of this " Sketch" forbid our following step by step the vary- 
ing fortunes of these explorers. Suffice it to siiy, that after leaving Fort 
Frontenac in November, 1678, about eighteen months were spent in 
explorations on the northern lakes, along the coasts of the rivers, and 
among the tribes of Indians which inhabited the country now embraced 
by the States of Wisconsin and Illinois, during which they encountered 
many hardships and perils. At the lower end of Lake Erie they built a 
small vessel called the Grifin; and near the present site of Peoria, on 
the Illinois river, a fort, which from their disiippointments they named 
•G^'eve-Goeur, or Broken Heart. 

In order more expeditiously to explore the northerli and southern 
country, La Salle finally adopted this programme : That Father Henne- 
pin should ascend the Mississippi to its source ; that Tonti should remain 
at Greve-Goeur, while he should descend the Mississippi to its mouth. 
Accordingly, Hennepin embarked, on the 28th of February, 1680; and 
having passed down the Illinois into the Mississippi, ascended the 
latter as high as the Falls of St. Anthony — so named by him in honor of 
his patron saint. Shortly after he was taken prisoner by the Sioux 
Indians, robbed of his property, and carried 200 miles to their village. 
But he soon made his escape, and returned to Canada by the way of the 
Wisconsin; and thence sailed immediately for France, where in 1684 
he published an account of his travels. ^ 

La Salle, after visiting Canada for additional supplies and to perfect 
arrangements for his great expedition, returned to Greve-Ga&ur. Tarry- 
ing at this fort but a short time, he, accompanied by about twenty French- 
men, eighteen Indians, and ten Indian women to act as servants for their 
lazy mates, descended the Illinois river to the Mississippi, where he 
arrived on the 6th of February, 1682. On the 13th of the same month 
he commenced his downward passage, and on the 5th of April accom- 
plished the grand purpose of the expedition by the discovery of .the three 
mouths or passages, through which the great river discharges its waters 
into the Gulf of Mexico ; — one of those channels deepened at this time 
by Capt. Eads, by his system of jetties. 

1 L. C. Beck's Gazetteer, 1823, p. 51. "Annals of the West "by J. M. Peck, 1850, pp. 
40-41. The volume published by Hennepin he called "A Description of Louisiana." 
Thirteen years after its appearance he issued it in a new and enlarged fornl, with the 
title " New Discovery of a Vast Country Situated in America, Between New Mexico and 
the Frozen Ocean." In this edition Hennepin claims to have violated La Salle's instruc- 
tions and to have gone down the Mississippi to its mouth before ascending it. But this 
is a shameful imposture, for he took the account of his pretended descent from the work 
of Le Clercq, published in 1691. 



LA SALLE'S EXPEDITION. 139 

Three days afterwards, that is on April 9th, 1682, La Salle, by a 
ceremoii}^ of great pomp, took formal possession of the country in the 
name of Louis XIV, the reigning King of France, in honor of whom he 
called the country Louisiana. 

About three leagnes from the confluence of the great middle outlet 
with the Gulf, on a dry spot above the reach of inundations, La Salle 
prepared and "planted a cross, with the arms of France, amid the solemn 
chants of hymns of thanksgiving, and in the name of the French King 
took possession of the river, of all its branches, and the territory watered 
by them, and the Notary drew up an authentic act, which all signed with 
beating hearts ; and a leaden plate, with the arms of France and the 
names of the discoverers, was, amid the rattle of musketry, deposited in 
the earth." The leaden plate bore this inscription: '' Louis le Grand, 
Roi de France et de JSFavarre, Regne; le JSfeuvieme Avril, 1682." 
Standing near the planted cross. La Salle proclaimed with a loud voice, 
that "in the name of the most high, mighty, invincible and victorious 
Prince, Louis the Great, by the grace of God, King of France and of 
Navarre, fourteenth of the name, this 9th day of April, 1682," he took 
possession of the country of Louisiana, comprising almost indefinite 
limits and including, of course, the present territory of Missouri. 

After this discovery La Salle returned to Canada, then to France, and 
in July, 1684, under the patronage of the King, sailed from Eochelle for 
America with twenty-four vessels, four of which were specially designed 
for the re-discovery ( from the Gulf of Mexico ) of the mouth of the 
Mississippi and. the settlement of the far-famed Louisiana. But La 
Salle's vessels sailed far beyond the Mississippi, landed on the coast of 
Texas ; quarrels arose among his party, and on the 20th of March, 1.687, 
La Salle was assassinated by Duhant, one of his men, and buried on a 
branch of the Brazos. He was shot from ambush, in the head, and died 
within an hour. Thus perished La Salle, the first French explorer of 
the Mississippi to its mouth. He was illustrious for his cournge, enter- 
prise, perseverance and misfortunes. He was one of the greatest adven- 
turers of the ao-e in which he lived, and his discoveries were extensive 
and of importance to the French nation. He was the first European 
who established permanent colonies along the Mississippi, and opened 
the way for the settlement of Illinois, Missouri and Louisiuna.i 

By right of the discovery thus made, and in virtue of the ceremonies 
indicated, was the foundation laid for the claim of France to the INIissis- 
sippi Valley, according to the usages of European powers. 

1 "Annals of the West," pp. 41-54. 



140 HISTOEY OF MISSOURI. 

Singularly enough, for a long period after the discovery of the Missis- 
sippi by De Soto in 1541, the French settlements along that stream, all 
of which were projected in the interest of gold and silver mining, were 
confined altogether to the east bank. Finally, however, in the year 1705, 
just a century preceding the Avell-known expedition of Lewis and Clarke 
up the same river, the French organized a prospecting party for the 
Missouri Kiver, which they ascended to the mouth of the Kansas. It 
is not recorded that this expedition, the first in chronological order ever 
made up the Missouri River, resulted in the discovery of any of the 
precious metals. 

About this period it is known that the wars in Europe rendered it 
necessary that France should husband all her resources, and to a large 
extent withdraw attention and supplies of men and money from the 
colonj^ of Louisiana. Determined, if possible, to keep the colony out of 
the hands of his enemies, Louis XIV, as a dernier ressort, on September 
14th, 1712, conveyed it by charter or letters patent to Anthony Cruzat, 
a man of reputed intelligence and great force of character, and withal of 
immense wealth and credit. The letters patent bore date September 
14th, 1712, and granted to Cruzat, Counsellor of State, etc., the ex- 
clusive privilege of the commerce of Louisiana, for fifteen 3^ears. This 
embraced the whole country on both sides of the JNlississippi and now 
included in the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and 
Missouri. It was also provided in this charter that the " edicts, ordi- 
nances, customs of Paris, etc., were to be observed for laws in the said 
country of Louisiana." Therefore, the customs of Paris, etc., whatever 
they were, in connection with the common or civil law, constituted the 
laws of the province, with such modifications as were necessary to adapt 
them to a new and distant country. 

The first governor under Cruzat was M. de la Motte, who arrived and 
assumed the reins of power in 1713. Inexhaustible mines of gold and 
silver, prolific in yield beyond the historic richness of Peru and Gol- 
conda, opened themselves to the enchanted fancy of this Frenchman. 
Yast sums were expended to discover the priceless deposits, but in vain. 
A five years' experience, singularly marked by -disappointment and dis- 
aster, induced Cruzat in 1717 to return^^his patent to the King. 

Following this in quick succession, the colony of Louisiana was trans- 
ferred (1717) to the Company of the West, of which the celebrated 
John Law was the master spirit. Law was an adventurous Scotchman, 
whose financial speculations attained the acme of human folly in the 
disastrous explosion of the bank which he was authorized to establish in 



JOHN LAWS' COMPANY. 141 

connection with the Company, a bank whose worthless notes were in 
circulation to an amount exceeding two hundred millions of dolhirs. The 
expected income from the commerce, lands and mines of Louisiana occu- 
pied the place of United States bonds and coin as capital, and constituted 
the foundation of its credit. It was dechired a royal bank, and its shares 
rose to twenty times their par valne. Thousands of capitalists rushed 
to the stock board, the "Mississippi Bubble" was soon inflated, and in 
1720 bursted, leaving the deluded speculators penniless. 

Amos Stoddard, in his excellent and very instructive Historical Sketch 
of Louisiana, very justly remarks : 

" The Mississippi scheme was no less hold in its conception than disastrons in its con- 
seqnences. It seized within its gTasp the bank, the mint, all the trading companies, and' 
all the revennes of the kingdom. The object was to employ this vast capital in opening 
the rich mines of Lonisiiuia, and in cultivating its fertile soil, in carrying on the whole 
commerce of the nation, and in managing its revenues. The company created three 
hundred thousand shares, at five hundred livres each; all of which were sold in market, 
and before the completion of the sales they arose to an enormous height. The amount 
of stock thus created, without taking the rise into calculation, amounted to sixteen 
hundred and seventy-seven milhons five hundred thousand livres ; or three hundred and 
ten millions six hundred and forty-eight thousand, one hundred and forty-eight dollars! 

" Such indeed was the phrenzy of speculation that the whole nation, clergy and laity, 
peers and plebeians, princes and statesmen, mechanics and even ladies, employed theij- 
wealth in purchasing these shares." 

Overwhelmed by irretrievable ruin, the charter of the Company of the 
West was surrendered to the Crown in 1731. Nevertheless, the enter- 
prise of Law was not an unmixed evil. It quickened the tide of immi- 
gration of miners, mechanics and agriculturists to the territories of 
Illinois and Missouri, and settlements for the first time began to dot both 
banks of the Mississippi. The cultivation of tobacco, indigo, rice and 
silk was introduced, the lead mines of Missouri were opened, in the hope 
of finding silver; and in Illinois the culture of wheat was commenced. 

It is proper to remark that, although the countiy included within the 
present limits of Missouri excited the attention of the French in conse- 
quence of its mineral resources, their settlements were generally confined 
to the east bank of the Mississippi. When, however, by the treaty of 
Paris, 1763, the Mississippi became the boundary between the possessions 
of England and France, many of the French inhabitants, preferring their 
old to their new masters, crossed the river and commenced new settle- 
ments ; for it should be recollected that, although the territory west of 
the Mississippi was ceded to Spain in 1762, the fact was not known to 
the colonists until two years afterwards, to-wit: April 21st, 1764. 



CHAPTEE IV. 

First Settlement in Missouri.— The French Settle Ste. Genevieve in 1735.— Its 
Inundation in 1785.— New Bourbon.— Renault's Searches for Gold and Silver. 

While all historians agree, we believe, as to the place of the first 
permanent settlements in the territory now known as the State of 
Missouri — to-wit : that they were made at Ste. Genevieve and New 
Bourbon, — there is an embarrassing conflict of authority as to the date 
•of them. Mr. Lewis C. Beck fixes them in his Gazetteer, published in 
1823, page 214, in the autumn of 1763, while others believe them to have 
occurred at an earlier period. 

For example: A letter from Hon. Gustavus St. Gem, dated Ste. 
Genevieve, Mo., September 18th, 1873, and addressed to the writer of 
this " Sketch," says ; 

" I find, in looking over the old papers of my grandfather, in possession of my sister, 
Mrs. Menard, and carefully preserved by her as precious family relics, that my great- 
grandfather purchased of Mr. Gabouri a house with lot of two arpents of land, in the 
'■ Post of ste. Genevieve of the Illinois,' on the 29th day of December, 1754, thus show- 
ing that the town had evidentlj^ been settled several, nay, many years before the date of 
his purchase. There is, in my opinion, no correct data, wi'itten or of record, fixing the 
exact time when the place was settled ; but we have it here by tradition that the fii'st 
white inhabitants came over here from Kaskaslda about the year 1735. KaskasMa was 
then the metropolis of the West, with a population estimated at 6,000 souls. It was 
from Kaskaskia that Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, Kahokia, St. Charles, Portage des Sioux 
and other early settlements, for many years obtained their supplies of goods and 
merchandise, and it was the opulent and proud inhabitants of Kaskaskia, who gave the 
derisive names of Misere to Ste. Genevieve, Pai7i Court (short of bread) to St. Louis, 
Vide Poche (empty pocket) to Carondelet, Pouilleux (lousy) to the people of Kahokia, 
etc. The town or ' post ' of Ste. Genevieve was located by its first settlers in the river 
bottom three miles south or south-east of its present site. It was completely inundated 
in 1785, Vannee des grandes eaux, when the inhabitants were di'iven for safety to the 
elevations, and founded the present town. So the town now dates from the year 1785. 
Xew Bourbon was settled only after the French revolution of 1789, by Koyalists who fled 
from France and exiled themselves at this place two miles south of Ste. Genevieve, and 
called their settlement New Bourbon, after that detestable dynasty which kept France 
under an iron rule and crushing tyranny for so manj^ long centuries. But the place 
never thrived, and, like the Bourbons, there is nothing left of it except a few land- 
marks. The settlers of New Bourbon were CamiUe Delassus and Mr. Demunn, of the 
ancienne noblesse.'''' 

Whether the first settlement at Ste. Genevieve be fixed at the tradi- 
tional period of 1735 or at a later date, it is unquestionably true that it 
was made in the interest of gold and silver mining, and long before the. 



FERST SETTLEMENT IN MISSOURI. 143 

purchase of Louisiana. As early as 1720, Eenaiilt, a son of a celebrated 
iron founder of France, established himself at Fort Chartres, about ten 
or fifteen miles above Ste. Genevieve, ou the opposite bank of the 
Mississippi. He left France in 1719, with two hundred artificers and 
miners provided with tools and whatever else was necessary to accom- 
plish his object. lu his passage he touched at the Island of St. Domino:o 
and purchased five hundred slaves for working the mines ; and, enterino- 
the Mississippi, pursued his voyage up that river to New Orleans, which 
he reached some time in 1720, and soon afterward proceeded on his way 
to Fort Chartres. From this point he dispatched parties of miners to 
"prospect" for the precious metals, and they crossed the river to the 
west bank and explored what is now Ste. Genevieve County. These 
expeditions were prosecuted with great diligence, as is proven by the 
fact that many of Eenault's old mines, overgrown with trees and covered 
with moss, have been since discovered. 

Failing to find either gold or silver, as all previous explorers had 
failed, but discovering lead ore in abundance, he established rude 
furnaces for smelting it, and conveyed it on pack horses to Fort Chartres, 
thence to France via New Orleans in boats. 

In 1785, about twenty years after the founding of St. Louis, the great 
flood destroyed the old town or "post" of -Ste. Genevieve, and the site 
of the present town was established. After this was done, the new 
town experienced a large influx of population from the east side of the 
Mississippi, and it became a very important village. 



CHAPTER V. 

Laclede.— St. Louis.—" The Louisiana Fur Company,"— Laclede its Master Spirit.— 
His Expedition from New Orleans in 1763.— Ste. Genevieve.— Fort de Chartres. 
— A Description. — Discovery by Laclede, in 1764, of the Site of St. Louis. — 
Extracts from an Address of Hon. Wilson Primm.— Laclede's Death and Burial. 
— What a Bubble is Fame! 

The prediction is not iinfreqnent that St. Louis is destined to become 
the great city of the continent. Certainly it is at this time the great 
commercial and manufacturing metropolis of the Mississippi Valley, and 
in the enjoyment of advantages of geographical position and enterprise 
wiiich secure it a proud future. 

From whatever point of view it may be contemplated St. Lonis has a 
marvelous history. Much of it has been written ; much of it remains 
to be written. Replete as it is with thrilling interest from the earliest 
period of its existence to the present time, and embracing events, tra- 
ditions and reminiscences sufficient of themselves to fill a volume, the 
limits of this Sketch compel the omission of much properly belonging to 
its history. 

St. Louis was founded by -Pierre Laclede Liguest, or as he is most 
commonly called, Pierre Liguest Laclede, on the 15th of February, 1764. 
Mr. Elihu H. Shepard, in his "History of St. Louis," says he " was born 
in Biou, France, near the base of the Pyrenees Mountains, the line 
between France and Spain, in the year 1724. He was about five feet 
eleven inches in height, of very dark complexion, had black, piercing and 
expressive eyes, a large nose and expansive forehead." Also that "he 
was a merchant of no ordinary mind. Others have acquired vastly larger 
estates, but no one has excelled him in pushing foj'ward commercial 
enterprises in person, and planting the seed of a city in more fertile soil, 
and cultivating it with greater success. His scrutinizing eye and sound 
judgment directed him to the point on the block of Main street, in front 
of the spot where the Merchants' Exchange was afterwards located, as 
the best place to sell goods on the west side of the Mississippi, in 1764. 
More than a century has since elapsed, and it is the best place yet. On 
this celebrated block, on which Barnum's Hotel now stands, and on 
which other elegant structures unite to cover the whole block, Mr. 
Laclede erected his dwelling house and store. He left a host of friends 
to lament his loss, speak his praise, and enjoy his labors : but no widow 
to shed a tear, or child to inherit his property or his name. His history 



LACLEDE'S EXPEDITION. 145 

while ill Missouri, however, lives, and must live as long as the city he 
founded retains its name." 

During the year 1763, Laclede obtained from M. D'Abbadie, then 
Director-General as well as civil and military commander of Louisiana, 
a monopoly of the " fur trade with the Indians of Missouri and those 
west of the Mississippi above the Missouri, as far north as the river St. 
Peters." This company was organized as the firm of Laclede, Maxent 
& Co., but was popularly known as "i 'he Louisiana Fur Company." 
Its leading object was the prosecutio i of the traffic in furs, then 
believed to promise very large rewards. With a view of accomplishing 
the designs of the Company, an expedition under the leadership of 
Laclede, was organized in New Orleans, for the purpose of establish] ns' 
a permanent trading post at some point north of the then existing 
settlements. This expedition, accompanied by a little band of trappers, 
mechanics and hunters, left New Orleans in rude and clumsy boats, on 
the third day of August, 1763, aud proceeded on their weary way up 
the river. Three months afterwards — November 3d — they reached Ste. 
Genevieve, then a place of considerable importance, where they hoped 
to find temporary accommodations for themselves, and houses in which to 
store their goods. 

Louis XV had already signed the treaty of peace by which was ceded 
to Great Britain the immense region comprising what are now the two 
Canadas, the great watery expanse of the Northern Lakes, and the rich 
domains of Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and East Louis- 
iana to the Gulf of Mexico. 

The Mississippi river thus became the boundary between the French 
and British possessions, with its navigation declared free to the two 
nations. At this time the French establishments were principally on the 
east side of the river. The little village of Ste. Genevieve alone was on 
the western side ; and in this Mr. Laclede could scarcely find a house of 
sufficient size to store a fourth of his cargo. 

Moreover, M. D'Abadie, the Director-General of Louisiana, had re- 
ceived orders to deliver up the territory on the east side of the river to 
Great Britain, so that the British authorities might be expected at any 
moment to take possession of it. In the midst of these difficulties, 
Laclede was greatly relieved by the oifer of M. Villiers, the commander 
of Fort de Chartres, to allow him the use of it until its surrender. He 
gladly accepted the offer, and lost no time in apportioning his men and 
distributing his flotilla along the river, so as to render them most efiective 
either for defense or trade. 
10 



146 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

At this period the French Colony, established sixty years before in 
Illinois, was in a prosperous condition. Fort Chartres being its seat of 
power. This fort was originally built by the French in 1720, for defense 
against the Spaniards, and in 1756 was rebuilt in view of hostilities 
between England and France for the possession of the country on the 
Ohio. It was less than a mile from the' Mississippi river, on the east or 
Illinois shore of that river and about fifteen miles above Ste. Genevieve ; 
and possessed every convenience for officers and men, as well as maga- 
zines for munitions and stores. 
: It was an irregular quadrangle, the sides of the exterior polygon being 
490 feet in length. The walls, which were of stone, were two feet two 
inches thick, and at proper intervals were pierced with loop and port- 
holes for small arms and cannon. In truth at that time it was the best 
built and most convenient fort in North America. 

By gradual encroachments the Mississippi river, many years previouslj^ 
reached and undermined the w^est wall ; while those portions which 
escaped inundation w^ere removed by the inhabitants of Kaskaskia, a 
town on the river below and nearly opposite Ste. Genevieve, for building 
purposes. More than twenty years ago trees three feet in diameter stood 
on the site of the fort — now a ruin in the midst of a dense forest. ^ 

In an address delivered by Hon. Wilson Primm, in St. Louis, on the 
15th of February, 1847, at an anniversary celebration of the founding 
of that city, he said : 

'■'■Fort de Chartres, one of the chain of military posts established by France upon the 
line of her frontier, was surrendered to the English as early as the year 1765, some two 
years after the treaty, and some seventeen months after the foundation of St. Louis. In 
the meantime, and until 1768, the province of Louisiana, which really belonged to Spain, 
remained under French laws and French jurisdiction. Fort de Chartres, established in 
the American Bottom, a short distance above Kaskaskia, was garrisoned by French 
troops, and had become to the Province of Upper Louisiana, a nucleus, around which, 
under the protection of the French Government, numerous villages and settlements, on 
both sides of the Mississippi, had sprung into existence. 

'■'■St. Ange de Belle Eive Avas the French commander at Fort de Chartres, and surren- 
dered it to Capt. Stirling, who had been appointed to take possession of it. This trans- 
fer of possession from the French to the English control, was not pleasant to a race of 
men whose tastes, habits, religion and feelings, were so much at war mth those of their 
new master; and it is not a matter of surprise that the descendants of those who battled 
against the British Crown, in many a well-fought field, should leave their altars and 
firesides, and seek, as they did, upon the western side of the river, an abiding place 
where naught should recall to their minds the idea of subjection to a national, if not a 
natural foe. 

' "Annals of the West," pp. 688-90. 



LACLEDE'S EXPEDITION. 147 

" It was during this state of the political and social aspect of the country, and whilst 
France was de facto governing the Province of Louisiana, that the first movement was 
made which resulted in the establishment of St. Louis. In 1762, Mr. D'Abadie was Director 
General and Civil and Military Commandant of the Province of Louisiana under the 
French Government. Invested with powers of almost a vice-regal character, he had 
control in Louisiana of all that pertained to governmental functions. The upper 
portion of Louisiana Avas but little known, its vast resources were unexplored ; but to 
enterprising men, there was enough known to warrant an undertaking such as the 
Founder of St. Louis originated. 

"The lead trade, Avhich was mostly concentrated at Ste. Genevieve, and the commerce 
in oils and peltries, which was in a measure monopolized by the neighboring small 
Settlements and villages, still left abundant room for the development of the resources 
and capabilities of the upper Missouri and Mississippi rivers, and the countries border- 
ing upon them. 

"In Pierre Liguest Laclede was found a combination of the qualities Avhich were 
required for such an undertaking. But we are lett to deplore that, in the histoiy of such 
a man, we can only start with the record of an act eventful in our annals, and say that 
at a fitting time, he had been sent forth as the moving cause of great and wonderful 
results. It was in vicAV of the productive capacities and the resources of Occidental 
Louisiana, or rather of the Illinois, as this region was then called, that Laclede obtained 
from Mr. D'Abadie, in behalf of himself and others, the exclusive privilege, and the 
•'necessary powers to trade with the Indians of the Missouri and those west of the 
]\Iississippi, aboA^e the Missouri, as far north as the river St. Peters.' 

"In the beginning of February, 1764, Laclede left the Fort de Chartres for his point 
of destination, taking Avith him the men Avhom he had brought from New Orleans, a few 
from Ste. Genevieve, and some from the Fort and its neighborhood. On his route, 
jDassing through the toAvn of Kaholda, then called ^ Notre Dame des Kaliokias,^ he engaged 
several families to go Avith him to his proposed establishment. 

" On the 15th of February, 1764, Laclede and his party landed at the Spot noAV occupied 
by our city, and proceeded to cut doAvn trees and draAV the lines of a tOAvn, which he 
named St. Louis, in honor of Louis XV, of France, a town Avhich subsequently became 
the capital of Upper Louisiana and Avhich is noAV the commercial capital of Missouri. 

"I can not, in justice to my audience, and on such an occasion, speak of the phj^sical 
aspect of the country more than to say that St. Louis Avas then a wilderness, tenanted 
by the prowlers of the forest and surrounded by untutored and savage bands of Indians, 
and that for long afterwards, the beasts of the forest afforded nourishment, and rude 
huts on the ground and scaffoldings in the trees afforded shelter and protection, to the 
generous and daring people who first exposed the bosom of our soil to the genial influ- 
ences of social industry. 

"In the year 1765, the Fort de Chartres Avas abandoned by the French troops, osten- 
sibly because of the unhealthiness of its position, but really, because of its surrender to 
Captain Stirling, under the proAdsions of the Treaty of Paris. 

"Mr. St. Ange de Belle Eive, the French commander of that fort, upon the surrender, 
removed Avith his officers and troops to St. Louis on the 17th of July, 1765 ; and from 
that time, henceforth, the new establishment Avas considered as the capital of Upper 
Louisiana. Immediately upon his arrival, St. Ange assumed the reins of government. 
Whence he derived his authority is unknoAvn, for Mr. D'Abadie, about that time, had 
died, and his functions were exercised by Mr. Aubry, at New Orleans. The inhabitants 
•of St. Louis submitted to his authority Avithout a murmur, for they had always been 
accustomed to the mild and liberal policy of the French power ; and even then, perhaps, 
the secret of their transfer to Spain had been studiously concealed from them. 



148 HISTORY OF MISSOUEl. 

"The mildness of the form of government, the liberal spirit with which grants of 
valuable lands were made, in connection with the advantages which the trade of the 
country presented, soon attracted immigration from the Canadas and Lower Louisiana. 
Settlements were formed along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers ; and as early as 1767,. 
Vide Poche, afterwards called Garondelet, in honor of the Baron de Carondelet, was 
founded by Delor de Tregette. In 1776, Florissant, afterwards called St. Ferdinand, in 
honor of the King of Spain, was founded by Beaurosier Dunegant; and in 1769, ies 
Petites Cotes, now St. Charles, was establised by Blanchette Chasseur; and numerous 
other small settlements sprang up on the borders of the two rivers before named, and in 
the interior of the country." ^ 

Nearly two years after the Declaration of American Independence ; 
that is, on June 20, 1778, and on his return from a business trip to New 
Orleans, Laclede died at the mouth of the Arkansas river, aged fifty- 
four years, and was there buried. ^ His grave has, no doubt, long since 
been washed into the river. After Laclede's death his residence became 
the property of the late Col. Auguste Chouteau, who enlarged the house 
and beautified the grounds, making them the admiration of strangers and 
the pride of citizens. This historic mansion was pulled down, and the 

1 The following beautiful and appropriate ode, written by John P. Shannon, Esq., and 
freely distributed among the people on the occasion of the anniversary celebration at 
which Judge Primm's address was delivered, deserves a place in history : 

Through forest arches— ancient woods— Their souls on angels' pinions bonie 

Breasting the hurrying river's floods, Might, in the dark and dusk-browed Even, 

Liong time agone, a venturous crew Like perfume, he exhaled in Heaven . 

Paddled their dancing birch canoe, ****** 

From forest aisle— from hill and dell, Lo, now! where rolls that rushing flood, 

Their welcome was the savage yell, And where the dim and shallow wood 

' That told of tales of slaughter rife, Once twined its summer swaying arms, 

The tomahawk and scalping knife— ' Mid epring time bloom and winter storms. 

The sudden shout— the wild surprise— • A city rears its stately head— 

The dusky forms and gleaming eyes, A fitting tribute to the dead : 

That from the bank, the grove, the bush, A monument, on which we read 

Came like the lightning's deadly rush. The daring of the great Laclede, 

Telling of bloody scenes to be, Who, with a small but gallant band, 

Ere the red man bowed or bent the knee, Like brothers, voyaged hand in hand- 

How the lone mother's straining ear, Stemmed the wild river's virgin swell 

In those gone days, was bent to hear With manly arms and stout " cordelle ; " 

The husband's step, who, all day long. And in its cradle rocked the child, 

With hardy foot and sinews strong. Since grown a giant, stout and wild. 

Tracked through the woody plains the bear, ****** 

The biifl"alo, and fierce cougar! Three cheers, then, for the Pioneer! 

The brother, sister, child and sire No heart to whom his fame is dear, 

Watched long and well the signal fire. Will dare refuse this humble meed— 

With beating hearts— for, ere the mom, "All honor to our sire, Laclede ! " 

2 The spot where Laclede was buried is about 200 yards back from the west bank of the 
Mississippi river, on the second bench, so-called, just above the town of ISTapoleon, in 
a deep, heavy grove of timber, in a light sandy soil, and on that account the place be- 
came a famous grave yard for sixty or seventy years. There is no stone to distinguish 
one grave from another; Laclede's grave, therefore, cannot be identified. No doubt, 
moreover, it was long since washed into the Mississippi river. — [Hon. J. P. Darby of 
St. Louis. 



WHAT A BUBBLE IS FAME. 149 

magnificent garden divided into city lots, more than thirt3^-five years ao-o ; 
October, 1841. 

It will not be unprofitable to pause at this point and contemplate the 
remarkable fate of the discoverers of the Mississippi and of the founder 
of St. Louis — men whose names are historic and immortal. And yet 
behold their last resting places. There is a melancholy romance about 
them all. No monumental marble or column of brass or even the rudest 
head-stone bears testimony that "here lies" the distinguished of earth. 
DeSoto, a comrade of Pizarro and one of the conquerors of Peru, a man 
of immense wealth, and the first European whose eyes ever gazed upon 
the mightiest river of the continent, was stealthily buried at midnight 
in its waters. Marquette, after returning from his expedition to dis- 
cover the Upper Mississippi, having been nearly exhausted by the great 
hardships of his voyage, remained to recuperate his health at the mission 
of St. Francis Xavier, on Green Bay, until September, 1674. Partially 
recovering, he went upon his mission among the . Illinois Indians, 
but being again taken ill on his way, was compelled to spend the 
winter in a miserable open cabin on the Chicago river. Suflaciently 
recovering, in the spring of 1675 he proceeded to his mission. After- 
wards, returning along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, he became 
•conscious that death vv^as at hand. Observing an eminence near the 
mouth of a small river, he caused his companions to land, and there, on 
that desert coast, May 18, 1675, but thirty-eight years of age, he ended 
his last expedition and was buried. Two years afterwards, the Indians 
disinterred his bones, and placing them in a rude box of birch bark, 
brought them, convoyed by over twenty canoes, to Mackinaw and 
reinterred them in the middle of the Mission Church. The missionaries 
abandoned that post in 1706, burning down their church. Another was 
afterward erected on its site, but that, too, has disappeared. It is not 
known what became of the bones of Marquette ; and thus the last resting- 
place of the discoverer of the Upper Mississippi is now as unknown as 
that of his fore-runner in its exploration, the gallant De Soto, whose 
corpse was buried in its southern waters. 

And Joliet, the companion of Marquette in all his great and singular 
perils and successes, w^hat of him? After his return he seems to have 
fallen back into his original obscurity, and became again a trader with 
the Indians. The French Government rewarded his services by the gift 
of the island of Anticosti, and all that is known of him is that after 



150 



HISTOEY OF MISSOUKI. 



various vicissitudes of fortune he died, as it is vaguely expressed, "some 
years prior to 1737." 

No less melancholy was the fate of Laclede, whose name is rendered 
immortal by the founding of St. Louis, Buried in a common graveyard 
at the mouth of the Arkansas, with no stone to distinguish the place of 
his sleeping dust from the graves of others, his bones long since were 
invaded by the insidious currents of the Mississippi on whose banks he 
founded one of the great cities of the continent, and were washed into 
that stream to join the remains of its great discoverer. 




Some Early Inhabitants 



CHAPTER VL 

St. Louis in 1765 to 1T78.- Louis St. Ange de Belle Rive Moves His Garrison from 
Fort Chartres to St. Louis.— Ls Made Governor. — Pontiac ; His Visit, Assassi- 
nation AND Burial. — Termination of French Authority.— Arrival of Don 
Pedro Piernas and Establishment of Spanish Rule.— Death of St. Ange.— 
Francisco Cruz at.— Don Ferdinando Leyba.— Death op Laclede.— Sale of His 
Property. 

Events of thrilling interest occurred in tlie early history of St. Louis. 
In order to rescue some of the most important of them from oblivion, 
and to perpetuate them in enduring form, we resume in this chapter the 
historical thread at the point of time 'where it is abandoned by Judge 
Primm's address. 

After the surrender, in 1765, of Fort Chartres to Capt. Stirling, by 
Louis St. Ange de Belle Rive, the latter moved his small garrison of 
troops to St. Louis, the recognized capital of Upper Louisiana. Regard- 
ing him as a gentleman of great personal worth, and an oflBcer of sound 
discretion and justice, the people of St. Louis, in some form of expres- 
sion, designated him as their governing head. Whence the authority 
thus to distinguish him, his tenure of office, and duties, are unknown; 
certain it is, however, their confidence was not misplaced, for he admin- 
istered the responsible trust with wisdom and success. There can also 
be no doubt that he acted with the approbation of M. Anbry, Command- 
ant-General of New Orleans, and that officer delegated to him the 
authority to make grants of the royal domain, hoping for the retro- 
cession of the country to France, when the grants would be legalized by 
confirmation. Grants of land were accordingly made — among them, two 
to Laclede, August 11, 1766 — and recorded in a book called Liv re 
Terrien. These embraced the block on which Barnum's Hotel now 
stands, and the other the tract on which the old Chouteau stone mill 
stood until it was pulled down. 

St. Ange was an inveterate enemy of the English and of English 
domination, and a warm friend of Pontiac, the great chief of the Ottawas 
and the "big brave" of Western savages. Indeed, the French, in all 
their efforts at settlement and colonization in the northern and western 
interior of the continent, made efforts to conciliate the Indians, and gave 
evidence of superior powers in this direction. Their habits of life and 
thought; their free and easy manners, vivacity of spirit and fondness 
for display, qualified them for assimilating with the Indians and made 
them favorites amono- them. 



152 HISTOEY OF MISSOURI. 

About the time of the founding of St. Louis the fame of Pontiac was 
at its climax. His name was on every tongue, and was as familiar 
from the Mississippi to the Atlantic and along the Northern Lakes 
as the name of any of the great captains and statesmen of our own 
day. His prowess in war and distinguished natural abilities enabled 
him to form a confederation of many of the Indian tribes of the West to 
resist the encroachments of the English. This fact, together with the 
distinction he won in the ambuscade and defeat of Braddock near Pitts- 
burg (1755), and the massacre at Michihmackinak, invested his name 
with a romance which excited everywhere intense curiosity to behold the 
great chieftain. 

During the reign of St. Ange, and in the year 1769, this curiosity was 
gratified so far as it existed among the inhabitants of St. Louis. In 
response to an urgent invitation from his old friend, St. Ange, the great 
Ottawa chieftain made him a visit and was received with every mark of 
respect. He was invited to share his quarters at the house of Madame 
Chouteau, where the principal citizens of the town met him and wel- 
comed him warmly again and again. 

About this time it became evident that all his plans of warfare, well- 
matured and flattering as they seemed in their inception, and supported 
by one of the most powerful nations of Europe, had collapsed. His 
allies among the Indian tribes had forsaken him, and his most trusted 
friends among the French counseled him to bury the tomahawk and go 
to war no more. Crushed in spirit by insupportable disappointment, 
Pontiac sought to drown his sorrows as other great minds, civilized and 
savage, had often attempted to drown theirs — in strong drink. Debauch 
after debauch followed. In spite of the kind entreaties of his old friend 
St. Ange, Pontiac persisted in drunkenness. He had fallen to rise no 
more. 

Very soon he made a visit to Cahokia, dressed in his richest robes and 
adorned with eagle's feathers and sparkling beads. The observed of all 
observers, he was received warmly. Stupefied by whiskey, he finally 
wandered unobserved into a thicket near the village, where he was assass- 
inated by a Kaskaskia Indian, at the instigation of an English trader, the 
consideration paid being a barrel of whiskey. His remains were brought to 
St. Louis by St. Ange, and with much pomp and military display were 
buried near the tower at the intersection of Walnut and Fourth streets, 
where they yet rest — tradition itself not being able to point out the pre- 
cise spot. Eeposing near them is also the sleeping dust of his dear 
friend St. Ange de Belle Rive, without a slab or epitaph to mark the place 



TEKMmATIOlS^ OF FKENCH AUTHORITY. 153 

of its sepulture. Houses are built where both were buried, and but few 
even among the best read know that these remains repose in the midst 
of the great city. ^ 

Scarcely had the excitement occasioned by the tragic death of Pontiac 
subsided before intelligence of the arrival at New Orleans of Don 
Alexander O'Keilly reached St. Louis, producing a thrill of horror. 
O'Reilly had been made Commandant- General of Louisiana, and landed 
at New Orleans with three thousand men to enforce his authority. Alter 
suppressing threatened resistance to his landing, and executing several 
of the ringleaders of the meditated revolt and imprisoning others, he 
proclaimed the supremacy of the Government of Spain in New Orleans 
and extended the Spanish authority to Upper Louisiana. The latter was 
accomplished by sending to St. Louis, in 1770, Lieutenant-Governor Don 
Pedro Piernas, to whom St. Ange delivered possession of the country. 
Notwithstanding the French inhabitants trembled for their safety and peace 
on the accession of Piernas, and shed tears when they saw the French 
flag lowered and the flag of Spain take its place, the mild and prudent 
sway of the new Governor soon reconciled them to the change. Governor 
Piernas remained in power for five years, at the end of which time he 
left for New Orleans amid the tears and benedictions of the people. 

During his stay, he and St. Ange sustained towards each other the 
most amicable and confidential relations. He appointed St. Ange a 
captain of infantry, appointed a surveyor ( Martin Duralde) to establish 
the boundaries of all his land grants, and in a public manner confirmed 
them, that they might not rest upon a precarious tenure. In Septem- 
ber, 1774, St. Ange died at his quarters at Madame Chouteau's house, 
then situated on the block between Chestnut and Market and Main and 
Second streets. Before dying, he made his will in which was shown 
that his ruling passion, honesty, was strong in death. Declaring him- 
self a good Catholic, and commending his soul "to God, the blessed 
Virgin, and to the saints of the Celestial Court," he appointed his friend, 
Pierre Liguest Laclede, his executor — directing in his will that the bill 
for his board should be paid to Madame Chouteau ; that he owed for 
twenty-five cords of wood, and an account at his tailors. He also 
ordered that masses be said for the repose of his soul, and that five 
hundred livres be paid out of his estate to the Catholic Church. 

Piernas was succeeded, in 1775, by Francisco Cruzat. He made a 
mild and amiable Governor, followed very much the policy of his prede- 

1 Elihu H. Shepard's "Early History of St. Louis," p. 18. 



154 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

cesser, and lived in the same house — one of the first bnilt in St. Louis — 
situated on the corner of Main and Walnut, and belonging to Laclede. 

Cruzat's successor was a drunken, avaricious, feeble-minded Spaniard, 
by the name of Don Ferdinando Leyba, who came to St. Louis in 1778. 
During the early part of his administration the sad news of Laclede s death 
reached St. Louis, occasioning universal regret. Antoine Maxent, his 
partner, holding a high appointment in New Orleans, under the King of 
Spain, by showing claims upon Laclede for a great amount, got posses- 
sion of his large landed and personal property, the most of which was 
sold for an insignificant sum at the church door, according to the usages 
of the times. The whole square where Barnum's Hotel now stands was 
a small portion of his large property, and was the heart of the little 
town. It was sold for three thousand dollars, Auguste Chouteau being 
the purchaser ; and some years afterward was built upon it the celebrated 
Chouteau Mansion, which at one time was the palace of the town. The 
sale took place in 1779. 



CHAPTER VII. 

St. Louis in 1778 to 1800.— The Village Fortified by a Wall of Brusih and Clay.— 
Attack of British and Indians.— Traitorous Conduct of Leyba. -His Death.— 
Francisco Cruzat Again Appointed Governor.— New and Stronger Fortifications 
Erected.— Map of St. Louis as it was i.v 17S0.— The Great Flood of 1785.— Michael 
Perez.— Zenon Trudeau.— Census of 1799.— Land Grants. 

During the administration of Leyba (1778) war was declared between 
Great Britain and her American colonies. The Indians were incited to 
hostilities and became allies of the English, and throughout the Western 
country the colonies suffered all the horrors of a savage warfare. Spain 
sympathized with the colonies, a circumstance which caused the inhab- 
itants of St. Louis to dread an attack from the barbarous tribes of 
Indians by whom they were surrounded. Col. George Eogers Clark, 
ujider *the authority of Virginia, captured the settlements of Caholda, 
Kaskaslda and other villages near St. Louis, and early in 1779 started on 
an expedition against St. Vincents (now Vincennes ) on the Wabash, then 
held by the English under Lieut. Governor Henry Hamilton, from 
Detroit. The post was captured and its commander taken prisoner. 

Alarming rumors becoming prevalent that an attack on St. Louis was 
meditated by the British at Michilimackinack, attention was directed to 
the defenseless condition of the town and efforts were at once made to 
fortify it. Therefore a wall of brush and clay, five feet in height, with 
three gates for ingress and egress, was built encircling the to^vn, the 
extremes terminating at the river. They also built a small fort, called 
La Tour, which afterwards was used for a prison, and was located on 
Fourth street near Walnut. At each of the gates a piece of ordnance 
was stationed and kept in constant readiness for use. 

After the completion of the rude and hastily-built fortifications nothing 
for months was heard of an attack. Winter came and passed without 
indications of hostilities. But these peaceable appearances were decep- 
tive, for the sequel showed that preparations for the meditated blow were 
secretly in progress. Inspired by Canadians in the employment of fui" 
traders and under the leadershi[) of the British officer in command of 
FortMichilimackinac, numerous bands of Indians, composed of Ojibways, 
Winnebagos, Sioux, and other tribes, numbering in all nearly 1500, had 
gathered on the eastern shore of the river, a little above St. Louis, and 
arrangements were consummated for a general attack oii the settlement 
on the 26th of May. 



156 HISTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 

The day previous — May 25, 1780 — ^was the festival of Corpus Christi, 
which was celebrated by the Catholic inhabitants with religious ceremonies 
and rejoicing, and a large number of the citizens left the inclosure of the 
town and scattered about the prairie — men, women and children — gath- 
ering strawberries. A portion of the Indians crossed the river on that 
day, but fortunately did not make the attack. On the following day, the 
whole opposing force silently glided across the river and landed in that 
portion of it now called " Bremen." They then took a circuitous course 
back of the village, hoping to find some of the inhabitants at work in 
their fields. Near where the Fair Grounds are now situated, they 
came to what was, and is yet, known as " Cardinal Spring" and surprised 
two Frenchmen, one after whom the spring was called, and John Baptiste 
Riviere. Cardinal was killed and Riviere was taken prisoner and carried 
to Chicago. The few other citizens outside the fortifications, seeing the 
approach of the Indians, hastily retreated towards the upper gate, which 
course led them nearly through a portion of the hostile force. .Rapid 
volleys were fired at the fleeing citizens, and the reports speedily spread 
the alarm in the town. Arms were hastily seized, and the men rushed 
bravely towards the wall, opening the gate to their defenseless comrades. 
There was a body of militia in the town from Ste. Genevieve, which had 
been sent up, under the command of Silvia Francisco Cartabona, some 
time before, when the apprehension of an attack prevailed. This com- 
pany, however, behaved shamefully, and did not participate in the defense, 
many of them concealing themselves in the houses while the fight was in 
progress. The Indians approached the line of defense rapidly, and when 
at a short distance, opened an irregular fire, to which the inhabitants 
responded with light arms and discharges of grape-shot from then* pieces 
of artillery. The resistance made was energetic and resolute, and the 
savage assailants seeing the strength of the fortifications and dismayed 
by the artillery, to which they were unaccustomed, finally retired, and 
the fight came to a close. When they had left the vicinity, search was 
made for the bodies of the citizens who had been Idlled on the prairie, 
and between twenty and thirty lives were ascertained to have been lost. 
Several old men and women were among the victims, and all the bodies 
had been horribly mutilated by their murderers. ^ 

During the attack, Governor Leyba so conducted himself as to satisfy 
the people of St. Louis that he was a traitor and a coward. In a state of 
debauch he locked himself in his house and permitted the inhabitants of 

1 See Eeavis' "Future Great City." 



TRAITOEOUS CONDUCT OF LEYEA. 157 

the besieged village to defend themselves as best they could. His treach- 
erous conduct was reported in full to Galoez, then Governor of Louisiana, 
and Leyba was removed from of&ce and Francisco Cruzat agam placed in 
command. Leyba, universally execrated, and his memory covered Avith 
obloquy and reproach, died the same year of poison administered by his 
own hand. 

After the removal and death of Leyba and until the arrival of his 
successor, Cruzat, the lieutenant of Leyba, one Silvio Francisco Carta- 
bona, exercised the functions of Lieutenant-General. 

During the administration of Cruzat the town was regularly fortified. 
To this end he established half a dozen or more stone forts, nearly cir- 
cular in shape, about fifty feet in diameter and twenty feet high, connected 
by a stout stockade of posts. The fortifications, as extended and im- 
proved by Cruzat, were quite pretentious for so small a settlement. On 
the river bank, near the spot formerly occupied by the Floating Docks, 
was a stone tower, called the " Half Moon," from its shape, and west- 
wardly of it, near the present intersection of Broadway and Cherry 
street, was erected a square building called " The Bastion," and south of 
this, on the line of Olive street, a circular stone fort was situated. A 
similar building was built on Walnut street, intended for a fort and 
prison. There was also a fort near Mill Creek ; and east of this another 
circular fort near the river. The strong stockade of cedar posts con- 
necting these forts was pierced with loop-holes for small arms. 

A reference to the preceding map of St. Louis, as that village was 
known in 1780, will show the course of the stockade of posts, the situation 
of the forts or towers and bastions, the location and size of Chouteau's 
pond and mill, and other interesting objects. ^ The efficiency of this 
well-devised line of defenses was not subjected to the test of another 
attack, for although during the continuance of the Revolutionary war, 
and even after the treaty of peace in 1783, other settlements on 
the Mississippi and Missouri rivers had to contend against the savages, 
St. Louis was not again molested. 

1 The author of this History first saw St. Lonis in 1826 ; has resided in the State ever 
since, and often saw both the pond and mill. The pond (lake it deserved to be called) 
was a beautiul sheet of water of about 100 acres. It has been filled up g-r:Kluall.y, and 
almost all of it since 1863. The old stone mill was torn down since 1863, and its site is 
now nearly covered by a substantial building of brick, partly sheathed with iron, and used 
for an ice house, and a store for the sale of agricultural machinery and tools. It is about 
300 feet westwardly from the southern half of the Central Market. The railroad grounds, 
tracks and sheds adjoin it; and the Union Depot is located partly on the old shore and 
partly on the bed of the pond. 



158 HISTOEY OF MISSOURI. 

The next most notable event, in chronological order, in the history 
of St. Louis, occurred in 1785, whereby the inhabitants experienced a 
serious alarm and loss of property, owing to a sadden and extraordinary 
rise in the Mississippi river. The American Bottom was covered with 
water, and Cahokia and Kaskaskia were threatened with complete inunda- 
tion by the angry flood. Most of the buildings in St. Louis were then 
situated on Main street, and the rise of the waters above the steep banks 
spread general dismay. The flood subsided, however, nearly as rapidly 
as it had risen, averting the necessity of abandoning the houses, which 
had been commenced. The year received the name of "'Uannee des 
Grandes Eaux," or "the year of the great waters." No rise in the 
river equal to this has since occurred, except the great floods of 1844 
and 1851, well remembered by many who will read these pages. 

In the 3'ear 1788, Cruzat was succeeded by Manuel Perez as com- 
mandant-General of the post of St. Louis and of the West Illinois 
country. His administration embraced a period of five years and was 
very satisfactory to the people, and prosperous. The population of St. 
Louis and neighboring settleuients reached nearly 1200, while that of 
Ste. Genevieve was about 800. He brought about a settlement of 
friendly Indians in the vicinity of Cape Girardeau, where he gave them 
a laro-e grant of land. Thev consisted of Shawnees and Delawares, two 
of the most powerful tribes east of the Mississippi river, and the object 
was to oppose through them the Osage Indians, a strong Missouri tribe 
who were const;uitly making incursions on the young settlements. This 
scheme is said to have operated satisfactorily. 

In 1793, Perez was succeeded by Zenon Trudeau, who also became 
popular, and instituted various measures for the encouragement of immi- 
gration. Trade, the chief of wliich was the traffic in furs, received a new 
impetus ; and in their effbrts to increase exchanges with Indian tribes, 
traders became more energetic and daring in their excursions and traveled 
long distances into the interior westward, and forced their rude boats up 
the Missouri never before visited. St. Louis improved in appearance, 
and new and neat buildings began to supplant, in many places, the rude 
log huts of earlier years. 

Trudeau closed his official career in 1798, and was succeeded by 
Charles Dehault Delassus de Delusiere, a Frenchman by birth, but a 
gentleman who had been many years in the service of Spain. One of 
the many popular measures of his administration was the order that a 
census be taken of the Upper Louisiana settlemeuts, from which we 
extract the following, showing the population of the places named in the 



LAND GKANTS. 159 

year 1799 : St. Louis, 925 ; Carondelet, 184 ; St. Charles, 875 ; St. 
Ferdinand, 276; Marius des Liard, 376; Meramec, 115; St. Andrew, 
393; Ste. Genevieve, 949; New Bourbon, 560; Cape Girardeau, 521; 
New Madrid, 782; Little Meadows, 72. Total, 6,028. Total number 
of whites, 4,948 ; free colored, 197 ; slaves, 883. It will be seen from 
these figures that St. Charles then nearly equaled St. Louis in popula- 
tion, while Ste. Genevieve exceeded it. 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

Eetrocession op Louisiana to France.— Its Purchase by the United States.— 1800 
A Notable Year.— Treaty op Ildefonso.— Spain Forced to Eetrocede Louisiana 
to France.— Its Purchase by the United States.— Treaty of 1803.— Capt. Amos 
Stoddard.— French and Spanish Land Grants Protected by Treaty, and Acts 
OP Congress. 

The year 1800 was one of great events in Europe, events of such 
magnitude upon the destiny of nations as to influence the political cur- 
rents of America. With iron hand of power, guided by a wily diplo- 
matic policy, Napoleon Bonaparte, jealous of the growing importance of 
Spain and England in the new world, forced the former power into the 
treaty of Ildefonso (October 1, 1800) by which she ceded to France all 
her territory known as Louisiana west of the Mississippi, in consideration 
that the Prince of Parma, who was a son-in-law to the King of Spain, 
should be established in Tuscany. 

Accordingly, in July, 1802, the Spanish authorities were dh'ected to 
deliver possession to the French commissioners, but the act was not con- 
summated until December 20, 1803, when M. Laussat on behalf of France, 
was placed in control. The supremacy of England on the high seas at 
this period practically prevented France from instituting au}^ possessory 
acts by transferring troops to the newly-acquired territory, and she wisely 
resolved to accept the ofi'er of the United States and sell the vast terri- 
tory to that Government. This famous purchase, accomplished during 
the administration of President Jefi'erson, was formally concluded on the 
30th of April, 1803 ; and on the 17th of October of the same year, 
Oongi:ess met to consider the subject, and on the 21st of October ratified 
the treaty. In December following, M. Laussat, who had just received 
control of the Province from the Spanish authorities, transferred it to 



160 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

the United States, represented at New Orleans for that purpose by Gov- 
eraor Claiborne and General Wilkinson, the commissioners appointed. 
The sum of money paid by the United States for the territory acquired 
was about $15,000,000.^ The agent of France for receiving possession 
of Upper Louisiana from the Spanish authorities was Amos Stoddard, a 
captain of artillery in the service of the United States. He arrived in 
St. Louis in March, 1804, and on the 9th of that month Charles Dehault 
Delassus, the Spanish commandant, placed him in possession of the ter- 
ritory, and on the following day he transferred jt to tl^e United States. 

This memorable event created a wide-spread sensation in St. Louis and 
the young towns in the vicinity. Most of the people were deeply attached 
to the old Government, and although they were in sympathy with the 
vigorous Republic which had sprung into existence in the East, and to 
some extent appreciated the promise of its future, yet it was with feelings 
of regret and apprehension that they saw the banner of the new Govern- 
ment imfurled in place of the well-known flag of Spain. There were, 
however, many of the citizens of St. Louis who rejoiced at the transfer, 
and their anticipations of its prosperous influence on their town were 
speedily realized, for business generally became more animated, while 
the population rapidly increased by an energetic and ingenious class of 
settlers from the East and other points, mostly representatives of the 
Anglo-Saxon race, always the most successful in urging forward the 
prosperity and development of a country. 

During the popular administration of Delassus, mentioned in the 
preceding chapter, there was a large influx of immigrants into the 
villages and contiguous settlements of Upper Louisiana. This influx 
was followed by a frenzied spirit of speculation. A mania for land 
grants seized all classes, and every character of device was adopted to 
gratify it. It was not the healthful spirit of industry and of genuine 
progress ; and therefore lands were sought, not for the purpose of culti- 
vation and impi'ovement, but to realize immense profits by their sale. 
jNIany were very grasping in their desires and obtained grants for 
immense tracts of the wild domain. For example : James Mackay, for 
a time a Spanish officer, in command at St. Charles, obtained from 
Delassus a grant of thirty thousand acres ; Francis Savier, eight thousand 
eight hundred acres ; Maturin Bouvet, because while working a salt-pit 
the Indians had robbed him of a few inconsiderable articles, twenty 
arpents square. Two large grants were made for distillery purposes, and 

* See note ou page 87. 



LAOT) gea:nts. 



161 



then a third to supply fuel for the distilleries, after which there was no 
more whiskey imported into the province of Upper Louisiana. Home 
production was equal to home consumption. One of these grants was 
made to Colonel Auguste Chouteau, who built the first distillery in 
St. Louis. 






. T 
« ^ 




Delassus at Home. 



It is worthy of remark and remembrance that the French and Spanish 
governments conveyed lands by grants, and never by sales, and with 
certain official formalities (now known among us as "red tape") which 
required montiis to accomplish. 

From the Mississippi river to New Mexico the country was a wilder- 
ness of almost boundless extent, and a part of the royal domain. There- 
fore a grant of a few thousand acres, more or less, was a matter of com- 
parative indifference ; for with such an inexhaustible Avealth of territory 
a few thousand acres seemed to the entire body what a grain of sand was 
to the ocean's beach. 
11 



162 HISTOEY OF MISSOURI. 

To determine tlie metes and bounds of the various grants made, sur- 
veys extended far into the wilderness in every direction, thus exposing 
those engaged in them to the attacks of hostile Indians. During one of 
these surveys, Maturin Bouvet, before mentioned as the recipient of a 
grant, while accompanying a surveying pai'ty to establish the lines of 
his twenty arpents square west of Ste. Genevieve, was taken prisoner by 
a band of Osages, subjected to horrid tortures, and then burned at 
the stake. 

Owing in some cases to defective proof of transfer, in others to indef- 
inite description of the local situation and boundaries, and in others to 
insufficient or doubtful evidence of inhabitation, cultivation or possession, 
these grants, notwithstanding treaty stipulations and acts of Congress 
intended to confirm and quiet titles, have proven a fruitful source of 
protracted and costly litigation. By the treaty between France and the 
United States for the purchase of Louisiana, and ratified by Congress in 
October, 1803, our Government agreed, in consideration of the territory 
lying west of the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains, to protect each 
inhabitant of the ceded provinces in his property, franchises and religion. 

Congress, in fulfillment of that treaty, on June 13, 1812, passed an 
act confirming in fee simple, absolute on that day, to the inhabitants of 
St. Louis and other villages according to their several rights, "the town 
or village lots, out-lots, common-field lots and commons, in, adjoining 
and behmging to the several towns or villages of Portage des Sioux, 
St. Charles, St. Louis, St. Ferdinand, Village-a-Robert, Carondelet, 
Ste. Genevieve, New Madrid, New Bourbon, Little Prairie and Arkansas 
in the Territory of Missouri, which, lots have been inhabited, cultivated 
or possessed prior to the 20th day of December 1803." The courts have 
ruled that under this act it is not necessary that the claimant of an out- 
lot should have had, either under the French or Spanish authorities, or 
from the United States, any written recognition of his title, or any public 
survey. Its efiect was, to confirm to each man what he had lawfully 
possessed under the former Government. By act of January 27, 1831, 
the United States relinquished to the inhabitants of the villages men- 
tioned, all the right, title and interest of the United States in and to the 
lots confirmed to them by the act of 1812, to be held by them in full 
property according to their several rights therein. ^ 

It is also provided by the act of June 13, 1812, that all town or 
village lots, out-lots or common field lots, included in the surveys 



^ See Brightly's Digest, p. 551. 



TuANB GEANTS. 163 

authorized under it, which are not rightfully owned or claimed by any 
private individuals, or held as commons belonging to such towns or 
villages, or that the President Of the United States may not think proper 
to receive for military purposes, shall be reserved for the support of 
schools in the respective towns or villages mentioned. And by the act 
of January 27, 1831, the United States relinqnished all their right, title 
and interest in these school reservations ; and provided that they should 
be disposed of, or regulated for said purposes, as directed by the State 
Legislature. 

Many of these towns and villages are now possessed of school funds 
independent of and in addition to the general school funds of the State, 
and these laws show from whence they are derived. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Missouri as a District Under United States Authority, 1804.— Amos Stoddard Suc- 
ceeds Delassus at St. Louis.—" Territory of Orleans."—" District of Louisiana." 
—General James Wilkinson Appointed Governor of the Latter.— Visit of Aaron 
Burr.— Wilkinson Succeeded by Captain Merriwether Lewis.— His Suicide.— 
General Benjamin Howard Succeeds Him.— A Eeign of Six Days.— Captain 
William Clark Appointed Governor.— Four Districts Established.— St itistics 
of Population.— St. Louis.— Interesting Facts. 

On the 10th of March, 1804, Amos Stoddard, a captain of artillery 
in the United States Army, succeeded Delassus, the Spanish Com- 
mandant at St. Louis ; and the authority of the United States in 
Missouri dates from that day. 

On the 26th of March, 1804, some two weeks after Stoddard assumed 
the functions and prerogatives formerly vested in the Spanish Lieutenant- 
Governor, Congress passed an act dividing Louisiana into two parts — 
the "Territory of Orleans" (since 1812 the State of Louisiana) and the 
"District of Louisiana," the latter popularly known as "Upper Louis- 
iana." The District of Louisiana embraced all that portion of the old 
Province of Louisiana north of "Hope Encampment," a jDlace on the 
Mississippi river nearly opposite the Chickasaw Bluffs. It therefore 
included the vast extent of country now known as Missouri, Arkansas, 
Iowa and Minnesota, and all the western region to the Pacific Ocean, 
south of the forty-ninth degree of north latitude, not claimed by Spain. 



1 64 HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 

The territory now embraced by the State of Missouri being included 
in the "District of Louisiana" thus defined, Missouri is denominated 
in this chapter, a " District." 

By the act of Cougress of March 26, 1804, the executive power of the 
Government in the Territory of Indiana was extended over that of 
Louisiana, the Governors and Judges of the former being authorized to 
enact hiws for the new District. General William Henry Harrison, then 
Governor of Indiana, instituted the authority of the United States under 
the provisions of this act, his associates being Judges Griffin, Van derberg 
and Davis. The first courts of justice were held during the ensuing winter 
in the old fort near Fifth and Walnut streets, St. Louis, and were called 
Courts of Common Pleas. On the 3d of March, 1805, by another act of 
Congress the District was regularly organized into the Territory of 
Louisiana, and President Jefferson immediately appointed General James 
Wilkinson, Governor, and Frederick Bates, Secretary. Governor Wilk- 
inson, with Judges R. J. Meigs and John B. C. Lucas, of the Superior 
Court, formed the Legislature of the Territory — quite a small legislative 
body for so large an extent of country. 

The executive offices were in the old Government building on Main 
street, near Walnut, just south of the Public Square, called Loj Place 
d^ Armes. Here General Wilkinson was visited, in 1805, by Aaron Burr, 
when the latter was planning his daring and ambitious conspiracy. 
When Wilkinson was appointed, there were in each, of the Districts of 
St. Charles, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, and Cape Girardeau, a civil and 
military Commandant, as follows : Colonel Meigs for the first. Colonel 
Hammond for St. Louis, Major Seth Hunt for Ste. Genevieve, and Col- 
onel T. B. Scott for the last-named place. These officers were superseded 
by the organization of courts, and the names of the districts subsequently 
became those of counties. This system of legislation was maintained 
for several years, with occasional changes in officers. 

In 1807 Governor Wilkinson was succeeded in the gubernatorial office 
by Captain Merri wether Lewis of the celebrated expedition of Lewis and 
Clark. In September, 1809, while passing through Tennessee on his 
way to Washington on official business, he committed suicide, at the age 
of thirty-five, by shooting himself with a pistol. After his death 
President Madison appointed General Benjamin Howard, of Lexington, 
Kentucky, Governor of the Territory, whose first legislative act was 
signed October 25, 1810, and his last October 31, of the same year. 
Governor Howard resigned his office to accept a Brigadier-Generalship 
of Rangers in the war of 1812, and, after serving with great credit in 



STATISTICS OF POPULATION. 165 

three campaigns, died in St. Louis, on the 18th of September, 1814. 
Howard County was named in honor of him. 

On the resignation of Governor Howard in 1810, Captain William 
Clark, of the well-known expedition of Lewis and Clark, was appointed 
his successor. He remained Governor till the admission of the State 
into the Union in 1821, and died in St. Louis in 1838. 

The settled portions of Missouri, for thepnrposes of local government, 
were divided in 1804 into four districts, as follows : 

1. The district of Gajje Girardeau, including all the territory between 
Tywappity Bottom and Apple Creek. In 1804 its population was 1,470 
whites and a few slaves. 

2. The district of St. Genevieve, including all the territory from 
Apple Creek to the Meramec river. Population, 2,350 whites and 520 
slaves. 

3. The district of St. Louis, including all the territory between the 
Meramec and Missouri rivers. Population, 2,280 whites and 500 slaves. 
This district contained the villages of St. Louis, Carondelet and St. 
Ferdinand, (now Florissant) with several settlements extending into the 
present territory of Franklin County. St. Louis contained about 180 
houses and a population of 1,080. Carondelet, between 40 and 50 houses 
and a small population consisting chiefly of Canadian-French. St. Ferd- 
inand, 60 houses. The largest and most populous settlement in the 
St. Louis District was near the Missouri river, in the northwestern 
portion of the present county of St. Louis, and was known as 
St. Andrews. 

4. The district of St. CAftWes, including all the inhabited territory 
between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Population, 1,400 whites 
and 150 slaves. It contained two villages — St. Charles and Portage-des- 
Sioux — the inhabitants of which were French Creoles and Canadians. 
Femme Osage was a large settlement of Anglo-American families. 

The total population of the district of Louisiana at the period of the 
cession in 1803-4 was 10,120— of which 3,760 were French, including a 
few Spanish families; 5,000 Anglo-Americans and 1,270 blacks, who, 
with very few exceptions, were slaves. 

In the excellent Historical Sketch of Louisiana by Captain Stoddard, 
these statistics of population are given as well as many other interesting 
particulars of St. Louis at the time of the transfer to the United States. 
According to the same authority, the village (see map) then consisted 
of two long streets running parallel to the river, with a number of others 
intersecting; them at right angles. There were some houses, however. 



166 HISTOEY OF MISSOURI. 

on the line of the present Third street, which was known as "Xa ruedes 
Granges " or The Street of Barns. The church building, from which 
Second street then derived its name, was a structure of hewn logs, some- 
what rude and primitive in appearance. West of Fourth street there 
was little else but woods and commons, and the Planters' House now 
stands upon a portion of the space then used for pasture. 

There was no post-ojffice, and indeed no need for one, as there were 
no official mails. Government boats ran occasionally between New 
Orleans and St. Louis, but there was no regular communication. The 
principal building was the Government house on Main street near 
Walnut. As peltries and lead continued to be the chief articles of export,, 
the cultivation of the land in the vicinity of the town progressed but 
slowly. There was but one baker in the town, Le Clerc, who lived on 
Main street between Walnut and Elm ; three blacksmiths : Delosier^ 
on Main near Morgan, Rencontre, on Main near Carr, and Valois, 
also on Main near Elm. Dr. Saugrain was the only physician. He lived 
on Second street and owned the property now known as "The People's 
Garden." Two little French taverns, both on the corners of Main and 
Locust, one kept by Yostic, and the other by Landreville, were the only 
places of "entertainment" in the village, and these were chiefly patron- 
ized by hunters and boatmen. Merchants were numerous, but they held 
their goods at fabulous prices. Sugar and cofiee, when sold at all, 
brought two dollars per pound and everything else in proportion. The 
principal merchants and traders were August Chouteau, who resided on 
Main street between Market and Walnut; Pierre Chouteau, who resided 
on the corner of Main and Washington avenue, and had the whole square 
encircled with a stone wall — (he had an orchard of choice fruits, and his 
house and store Avere in one building — the store being the first story and 
the family residence the second) ; Manuel Lisa, who lived on Second 
street, corner of Spruce, (a part of the building is now occupied as a 
boarding-house) ; Labbadie and Sarpy, on Main, between Pine and 
Chestnut ; Roubidoux, who lived at the corner of Elm and Main — (a part 
of the house is still standing) ; and Jacques Glamorgan, corner of Green 
and Main — the foundry of Gaty, McCune & Co. stands on part of what 
was his property. 

It must not be understood that a merchant at that time approximated 
at all in his business relations to the merchant of to-day. A place 
occupying but a few feet square would contain all his goods ; and, indeed, 
during the period of the first growth of St. Louis, a merchant kept all 
his goods in a chest or box, which was opened whenever a purchaser 



ESTTEKESTING FACTS. 



167 




First Iron Works in St. Louis, 



would appear. Sugar, coffee, gunpowder, blankets, paint, spice, salt, 
knives, hatchets, guns, kitchen-ware, hunting-shirts, and every variety 
of coarse dry goods, were stored together.^ 

A post-office was found to be a necessity for the new people who were 
filling up the country, and one was established in 1804 — Rufus Easton, 
postmaster. The beginning of the new age of St. Lonis was fairly 
inaugurated July 12th, 1808, when Mr. Joseph Charless, official printer 
of the Territory, established the Missouri Gazette, the first journal west 
of the Mississippi, a sheet not larger than a royal octavo page, as is 
verified by many facsimile copies still extant. This journal was the 



1 "Edwards' Great West," p. 289. 



138 HISTOEY OF ]\aSSOURI. 

germ of the present Missouri Republican, one of the largest in circula- 
tion and most influential journals of the country. 

On the 9th of November, 1809, the town of St. Louis was first incor- 
porated, upon the petition of two-thirds of the taxable inhabitants and 
under the authority of an Act of the Territory of Louisiana, passed the 
previous j^ear. 

Li 1811, the town is described as containing 1,400 inhabitants, 1 
printing office, 12 stores, 2 schools — 1 French and 1 English — and the 
merchandise and imports of the town were valued at about $250,000. 
Peltries, lead and whiskey made a large portion of the currency. During 
the spring of 1811, the first market was built on Center Square (La 
Place d'Armes ), which was between Market and Walnut, Main and the 
river. 



CHAPTER X. 



1803-4-5-6.— Lewis and Clark's Expeditiox up the Missouri, Across the Rocky Moun- 
tains, Down the Columbia, to the Pacific Ocean. — Homeward Journey. — Z. M. 
Pike's Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi and Arkansas Eivers.— His 
Return, Military Services and Death. 

Yery soon after the purchase of Louisiana in 1803, President Jefferson 
projected an expedition to explore the country from the Mississippi to 
the Pacific Ocean, and recommended to Congress as its commander 
Merriwether Lewis, his private secretary. In company with Captain 
William Clark, of the American Army, he set out in the summer of 1803, 
and encamped for the winter on the bank of the Mississippi, opposite 
the mouth of the Missouri. Their company was composed of nine young 
men from Kentucky, fourteen soldiers, two Canadian boatmen, an inter- 
preter, a hunter, and a negro servant of Captain Clark. They had a 
keel-boat, fiftj^-five feet long, accompanied by two open boats, called 
pirogues. On the 16th of May, 1804, they left their encampment and 
began their ascent of the Missouri river. Some twenty miles up the 
river they came to the little French village of St. Charles. Passing the 
mouth of the Osage, the first large tributary of the Missouri, they pro- 
ceeded on their journey till they reached the Kansas. Indians of the 
same name occupied its banks ; a small tribe, reduced to three hundred 



LEWIS A^STD CLAEK'S EXPEDITION. 169 

warriors, for they had been unable to withstand the fire-arms with which 
their enemies, the Sioux and Iowas,had been supplied by the European 
traders. Higher up, they came to the great estuary of the Platte, 
coming from sources far in the West, and rolling a more rapid stream 
than the Missouri itself. This river was occupied by considerable tribes 
of Indians : the Pawnees, Ottoes and Kites. Above the Platte, Lewis 
and Clark had a conference with fourteen of the Ottoe and Missouri 
Indians. The grand chief, whose name in English signifies Little Thief, 
was unfortunately absent ; but Big Horse, White Horse, and Hospitality, 
held a most amicable conference. 

By the time the expedition reached a point sixteen hundred miles above 
the month of the Missouri, at latitude forty-seven, and very near the 
present geographical center of Dakota, the symptoms of winter thick- 
ened, and Lewis and Clark determined to stop, build a fort and remain 
till spring, when they would be ready to start for the head waters of 
the Missouri, and from thence discover a passage through the Rocky 
Mountains to the Pacific ocean. They called the fort Fort Mandan, in 
compliment to the Mandan tribe of Indians among whom they now were. 

On April 7, 1805, the party left Fort Mandan, thirty-two strong, in 
six canoes and two large pirogues. Continuing to ascend the river, in 
due time they reached . the mouth of the Yellowstone, where three 
nearly equal streams concur ; to these were given the names of Jejfferson, 
Madison, and Gallatin, then President, Secretary of State, and Secretary 
of the Treasury of the United States. They ascended the Jefierson, the 
northermost of the three, to its source. Having, in August, procured 
horses and a guide from the Shoshone Indians, they traveled through the 
mountains until September 22, when they entered the plains of the 
western slope. On October 7 they embarked in canoes on the Koos- 
koosy, a left branch of the Columbia, and on November 15 reached the 
mouth of that river, having traveled more than four thousand miles from 
the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri. They passed their third 
winter in an entrenched camp on the south bank of the Columbia. On 
March 23, 1806, they began to reascend the Columbia on their home- 
ward journey ; and leaving their boats on May 2, they made a difficult 
journey on horseback across the mountains to the Missouri river, upon 
which they re-embarked August 12, and reached St. Louis September 
23, 1806, after an absence of two years and four months. Congress 
made grants of land to the men of the expedition and to their chiefs. ^ 

1 American Cyclopedia, Vol. X, p. 386, 



170 HISTOEY OF MISSOURI. 

Among tlie events of 1805, 1806 and 1807 are the expeditions of 
Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike, who was born in New Jersey in 
1779. The first, in 1805, to the sources of the Mississippi; and the 
second, in 1806-7, to the sources of the Arkansas, Kansas, Platte and 
Pierre Jaune rivers, and into the provinces of New Spain. The 
"journals " of travel kept by Pike were prepared for the press and 
issued with an atlas of maps and charts, in Philadelphia, in 1810, and 
are exceedingly interesting. In connection with the explorations of 
Lewis and Clark they furnished* the first reliable information of the 
resources of Louisiana, and of the value of that purchase. After their 
appearance all complaints ceased as to the amount paid by the United 
States for that acquisition. 

Lieutenant Pike rose to the rank of Brigadier-General in the war of 

1812, and was killed during the attack upon York ( now Toronto ) in 

1813. The county of Pike, in this State, was named in honor of him. 



CHAPTEK XL 

1769.— First Settlements "West of St. Louis.— St. Charles Settled by Blanchette.— 
"Commons." — Forts.— Portage des Sioux. — Indian Incident.— The Mamelles. 
— ^Femme Osage, Perruque and Other Creeks.— Loutre Island. — Indian Attack. — 
W. T. Cole. — Another Attack.— Bloody Fight with Indians.— Captain James 
Callaway and Others Killed.— Cote Sans Dessein. 

In 1769, (five years after the founding of St. Louis,) the first settle- 
ment in what is now St. Charles County, and indeed in all northern 
Missouri, was made. During that year, Blanchette, surnamed "The 
Hunter" — Chasseur, built his log hut on the hills now occupied by the 
flourishing city of St. Charles, by which name, however, the place was 
not known till 1784, it being called previous to this Les Petites Cotes 
(Little Hills). 

Blanchette located St. Charles by the establishment of a military post 
under the authority of the Governor of Upper Louisiana. His house 
was built near a little stream in the upper part of the city, which form- 
erly bore Blanchette's name, but which is now known as "Factory> 
Branch." At this spot was also erected the Government House and 
prison. Blanchette was Commandant until his death, in 1793, when he 



FIRST SETTLEMENTS WEST OF ST. LOUIS. 171 

was succeeded by Don Carlos Tayon, who resigned in 1802. His 
successor was Don Santiago Mackay, who was also commandant of the 
post of St. Andre, and retained both commands until the change of 
Government in 1803. This post, afterwards called the "District of 
St. Charles," embraced all the territory between the Missouri and 
Mississippi rivers to the Pacific ocean ; and this magnificent area, includ- 
insr at this time a dozen States and Territories, was under the control of 
a single individual, in whom all military and civil authority was vested. 
The villagers, many of whom engaged'in agricultural pursuits, received, 
with others, each a grant from the Government of a lot 120x150 feet 
(French measure) in the village, for residence, and a field at a con- 
venient distance for farming purposes. These fields were 1 arpent 
(192^ feet) wide, and 40 arpents (7,800 feet) long, containing about 
34 acres, and each fanner had one or more granted him, according to 
the number of his family, or his ability to work them. They were to 
be had free on the condition of their being worked, and were laid ofl:' 
adjoining each other, to save the expense of fencing. Twenty, thirty, 
and sometimes more were inclosed^ by one fence, which was built and 
kept in repair at the common cost of those whose land it protected. 
These inclosures, one or more of which were to be found near every 
French village, were known as "common fields" or "commons." Besides 
these grants to individuals, there were others to the villagers as a com- 
munity, also called " commons" or "commune lands," which were not 
cultivated, but used in common by the villagers as pasture for their 
stock, and also furnished them wood and lumber. These "commons" 
have long since been sub-divided and sold, or leased for long terms, 
thus passing into the hands of individuals. 

The progress of the settlement at St. Charles was extremely slow, for 
in 1781 there were only six or seven houses in the village, and in 1791 — 
ten years afterwards — the number had only increased to some twelve to 
fourteen, at which last mentioned date the "Commons" were for the first 
time inclosed. 

The Indian wars, massacres, and adventures which attended the first 
settlement of the State west of the Missouri river occurred principally 
in St. Charles County. Here the Kangers were raised and forts built, 
and it was in this county that Black Hawk made his first efforts against 
the white population. Among the forts built in St. Charles County 
during the war of 1812, was Boone's Fort, in Darst's Bottom. It was the 
largest and strongest of the entire list and was built by Daniel M. Boone, 
a son of the celebrated hunter and pioneer. There were also erected in 



172 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

the comity, Howell's Fort, on Howell's Prairie ; Pond Fort, the site of 
Avhich is a siiort distance southeast of the present town of Wentzville ; 
White's Fort, on Dog Prairie; Kountz's Fort, on the old Boonslick 
road and eight miles west of St. Charles ; Zumwalt's Fort, near the 
present village of O'Falloii, and Castlio's Fort, near Howell's Prairie. 

Kennedy's Fort was near the present town of Wright City, in Warren 
County, and Callaway's Fort was a short distance from the present town 
of Marthas ville and near the Missouri river. Wood's Fort was built around 
the bio- spring which influenced afterwards the location of the present 
town of Troy, in Lincoln County. Clark's Fort was four miles north 
of Troy, and Howell's Fort, near the present site of Cap-au-Gris. 
Fort Clemison was on Loutre Island. The forts, were all built after the 
same general plan, viz: In the form of a parallelogram, with block- 
houses at the four corners, and the intervening spaces filled with log 
cabins and palisades. They would not have withstood the fire of artillery, 
but afforded ample protection against rifles and muskets. None of 
them, however, were attacked by the Indians, for their number and 
convenient locations, with the constant watchfulness of the Rangers, 
afforded the savages no opportunity of doing any serious damage. ^ 

At this point it may be interesting to note the. origin of a few of the 
local names of Eastern Missouri : 

Portage des Sioux, founded soon after St. Charles, is an old French 
village on the Mississippi, and on the Missouri side, a short distance 
below the mouth of the Illinois. Captain Pike's expedition to the 
sources of the Mississippi, on which he sailed from St. Louis in a keel- 
boat, on Friday the 9th of August, 1805, stopped on the Sabbath after- 
wards and spent the day opposite this place, where the Mississippi and 
Missouri rivers are less than a mile apart. The village of Portage des 
Sioux derived its name from the following circumstance : The Sioux 
and Missouris, two hostile tribes of Indians, were seeking to destroy 
each other. The Sioux descended the Mississippi in their canoes on a 
pillaging expedition against the Missouris, who, apprised of their object, 
laid in ambush — became "bushwackers " — at the mouth of the Missouri 
river, intending to take their enemies by surprise and capture their entire 
naval squadron. The Sioux, cunning and strategic in war, instead of 
descending to the mouth of the Missouri, "rounded to" and disembarked 
at the Portage, took their canoes on their backs, crossed the narrow 
peninsula to the Missouri river at a point some distance above the 

^ "Pioneer Families in Missouri," p. 95. 



FIEST SETTLEMENTS WEST OF ST. LOUIS. 173 

ambuscade of their enemies, accomplished their object, and returned 
undiscovered with their spoils-cleaving the Missouris long and anxiously 
waiting for them at the mouth of the stream, 

A few miles west of the route taken by the Sioux on this expedition 
and about twenty miles from the confluence of the Missouri and 
Mississippi rivers are the Mamelles, the termination of the bhiffs of the 
two rivers, and called by this name from their remarkable resemblance 
to the human breasts. From this elevation, about one hundred feet 
above the surrounding plain, the visitor can survey a landscape among 
the most romantic and beautiful in the world. 

Femme Osage ( Osage Woman ) , a creek which rises on the border 
of Warren County and runs nearly east through St. Charles into the 
Missouri river, took its name from the fact that the body of an Osage 
squaw, supposed to have been drowned, was found in the creek by a 
French pioneer. Another version is that an Osage woman was found at 
the creek on its first discovery by the French. Hence the name. 

Perruque Creek ( Wig Creek ) derives its name from an accident 
which happened to one of the early French adventurers whose wig 
became entangled in the branches of a tree in crossing the creek. 

Cuivre Creek ( Copper Creek ) . The origin of this name is not 
known. There is no copper in that region and nothing that indicates its 
existence there. It has been suggested that the correct name is Cuvre, 
which means a fish pool, but nothing certain is known on this point. 

Dardenne: According to some of the old settlers, this name is a 
corruption of Terre delude, pronounced Tare Den (Turkey Land), so 
called on account of the abundance of wild turkeys found in its vicinity 
in early times. However, this is imaginary. In the American State 
Papers, mentitm is made of several claimants to land in Missouri of the 
name of Dardenne, although there is no grant to any one of that name 
in St. Charles County. Marais Croche: Crooked Swamp or Lake — 
from its shape. Marais Temps Clair : Clear Weather Swamp or Lake. 
At this lake there was once a Kickapoo village, and the name of the 
principal chief, or Big Injun, was Fair Weather; in French, Temps 
Clair. This village, in 17 — , was nearly depopulated b^' small-pox, and 
was immediately afterwards abandoned by the few survivors. The lake 
takes its name from the Indian chief. 

In 1807 a few American families located on Loutre Island, (in the 
Missouri river a few miles below the present town of Hermann,) at that 
time, with the exception of the small French settlement at Cote Sans 
i)essew, the " Far West " of the new world. Many exciting incidents 



174 flISTOEY OF MISSOUKI. 

by flood and field are connected with its history, among them the fol- 
lowing : ■ 

In July, 1810, a band of Pottawatomie Indians made a hostile incur- 
sion into this island and stole a number of horses, a species of property 
for which the Pottawatomies had a singular weakness. The event 
occasioned great excitement, and recapture and retribution were at once 
resolved upon. To achieve them a company of six men, composed of 
Samuel and William T. Cole, Temple, Patton, Murdock, and Gooch, 
was organized. They entered upon the pursuit and followed the Indians 
to Bone Lick, a branch of Salt River, and within the present limits 
of Ralls County, where they came upon them. The fugitives scattered 
in the woods and escaped. That night they stealthily approached 
the camp of their pursuers, surprised and attacked them, killing 
Temple, Patton and Gooch at the first onset. Spencer creek being 
near by, Murdock, in the darkness, slipped under the bank, leaving 
William T. Cole to contend with two Indians who engaged him — one in 
the rear, one in front. The former stabbed him near the shoulder ; from 
the latter Cole wrenched his knife, and then killed him, and from the 
other Indian made his escape in the darkness of the night. 

In March, 1815, the Sac and Fox Indians stole some horses from the 
settlers in the neighborhood of Loutre Island. Captain James Callaway, 
with Lieutenant Jonathan Riggs and fourteen men, pursued them to a 
bend of Loutre Creek, about twelve miles above Prairie Fork, and near 
the present town of Danville, where they found the horses guarded only 
by a few squaws. These fled to the woods on the approach of Callaway's 
men, who secured the horses without trouble. Returning by the same 
route they traveled in reaching the camp, the party was attacked by the 
Indians in ambush, at the crossing of Prairie Fork. Parker Hutchings, 
Frank McDermid and James McMuUin were in the advance, leading the 
recovered horses. After reaching the opposite shore of the creek the 
Indians fired upon them, and the three men were killed. At the first 
sound of firing, Callaway, who, with the balance of the company was 
in the rear, spurred his horse forward into the creek, and had nearly 
reached the opposite shore, when he was fired upon. His horse was 
instantly killed, while he received a slight wound in the left arm, and 
escaped immediate death by the ball lodging against his watch, which 
was torn to pieces. He sprang from his dead horse to the bank, and 
throwing his gun into the* creek, muzzle down, he ran down the stream a 
short distance, then plunged into the water and commenced swimming, 
when he was shot in the back of the head, — the ball passing through 



FIRST SETTLEMENTS WEST OF ST. LOUIS. 175 

and lodging in the forehead. His body sank immediately and was not 
scalped or mutilated by the Indians. In the meantime, Lieutenant Riggs 
and the rest of the m^n were hotly engaged and forced to retreat, 
fighting as they went. Several were wounded, but none killed. 

The following day a company of men returned to the scene of the 
fight for the purpose of burying the dead. The bodies of Hutchings, 
McDermid, and McMullin had been cut to pieces and hung on the sur- 
roxuiding bushes. The remains were gathered up and buried in one 
grave, near the spot where they were killed. 

Captain Callaway's body was not found until several days after his 
death, when, the water of the creek having receded, it was discovered 
by Benjamin Howell, hanging to a bush in the stream several hundred 
yards below the scene of the fight. The body was wrapped in blankets, 
and buried on the side of an abrupt hill overlooking Loutre Creek. 
Several months afterward the grave was walled in with rough stones, and 
a flat slab laid across the head, on which was engraved: "Capt. Jas. 
Callaway, March 7, 1815." The slab had been prepared in St. 
Charles County, by Tarleton Goe, a cousin of the dead ranger. ^ Calla- 
way County was named in honor of the memory of James Callaway. 

As early as 1808 the French settled Cote Sans Dessein, now called 
BarkersvillCj on the Missouri river, in the present territory of Callaway 
County, and two miles below the mouth of the Osage. Its name (sig- 
nifying " a hill without design ") is derived from an isolated limestone 
hill, some 600 yards long, and very narrow, standing in the bottom, 
which, it is thought, some convulsion of nature separated from the 
Osage bluff's, on the opposite side of the river. (Jote Sans Dessein was 
once a village of considerable importance, contained a small blockhouse, 
and during the war of 1812 was the scene of some hard-fought battles 
with the Indians, in which were exhibited many instances of woman's 
bravery and determination. A Frenchman named Baptiste Louis Roi, 
two other men, and two women, successfully withstood a protracted and 
determined siege by the Indians.^ 



1 " Pioneer Families of Missouri," pp. 98-9. 

'^ Dm-ing this siege the women moulded bullets and cut patclies for the men who were 
kept busy in firing upon tlie assailants. The consequence was that a good many of them 
were killed, which so exasperated the remainder that they determined to take by storm 
or to destroy by fire the block-house. The storming process failing, they fastened com- 
bustible matter to their arrows, and, lighting it, shot their missiles into the roof; as often 
as this was done the women extinguished the blaze by the careful use of portions of the 
smaU supply of water in the building. It was with appalling interest the heroic band 



176 HISTOEY OF MISSOURI. 

observed this supply rapidly lessening as the savage incendiaries repeated theii- efforts to 
fire the roof. But the women determined to " hold the fort " and continued to apply the 
water. Finally, however, the supply was exhausted, the last drop was gone, and the 
block-house blazed above their heads. One of the women produced a pan of milk and 
extinguished the flames. Very soon another arrow of fire set the roof ablaze and a de- 
moniac yell arose from the savage foe. Even Eoi himself looked aghast and trembled 
with fear, for he knew of no other means of averting the perils of the aAvful crisis. But 
'• hold the fort" was the maxim of the women, and just in the nick of time Madame Eoi 
produced from the urinal a fluid that again extinguished the flames, and saved the gar- 
rison. When, long after the war, this achievement was talked over in St. Louis, some 
young men united in the expense of procuring a rifle of fine finish as a present to Mon- 
sieur Louis Baptiste Eoi in testimony of his gallant defense of Cote Sans Dessein. Some 
of them also suggested playfully that a silver urinal ought to be presented to Madame 
Eoi for the distinguishing part she bore in the perilous defense of the block-house. 
Unfortunately, as it afterwards proved, this suggestion came to the ears of Monsieur Eoi. 
When, therefore, the committee waited on him with the rifle and asked him to accept it, 
he is reported to have replied as follows : "Gentlemen : — It is a fuzee of beautiful pro- 
portions — containing very much gold in de pan, and silver on Ms breeches; he is a very 
gentleman gun for Mil de game. Itajikjou. I shall not take him. Some gentlemen have 
consider to give ma chere amie one urinal silvare! I tell you, sare, I take care of dem tings 
myself— go to h — 11 avec votre dam long gun! I shall not take him! ! Go to h — 11, any- 
body, by d — ^n sight! ! !" And with this expression of resentment for the freedom thar 
the young men had unwittingly taken in the discussion of the affair, he departed with 
manly indignation, iu perfect keeping with his admirable character. 






^T-^yr/-, 




CHAPTER XII. 

"The Booxf/s Lick Country."— Its Settlement.— Ira r. Nash Visits It in 1804.— 
Expedition of Lewis and Clark.— In 1807 Nathan and Daniel M. Boone Make Salt 
At "Boone's Lick."— Daniel Boone.— Popular Error Corrected.— Sketch of 
Daniel Booxe.— His Death.— Early Settlements in Cooper and Howard Coun- 
ties.— Stockade Forts. — Tragic Death of Sarshell Cooper. 

The next settlement west of St. Louis anterior to 1812, of any con- 
siderable size, W!is in 1810 by a colony of about one hundred and fifty 
families, chiefly Kentuckians, on the rich alluvial lands in the Missouri 
bottom about Franklin, in what is now Howard County.^ 

The fact is very well authenticated, however, that even at an earlier 
day a few Americans had visited the same region of country, but not 
for the purposes of permanent settlement. A recent publication ^ 
apparently prepared with much care, and certainly very valuable, 
discloses the ftict that the first Americans who ever set foot within the 
present limits of Howard County were Ira P. Nash, ( afterwards the 
founder of Nashville on the Missouri River, in Boone County, ) a Deputy 
United States Surveyoi-, Stephen Hancock and Stephen Jackson, who 
came "up the Missouri River in February, 1804, and located a claim on 
the public lands, within the present limits of Howard County, nearly 
opposite the mouth of Lamine Creek — doubtless the same land after- 
wards occupied, in part, by the celebrated "Hardeman's Garden." 
They employed their time in surveying, hunting and fishing until the 
March following, when they returned to their homes on the Missouri 
River, about twenty-five miles above St. Charles. In July of the same 
year, Ira P. Nash, accompanied by another party — William Nash, 
James H. Whitesides, William Clark and Daniel Hubbard — returned 
and surveyed a tract of land near the present site of Old Franklin, 
opposite where Booneville now stands. On this expedition Nash 
informed his companions that when in the country the previous spring, 
he concealed and left in a certain holloAV tree a surveyor's compass, 



1 Organized January 23, 1816, and called Howard in honor of General Benjamin 
Howard, who -was a Kepresentative in Congress from the Lexington (KentuckjO district 
from 1807 to 1810, and who, in October of the latter year, was appointed Governor of 
Missouri Territory, to succeed Governor Merriwether Lewis. He died in St. Louis, 
September 18, 1814. (See Chapter TK.) 

zLevens and Drake's "History of Cooper County." 
12 



178 IIISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 

which he sought and found as represented, thus verifying the fact that 
he had previously visited the same region. 

Between the first and second visits of Nash ; that is to say, on the 7th 
of Juno, 1804, Lewis and Clark, on their expedition across the Eocky 
Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, camped for the night with their boats at 
the mouth of the Bonne Femme ("Good woman") creek in Howard 
County, a few miles below the present city of Boonville. Remaining at 
the same place the next day, they explored the country and came down 
the river bottom as far as the mouth of the Moniteau, a creek which 
empties into the Missouri at the present town of Rocheport, {Itoclie 
JPorie, "point of rocks,") where they found a high bluff from which 
projected a point of rocks covered with hieroglyphic paintings, but the 
rattlesnakes which abounded there deterred them from makino; a more 
critical examination. 

Daring the summer of 1807, Nathan and Daniel M. Boone, sons of the 
celebrated hunter and frontiersman, Daniel Boone, together with three 
other men, Goforth, Baldridge and Manly, left the Femme Osage Creek 
settlement in St. Charles County, where the elder Boone lived, and came 
up to Howard County with their kettles to manufacture salt, at what was 
afterwards known as "Boone's Lick." In the fall of the same year they 
shipped it down the river in canoes' made of hollow sycamore logs, the 
ends of which were made water proof by being closed with boards and 
daubed with clay. 

The country above Cedar Creek, which now forms the boundary line 
between Callaway and Boone Counties, and which was regarded as the 
western boundary of the district (afterwards the county) of St. Charles, 
was called the "Booxe's Lick Country" from its first settlement; and 
this from the circumstance that Nathan and Daniel M. Boone, as early as 
1807, manufactured salt at "Boone's Lick" in Howard County, as above 
stated. 

The popular conviction is, and it has found expression in various 
forms in carelessly-prepared newspaper articles, that the old Kentucky 
pioneer, Daniel Boone, made a settlement at an early day within the 
present limits of Howard County, and manufactured salt at what was 
known as "Boone's Lick," and that from this circumstance an undefined 
region in that part of the State was called "The Boone's Lick Country." 
The truth is, there is no evidence that old Daniel Boone ever owned or 
worked the salt springs ; certainly none that he ever resided, even 
temporarily, in Howard County. It is probable, and yet the evidence 
of even this is not conclusive, that while Commandant (in 1800 to 1804) 



DANIEL BOONE. 179 

of the Femme Osage District, under the Spanish Government, he may 
have gone on a hunting expedition into the territory of Howard County, 
and discovered the salt springs existing there. 

Nevertheless, it is unquestionably true that Boone County, organized 
November 16, 1820, was called Boone in honor of his name. 

Daniel Boone was born in Exeter Township, Bucks County, Pa., 
July 14, 1732,1 and has the merit of entering and exploring Kentucky 
and Missouri at a very early day. On the 1st of May, 1769, he set out 
Avith five companions from his farm on the Yadkin, in North Carolina, 
for Kain-tuck-ee, for such was its Indian name, and in June following 
found himself on the banks of a river flowing westward toward the 
Mississippi — the Kentucky River. Years afterwards, losing his lauds in 
Kentucky by renson of a defective title, and hearing from some hunters 
of the wondrous fertility of the country west of the Mississippi River 
and of the great abundance of game, he finally resolved to emigrate 
and settle there. 

Mr. J. M. Peck fixes the period of his emigration to Missouri in 1 795 ; 
Perkins, in his "Western Annals," in 1797, and Mr. Thomas J. Hinde, 
in the "American Pioneer," in the same year ; Timothy Flint, in 1798. 

At that period, and for several years after, the district of Louisiana, 
which embraced Missouri, belonged to Spain ; and Colonel Boone, soon 
after his arrival, renounced his allegiance to the Government of the 
United States and became a Spanish subject. His first residence in 
Missouri w^as in the Femme Osage settlement, in the District of 
St. Charles, about forty-five miles west of St. Louis, and about twenty- 
five miles above St. Charles, on the Missouri River. On June 11, 1800, 
Delassus, Lieutenant-Governor, appointed him Commandant or Syndic 
of Femme Osage District, which office he accepted. He retained this 
command, which included both civil and military duties ; and he continued 
to discharo;e them with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of all 
concerned, until the transfer of the government to the United States 
in 1804. 

Colonel Boone received from the Spanish Governor, Delassus, a grant 
of 1,000 arpents of land in the Femme Osage District. Subsequently a 



iThe date of Boone's birth is not certainly kno-mi, and. different biograpliers give 
different dates. Bogant gives February 11th, 1735, as the date of his birth, and his 
biographer, C. B. Hartley, (who wrote in 1865) gives the same date. Keverend J. M. 
Peck gives February, 1735. Another account gives 1746. The family record in the 
handwriting of Daniel Boone's uncle, James, who was a schoolmaster, gives July 
14th, 1732. 



180 



HISTOEY OF MISSOUKI. 



grant of 10,000 arpents was made to him, by reason of an agreement 
with him, which he fulfilled, to bring into Upper Louisiana one hundred 
families from Virginia and Kentucky. In order to confirm this grant it 
was necessary to obtain the signature of the direct representative of the 
Spanish Crown, at that time residing at the city of New Orleans. 
Neglecting to comply with this requisition, his title was declared 
invalid. His title to the first grant of 1,000 arpents was also declared 
worthless, but it was subsequently confirmed by special act of Congress. 




The House in which Daniel Boone died. ^ 

(The first stone dwelling-house erected in Missouri.) 

On March 18th, 1813, the old pioneer lost his wife — Eebecca Bryan — 
by death. Her remains were interred on the summit of a beautiful 
eminence commanding the Missouri River and. about one mile southeast 
of the town of Marthasville, in Warren County. 

On the 26th of September, 1820, the old hero himself died at the 
residence of his son, Major Nathan Boone, on Femme Osage Creek, in 
St. Charles County, aged 88 years. The house in which he died is a 
two-story stone, the first of its character erected in Missouri, and is yet 
standing, some six miles from the Missouri River. 

He was buried in a cherry coffin which he had prepared and kept 
ready for several years, his remains being interred by the side of his 
wife. Great respect was rendered the memory of the old pioneer, as was 
evidenced by the large concourse of people who attended his funeral, and 
by the adjournment, for a day, of the Missouri Legislature, then in 
session. 



COOPER AKD HOWAED COUNTIES. 181 

In 1845 the citizens of Frankfort, Kentucky, having established a 
new cemetery, and being about to dedicate it, resolved to inter in it the 
remains of Daniel Boone and his wife. Obtaining consent of the 
surviving members of the family, a committee was sent to Marthasville, 
Missouri, their remains exhumed Jul}^ 17th, 1845, and on the 20th of 
August, 1845, re-interi-ed in the new cemetery. The ceremonies were 
deeply interesting and largely attended. Honorable John J. Crittenden 
delivered the address on the occasion ; and Mr. Joseph B. Wells, of 
Missouri, also made a speech. 

In 1808, William Christie and John G. Heath came up from St. Louis 
and manufactured salt at what was known as "Heath's Salt Lick," in 
what is now Blackwater Township, Cooper County. For many years 
afterwards Mr. Heath made salt at the same springs. 

In the spring of 1808, Colonel Benjamin Cooper and family, consist- 
ino; of his wife and five sons, moved to the neighborhood of "Boone's 
Lick," in Howard County; built a cabin, cleared a piece of land, and 
commenced arrangements for a permanent settlement. Governor Merry- 
Avether Lewis, then Governor of the Territory, -hearing of Cooper's 
adventure, sent him an order to remove with his family to some place 
below the, mouth of the Gasconade, as in the event of an Indian war he 
could not be protected in his far-off home. He thereupon abandoned 
his settlement and located at Loutre Island, where he remained till 1810. 
In February of that year. Colonel Benjamin Cooper, wife and sons, 
with many others, chiefly from Madison County, Kentucky, left Loutre 
Island for the " Boone's Lick Country," traveling through the trackless 
forest on the north side of the Missouri Kiver, and arriving in safety in 
March. The females ' belonging to these families — Colonel Benjamin 
Cooper's excepted — did not arrive till the following July or August. 

All of those who accompanied Cooper on this expedition settled in 
Howard County, except Stephen and Hannah Cole, with their families, 
who crossed the Missouri River where Old Franklin now stands, in 
canoes, and settled in what is now Cooper County, near the present site 
of Booneville. 

In the spring of 1812, it became evident that some more efficient 
means should be adopted to protect these frontier settlements from the 
threatened hostilities of the warlike tribes of Indians by which they 
were surrounded. They were chiefly disturbed by the Pottawatomies, 
who were the champion horse-thieves of the frontier. Of more warlike 
and bloody intent were the Foxes, lowas, and Kickapoos, whose hostili- 
ties exposed the lives of the settlers to great and constant perils. Living 
as these pioneers did, beyond the organized jurisdiction of any county, 



182 HISTOKY OF JVnSSOIIRI. 

they were a protection and government to themselves ; and for two 
years, unaided by territorial authority, they had sustained the conflict 
with the Indians with dauntless heroism. 

Nevertheless, in 1812, they resolved, in the midst of thickening 
dangers, to erect five stockade forts, for their protection. 

Four of these forts were erected in the present limits of Howard 
County, and all named in honor of some leading man of the "settlements." 
There was Cooper's Fort in the bottom prairie near Boone's Lick Salt 
Works, nearly opposite the present town of Arrow Eock ; Kincaid's 
Fort, only a mile above the site on which Old Franklin was afterwards 
built; Fort Hempstead, one mile north of Franklin; Cole's Fort, two 
miles east of Booneville, north of the road to Eocheport, and on tke 
Cooper side ; and Head's Fort, a few miles north of Eocheport and near 
the present crossing of the Old St. Charles road on the Moniteau, a large 
stream which for some distance from its mouth forms the boundary 
between the counties of Boone and Howard. 

The commanders of these forts were Captain Stephen Cole, after 
whom Cole County was named ; William Head and Sarsbell Cooper — 
Cooper County being called in honor of the latter. 

Cornfields, which were cultivated in common, stood near these forts. 
Sentinels kept guard around them, while others plowed the fields ; and 
if danger was seriously apprehended, horns were blown as signals to 
rally to the forts. Frequent deaths occurred at the hands of the savages, 
sometimes by outright assassinations under the cover of night, at other 
times in conflicts in field or forest. 

At difl'erent times and places the following well-known settlers were 
killed by the Indians, namely : Sarshell Cooper, Braxton Cooper, Jr. , Jona- 
than Todd, Wm. Campbell, Thos. Smith, Sam'l McMahan, Wm. McLane, 
William Gregg, John Smith, James Busby, Joseph W. Still, and Joseph 
Brown, a colored man. Of the murders committed — says "Peck's 
Annals of the West," — none excited so deep a feeling as the tragic end of 
Captain Sarshell Cooper, who was killed at his own tire-side in Cooper's 
Fort, April 14, 1814. It was on a dark and stormy night, when the 
winds howled through the adjacent forest, that a single warrior crept to 
the wall of Captain Cooper's cabin, which formed one side of the fort, 
and made an opening between the logs, barely sufficient to admit the 
muzzle of his gun, which he discharged with fatal efi'ect. Captain Cooper 
was sitting by the fire, holding his youngest child in his arms, which 
escaped unhurt ; his other children lounging on the cabin floor, and his 
wife engao-ed in domestic duties. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

Earthquakes at New Madrid, 1811-12.— Description of the Catastrophe.— Hon. Lewis 
F. Linn's Letter.— The Venerable Godfrey Lesier, an Eye Witness, Describes 
it.— Eeelfoot Lake, Tennessee, a Result of its Violence.—" New Madrid Claims." 
—Acts of Congress Locating and Confirming Them. 

Four remarkable events occurred near the close of the year 1811 ; 
namely, the battle of Tippecanoe, November 7 ; the buildhig of the 
" New Orleans," the first steamboat constructed west of the AUeghauies ; 
the burning of the Richmond Theater, December 26 ; and the great 
earthquakes at New Madrid, December 16, the latter of which will ren- 
der New Madrid imperishable in hibtory. 

This place lies about seventy miles below the mouth of the Ohio, and 
was one of the old Spanish Forts. It was settled as early as 1780. 
Seven years after, it was laid out by General George Morgan of New 
Jersey on an extensive scale. In consequence of some obstacles to his 
designs, created by the Spanish Government, and the fact that no stone 
for building or other purpose could be found, he finally abandoned it 
and retired from the country. Nevertheless, it grew to be a town of 
considerable importance and population. 

The first shock of the earthquake at New Madrid was felt on the 
morning of December 16, 1811, about two o'clock, and was repeated at 
intervals, with decreasing violence, for several weeks. The center of its 
violence was near the settlement of Little Prairie, twenty-five or thirty 
miles below New Madrid. During the night of December 16th a flotilla 
of flat boats, laden with provisions for the southern trade, was at anchor 
some miles below the town, and the boatmen describe the phenomenon 
as one of terrific grandeur. 

Although there have been many exaggerations of the character and 
extent of this catastrophe, it is admitted by all that the undulations of 
the earth upheaved the waters of the great river and much of the coun- 
try adjacent, filling every living creature with indescribable horror. The 
ducks, geese, swan and other aquatic fowls that were quietly resting in 
the eddies of the Mississippi gave evidence of the wildest tumult in 
screams of alarm. A loud roaring sound, which has been likened to sub- 
terranean thunder, was accompanied by hissing as if of escaping steam 
from a pipe, and attended by violent agitation of the adjacent shores. 

Sandbars and the points of islands were swallowed in the bosom of 



184 HISTOEY OF MISSOUEI. 

the deep, while the tall cotton-woods crashing against each other and 
tossing their giant branches to and fro, disappeared in the voracious abyss. 

The earth on shore in many places opened in wide fissures, and, 
quickly closing again, threw jets of water discolored by mud, charcoal 
and sand, to a considerable height. Traces of these fissures, and of the 
heaps of sand with which they covered the country, are plainly visible to 
this day. 

This appalling catastrophe invaded the country inland, on both sides 
of the Mississippi. Hon. Lewis F. Linn, in his letter, February 1, 
1836, to the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce says that 
after the subsidence of the principal commotion, " hills had disappeared, 
and lakes were found in their stead ; and numerous lakes became ele- 
vated ground, over the surface of which vast heaps of sand were scattered 
in every direction, while in many places the earth for miles was sunk 
below the general level of the surrounding country. One of the lakes 
formed on this occasion is sixty or seventy miles in length, and from 
three to twenty in breadth. In sailing over its surface in the light canoe, 
the voyager is struck with astonishmentat beholding the giant trees of the 
forest standing partially exposed amid a waste of waters, branchless and 
leafless. But the wonder is still further increased on casting the eye ou 
the dark blue profound, to observe cane brakes covering its bottom." 

The venerable Godfrey Lesier, but recently deceased, and a resident 
of New Madrid at the time of the earthquake and an eye-witness of the 
scene, in 1871 fully describes it in a letter to Professor A. D. Hagar, 
State Geologist of JNIissouri. Speaking of the remarkable fissures made 
by the earth's undulations, he says: "Wide and long fissures were left, 
running north and south parallel with each other for miles. I have seen 
some four or five miles in length, four and a-half feet deep ou an average, 
and about ten feet wide. After this, slight shocks were felt at intervals 
until January 7th, 1812, when the country was again visited by an earth- 
quake, equal to the first two in violence, and characterized by the same 
frightful results. Then it was that the cry, ^sauve qui jpeiU I ' sxvosq 
among the people, and all but two families left the country, abandoning 
all their property, consisting of cattle, hogs, horses, and portions of 
their household effects. 

"Besides these long and narrow fissures, they were sometimes forced 
up to a considerable height in an oval or circular form, making large 
and deep basins, some of them one hundred yards across, and deep 
enough to retain water during the driest season, affording good watering 
places for stock. 



EAKTHQUAKES AT NEW MADEID. 185 

"The damaged and up-torn p:irt of the conntiy was not veiy extensive, 
embracing a circumference of not more than one hundred and fifty miles, 
taking the okl town of Little Prairie, now called Carnthersville, as the 
center. A very large extent of country on either side of White Water, 
called here Little Kiver, also on both sides of the St. Francis River, in 
this State and Arkansas, and also on the Reelfoot Bayou, in Tennessee, 
was sunk below the former elevation about ten feet, thus rendering that 
region of country entirely unfit for cultivation. 

" It is a remarkable fact, and worthy of notice, that so few casualties 
occurred during those terrible convulsions. Among the citizens there 
were but two deaths, both victims being women. One, Mrs. Lafont, 
died from fright while the earth was shaking and rocking. The other, 
Mrs. Jarvis, received an injury from the fall of a cabin log, from which 
she died a few days after." 

A correspondent of the New York Woi-Icl, writing from Cairo (111.,) 
in February, 1877, says of Reelfoot Lake : 

Near Uuion City, in Tennessee, and near the southwestern confines of Kentucky, is 
Keelfoot Lake. Here the roof of a mighty cavern was shaken down by the eaithquake of 
1811-12. Lofty forest trees, the tallest that tower above the lowlands, disappeared with 
the land on which they grew, and a sea, broader and deeper than that of Galilee, was 
outspread in crystal clearness in the midst of the lowlands. Dmks and geese flock its 
surface, and trout abound in the modern lake that had never reflected the sun's face in 
its fathomless depths, till the bridge of soil and trees and cane were broken down by the 
earthquake's resounding footsteps. 

Where the railway from Nashville to Hickman, Ky., on the Mississippi, crosses that 
from Mobile to Cairo and Chicago, stands the town of Union City. It is ten miles from 
this lake. It has been stated that when heavy locomotives and heavily-laden trains 
come rushing by, hotels and station-houses quake, candlesticks are shaken from mantels 
and tables, and that hollowness in Avhich the forest disappeared which bridged Eeelfoot 
Lake, extends, it has been alleged, beneath the town and railway. The water of this 
lake is not that of the Mississippi. It is of crystal brightness and clearness, such as 
distinguishes the river in the depths of Mammoth Cave, while the great river above 
ground, bearing alluvium from northwestern mountains, is tawny in its yellowness and 
impervious to vision. When the earthquake of 1811-12 was most violent and the night 
was of extraordinary darkness, the Mississippi flowed backward, and flatboats in the 
vicinity of Hickman drifted backwards forty miles towards Cairo. A mighty volume of 
the river's flood-tide receded into measureless caverns beneath the country's surface, 
and nowhere were the lowlands submerged. 

The losses sustained by the inhabitants residing within the circuit of 
the earthquake at once received the sympathies of the American people. 
No sooner, therefore, did Congress convene than the great earthquake 
was felt in that body, and so keenly and with such undiminishing power 
that before the vibration subsided the earthquake elevated one territorial 
judge to the bench, delivered the Supreme Court of the United States 



186 



HISTOEY OF MISSOUKI. 



of three decisions, passed six acts of Congi-ess, and pronounced ten 
opinions of attorney-generals. 

Among the most important acts of Congress was that of February 17, 
1815, for the relief of the inhabitants who sustained losses of real estate, 
an act which originated the "New Madrid Claims." This was a short act 
of three sections, and providing that any person owning lauds in the 
county, as it was known on the 10th of November, 1812, and whose 
lands were materially injured by the catastrophe, were authorized to 
locate a like quantity on any of the public lands of the territory of 
Missouri, .no location, however, to embrace a larger number of acres 
than six hundred and forty. 

Many of the locations were made on the most fertile lands in Boone, 
Howard and. other counties ; and in many instances without regard to the 
lines and angles of the public surveys. Land pirates and speculators 
infested the country, and, taking advantage of the wants of the suflerers 
by the earthquake, bought up and speculated on their "claims." Many 
claims were manufactured by fraud and perjury, and sustained by what- 
ever proof was needed to establish them, so that in the end the aggregate 
area of the claims was no doubt larger than the entire surface of New 
Madrid County. 




Swamp near New Madrid. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

1812.— Missouri Territory Organized.— Five Couintties.— Governor William Clark.— 
Election for Delegate to Congress and Members of the Territorial Legisla- 
ture—Edward Hempstead Chosen Delegate.— Sketch of His Life and Services.— 
First Territorial Legislature.— Census op 1814.— Rufus Baston.— John Scott.— 
Legislatures of 1813, 1S14, 1815, 1816, 1817 and 1818.— Application to Form a State 
Government. 

On the 4th day of June, 1812, Missouri was organized by Congress 
into a Territory, with a Governor and General Assembly — the latter to 
meet annually in the town of St. Louis. The legislative power of the 
Territory was vested in a Governor, Legislative Council, and House of 
Representatives. The Governor had an absolute veto. The Legislative 
Council consisted of nine members, and held their office for five years. 
The House of Representatives nominated eighteen citizens to the 
President of the United States, and out of that number he selected nine 
councilors, with the approval of the Senate, to form the Legislative 
Council. The House of Representatives consisted of members chosen 
by the people every two years, one Representative being allowed for 
every five hundred white males. The first House of Representatives^ 
consisted of thirteen members, and, under the act of Congress, the 
number of Representatives could never exceed twenty-five. The judicial 
power of the Territory was vested in a superior court, inferior courts, 
and justices of the peace. The Superior Court consisted of three judges, 
who held their offices for four years, and had original and appellate 
jurisdiction, in civil and criminal cases. By the same act the Territory 
was authorized to send one territorial delegate to Congress. 

On October 1st, 1812, Governor Clark issued a proclamation, as 
required by the act of Congress, reorganizing the districts — so-called 
theretofore — into five counties, viz : St. Charles, St. Louis, Ste. Gene- 
vieve, Cape Girardeau and New Madrid, and' ordering an election to be 
held on the second Monday in November following for a delegate to 
Congress and members of the Territorial House of Representatives. 

The first Territorial Governor appointed by the President was William 
Clark— of the expedition of Lewis and Clark— who entered upon his 
duties in July, 1813, and continued to hold the office till the admission 
of the State in the Union in 1821.^ 

1 Governor Clark died in St. Louis on September 1st, 1S3S. 



188 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

At the first election for delegate to Congress in November, 1812, there 
were four candidates — Edward Hempstead, Rufus Easton, Samuel 
Hammond and Matthew Lyon, the first of whom was successful. 

Edward Hempstead, thus chosen the first Territorial Delegate to Con- 
gress from Missouri, deserves more than a passing notice, fie was a 
man of ability, jDatriotism and irreproachable life, public and private, 
and illustrated his brief career in Congress — for he refused to serve a 
second term — by introducing and influencing that body to pass the act of 
June 13, 1812, confirming to the people of the District of Louisiana 
titles to their lands claimed by virtue of the Spanish grants, noticed more 
at length in a former chapter. By the same act the several towns and 
villages of the District had confirmed to them, "for the support of 
schools," the village lots, out-lots, or common-field lots held and enjoyed 
by them at the period of the cession of Louisiana to the United States 
on April 30, 1803. 

The estimated value in 1876 of the real estate thus secured to the city 
of St. Louis, for school purposes, was $1,252,895.79 — ^yielding an 
income during that year of $52,855.75. To Colonel Thomas F. Riddick, 
who originated the proposition, and who, in 1813 rode on horseback all 
the way to Washington City to aid in influencing Congress in its favor, 
and to Edward Hempstead, who carried it through Congress, the people 
of St. Louis and other towns and villao;es in Missouri are indebted for 
these magnificent grants of land. 

Such benefactors ought not to be forgotteu. Edward Hempstead 
was born in New London, Connecticut, June 3, 1780; received a 
classical education from private tutors, and having studied law, was 
admitted to the bar in 1801. After spending three years in Rhode 
Island, practicing his profession, he removed in 1804 to the Territory 
of Louisiana, traveling on horseback, and tarrying for a time at 
Viucennes, Indiana Territory. He traveled on foot from Yinceimes to 
St. Louis, carrying his scanty wardrobe in a bundle, and first settled in 
St. Charles in 1805, and soon after removed to St. Louis, where he 
resided the balance of his life. In 1806, he was appointed Deputy- 
Attorney-General for the districts of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in 
1809, Attorney-General for the Territory of Upper Louisiana, which 
office he held untill 1811, and he was the first delegate in Congress from 
the Western side of the Mississippi River, representing Missouri 
Territory from 1811 to 1814. After his service in Congress, he went 
upon several expeditions against the Indians, Avas elected to the 
Territorial Assembly and chosen Speaker. He was a man of ability, 



MISSOURI -TEEKITORY OEGANIZED. 189 

pure and without reproach, and his loss was deeply lamented by all who 
knew him. He died in St. Louis, August 10, 1817. 

Tlie first General Assembly under the act of June, 4, 1812, held its 
first meeting in the house of Joseph Robidoux, between Walnut and 
Elm streets, St. Louis, on the 7th of December, 1812, the following 
being the members of the House : 

St. Charles — John Pitman and Eobert Spencer. 

St. Louis — David Mnsic, Bernard G-. Farrar, William C. Garr and Eichard Caulk. 

Ste. Genevieve — George Bullet, Eichard S. Thomas and Isaac McGready. 

Gape Girardeau — George F. Bollinger and Spencer Byrd. 

New Madrid— John Shrader and Samuel Phillips. 

The oath of office was administered by John B. C. Lucas, one of the 
Territorial Judges. William C. Carr was elected Speaker, and Thomas 
F. Riddick, Clerk, ^j?'o tern. Andrew Scott was elected permanent 
Clerk before the close of the session. 

The House of Representatives then proceeded to nominate eighteen 
persons, from whom the President of the United States, with the Senate, 
was to select nine for the Council ; and out of the number thus named 
the President and Senate chose the following : 

St. Charles — James Flaugherty and Benjamin Emmons. 
St. Louis — Auguste Chouteau, Sr., and Samuel Hammond. 
Ste. Genevieve — John Scott and James Maxwell. 
Cape Girardeau — William ISJ'eelej'' and Joseph Cavenor. 
New 3Iadrid — Joseph Hunter. 

On June 3, 1813, Frederick Bates, Secretary of the Territory and 
Acting Governor, issued his proclamation announcing the names of the 
Legislative Council chosen by the President and Senate, and fixing the 
first Monday in July following for the meeting of the Legislature. 

Before the meeting of this body, William Clark ( in July, 1813) 
assumed the duties of the Executive office. 

No proceedings of the Legislature were ofiicially published, in any 
form, yet portions of them appeared in the Missouri Gazette. The 
Legislature passed law^s regulating and establishing weights and measures, 
the office of Sheriff, mode of taking the census, fixing permanently 
seats of Justice in the counties, compensation to members of the 
Assembly, crimes and punishments, forcible entry and detainer, establish- 
ing courts of common pleas, incorporating the bank of St. Louis, and 
organizing the county of Washington from a part of Ste. Genevieve. ^ 

The second session of the General Assembly began in St. Louis, on 
the 6th day of December, 1813. The Speaker elect of the House, was 

1 Territorial Laws, Vol. I, pp, 225-290. 



190 HISTORY OF MISSOUEI. 

George Bnllett, of Ste. Genevieve County; the Clerk, Andrew Scott; 
Door-keeper, William Sullivan. Vacations having occurred, several 
new members had been elected. Israel McGready appeared from the 
new county of Washington. Samuel Hammond was President of the 
Legislative Council. 

The Jonrnal of the House, but not of the Council, is to be found in 
the Gazelle. After passing various laws, among them one to regulate 
elections, one for the suppression of vice and immorality on the Sabbath, 
one creating the offices Territorial Auditor and Treasurer, and County 
Surveyor, one concerning public roads and highways and one regulating 
the fiscal affairs of the Territory, the Assembly adjourned, sine die, 
on the 19th of January, 1814. The boundaries of the counties of 
St. Cimrles, Washington, Cape Girardeau, and New Madrid, were defined 
and the county of Arkansas created. ^ 

The enumeration of the free white male inhabitants of each county, 
taken under the Act of the Legislature, early in 1814, is as follows : 

Arkansas 827. ISTew Madrid 1548. 

Cape Girardeau 2062. Ste. Genevieve ,. 1701. 

Washinfftou 1010. St. Louis 3149. 



St. Charles 1096. Total 11,392. 

Allowing an equal number of white females, and 1,000 slaves and free 
blacks, and the population of the Territory was 25,000. The census of 
1810, by the United States, gives 20,845 of all classes. 

Edward Hempstead, who had discharged his duty faithfully as a 
Delegate to Congress, declined a re-election. The candidates for his 
successor were Rufus Easton, Samuel Hammond, Alexander McNair and 
Thomas F. Eiddick. The aggregate votes from all counties (excepting 
Arkansas) was 2,599, of which Mr. Easton had 965; Mr. Hammond, 
746; Mr. McNair, 853; and Mr. Eiddick, (who had withdrawn his 
name previous to the election), 35. Eufus Easton was elected. 

The apportionment, under the census of 1814, increased the number 
of Eepresentatives in the Territorial Legislature, to twenty-two. 

The first session of the second General Assembly, commenced in 
St. Louis, on the 5th of December, 1814. Twenty Eepresentatives 
were present the first clay. James Caldwell, of Ste. Genevieve County, 
was elected Speaker, and Andrew Scott, Clerk. The Council chose 
William Neely, of Cape Girardeau County, President. The County 
of Lawrence was organized from the western part of New Madrid and 
the corporate powers of St. Louis, as a borough, enlarged. 

Territorial Laws, Vol. I, pp. 191-338. 



MISSOUKI TEEKITORY OEGANIZED. 191 

It appears from the journal of the House, in the Gazette, that James 
Maxwell, a member of the Council from the County of Ste. Genevieve, 
and Seth Emmons, member elect of the House of Eepresentatives from 
the County of St. Louis, had died, and measures were adopted to fill 
the vacancies. 

The Territorial Legislature commenced its annual session in November, 

1815. Only a partial report can be found in the Gazette. The County 
of Howard was organized, at this session, from the western portion of 
St. Louis and St. Charles Counties, and embraced all that portion of the 
State north of the mouth of the Osa2:e and south of the dividino; rido;e 
between the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. The session continued 
until January 26th, 1816, when it adjourned. 

The Territorial Lesfislature of Missouri commenced again in December, 

1816, and continued until February 1st, 1817. Among the acts passed, 
was one to encourage the ''killing of wolves, panthers and wild cats" ; two 
or three lotteries were chartered ; a charter granted for an academy at 
Potosi ; and a board of trustees incorporated for superintending schools 
in the Town of St. Louis. This was the starting point in the school 
system of that city. The old " Bank of Missouri " was chartered and 
soon went into operation, and by autumn, 1817, the two banks, "St. 
Louis" and "Missouri," were issuing bills. The one called St. Louis 
went into operation in 1814. [See Territorial Laws, Vol. 1, pp. 489-553.] 

The Territorial Legislature commenced a session in December, 1818. 
During this session the Counties of Jefferson, Franklin, Wayne, Lincoln, 
Madison, Montgomer}^ Pike, Cooper, and three counties in the southern 
part of Arkansas, were organized. In the next year (1819) the Territory 
of Arkansas was formed into a separate Territory. ^ 

So rapid had been the increase of population and the number of 
organized counties, that the Territorial Legislature of 1818-19 made 
application to Congress for the passage of a law by that body authorizing 
the people of Missouri to organize a State Government, and an act was 
accordingly introduced during the same year for that object. John 
Scott was the delegate from Missouri, he having been chosen at the 
election of 1817 over Rufus Easton. [For a histor}^ of the proceedings 
of Congress on this subject, see chapter xvii.] 

1 "The Annals of the West," by J. M. Peck, pp. 759-61. 



CHAPTEE XV. 

Three Central Counties— Howard, Cooper and Boone.— Franklix, Booneville and 
Fayette.— The Santa Fe Trade.—" Missouri Intelligencer."— Hardeman's Garden 
Described.— Town of Smithton, in Boone County, Etc., Etc. 

Next in importance and population to the settlement of St. Louis, and 
chronologically next to St. Charles, Femme Osage and Loutre Island, 
was the settlement of the three central counties of Howard, Cooper and 
Boone. 

Howard County was organized January 23, 1816, and included all that 
part of the State north of the Osage River, and west of Cedar Creek, 
and the dividing ridge between the Mississippi and Missouri liivers. 
It then embraced the territory since divided into 31 counties, 19 north 
and 12 south of the river, besides parts of 9 others. The act organizing 
the county located the seat of justice at Cole's Fort, where the first 
court was held July 8th, 1816. The officers of the court, which under 
the territorial laws discharged the duties now incum1)ent on the County 
and Circuit Courts, were David Barton, judge; Gtay Bynum, clerk; 
John J. Heath, circuit attorney; and Nicholas S. Burckhavtt, Sheriff. 
John Monroe was appointed coroner, and the Legislature appointed 
Benjamin Estell, David Jones, David Kincaid, William Head and Stephen 
Cole commissioners to chose the count}^ seat, which was first located at 
Cole's Fort. On June 16th, 1816, they chose Franklin, to which place 
it was removed in 1817, and remained there until transferred to Fayette 
in 1823. 

The town of Franklin — now better known as " Old Franklin," to dis- 
tinguish it from the newer town of the same name, two miles back from 
the river on the bluff — ^^vas laid oft" opposite Boonville, in what was then 
called "Cooper's Bottom "in the fall of 1816 — the same year Howard 
County was organized. Franklhi was laid off on fifty acres of land 
donated by clift'erent individuals. .The Public Square contained two 
acres, and its principal streets were eighty-seven feet wide. It grew 
rapidly and verj^ soon became a populous and thrifty place, commanding 
a lucrative trade, and for the wdiole of the "Boone's Lick Country," was 
the center of wealth and fashion. Indeed for many years Franklin w^as 
the most important and flourishing towni in the State west of St. Louis. 
Its early achievements in commerce and wealth during the palmy days 
of thCj Santa Fe trade and the Boone's Lick saltworks, achievements 



rRAl!^!^!^ AJSD FAYETTE. 193 

which were accomplished even long before Cooper's Fort, Kincaid's Fort 
and Fort Hempstead were lost from view, wonld fill a volume. 

A United States land office — Thomas A. Smith Eeceiver, Charles 
Carroll Kegister — was located there at which the first land sales west 
of Saint Louis were held in November, 1818. Great crowds of citi- 
zens and speculators attended this sale, and lands in every part of the 
district were sold at that time. 

Among those who, in its palmiest days, resided in Franklin may be 
mentioned : Hamilton E,. Gamble, Abiel Leonard, Lilbnrn W. Boggs, 
Nicholas S. Burckhart, Ben. H. Reeves, C. F. Jackson, Ch. Carroll, 
T. A. Smith, Drs. James H. Benson, G. C. Hart, N. Hutchinson, and 
John J. Lowry ; Ben. Holladay, A. J. Williams, Richard Gentry, David 
Todd, W. V. Rector, Giles M. Samuel, Moss Prewitt and many others 
whose names are historic, and who, although dead, yet speak in the annals 
of the State. 

The first newspaper established west of St. Louis was the ^^Missouri 
Intelligencer,^^ which was established in Franklin, by Nathaniel Patton, 
in April, 1819, where it continued to be published till the removal of the 
seat of justice to Fayette, in 1823, when it was removed to that place. 
In 1835, Mr. Patton moved the printing materials to Columbia, where he 
commenced the publication of " The Patriot " which was succeeded in 
1843 by the '^Missouri States7nan," by Wm. F. Switzler and John B. 
Williams.^ The press — a small hand-press of wooden frame, iron bed, 
platen and joints, known among "the craft" as the Ramage — on which 
the ^^Intelligencer'"' was printed was presented, some years ago, to the 
Mercantile Library Association of St. Louis, by Wm. F. Switzler, where 
it can be seen. Some of the walnut printers' stands used in the 
^'Intelligencer'''' office in 1819, and with Mr. Patton's name upon them, 
are still in daily use in the '' Statesman' ' office at Columbia. 

On the 28th of May, 1819, the first steamboat which ascended the 
Missouri as high up as Franklin, the "Independence," Captain Nelson, 
reached that place after a twelve days' voyage from St. Louis. 

About three years after the removal of the county seat to Fayette, the 
Missouri began to make serious encroachments upon the river front of 
Franklin, and year after year house after house, and street after street 
yielded to the insidious waters. By 1832 it became evident that the 
town — or what remained of it — must either be moved to a less exposed 
location or be washed into the stream. During that year, therefore, the 
town was re-located on a bluff two miles from the river, and called 
New Franklin, and many of the houses of the old town moved to it. 
13 



194 



HISTORY OF MISSOUEI. 



Just above the mouth of the Lamine River, in Howard County, and 
five miles above Old Franklin, there was from about 1820 to 1835 a lovely 
and famous retreat known as "Hardeman's Garden" — a vine-clad and 
rose-covered bower, ver}^ similar to the renowned "Tower Grove" of 
that public benefactor, Henry Shaw, of St. Louis. 




A Home on the Missouri. 



The founder of this celebrated garden, John Hardeman, was a North 
Carolinian by birth; born in 1776, removed in 1817 to Carondelet, 
Missouri, from Williamson County, Tennessee, and two years afterward 
to Howard County. He was a gentleman of wealth and culture, and 
studied and practiced law in liis native State. But, being passionately 
fond of agricultural and horticultural pursuits, he abandoned his pro- 
fession and determined to establish in the wilds of Missouri and on the 
ricb alluvial lands in "Cooper's Bottom" the most splendidly-equipped 
farm and garden west of the Alleghanies. Ambitious to excel in this 



HAEDEMAN'S GAKDEN". 195 

attractive industry, he purchased several hundred acres of land, and on 
a chosen spot immediately on the Missouri Eiver laid off ten acres in an 
exact square for a botanic garden, sparing neither ex^Dense nor labor in 
adorning it with fruits, flowers and shrubs, indigenous and exotic. Ser- 
pentine walks, paved with shells, conducted the admiring visitor through 
tliis charming court of Flora, where, amid zephyrs of the richest per- 
fume, flowers of the most beautiful hue greeted the eye and fruits of 
the most delicious flavor tempted the hand. 

No doubt Byron was endeavoring to convey some idea of such a spot 
when his rich fancy gushed forth in this beautiful rhapsody : 

" Know ye the land of the cedar and vine, 
Where the flowers ever blossom, the beams ever shine; 
« Where the light wings of Zephyr, oppressed with perfume, 

Wax faint o'er the gardens of Gul in her bloom; 
Where the citron and olive are the fairest of fruit. 
And the voice of the nightingale never is mute ; 
Where the tints of the earth and the hues of the sky, 
In color though varied, in beauty may vie." 

But "Hardeman's Garden" is gone! And he, to whose genius and 
cultivation it was indebted for the adornment and brilliance which made 
the forest bloom and blossom as the rose, is also gone — having, in 1829, on 
his way home from Old Mexico, died of yellow fever in New Orleans. i 
And the gay and cheerful groups who once threaded its labyrinthian 
paths, enchanted by the songs of birds and made happy in the midst 
of cultivated magnificence, are to be seen no more. Not a tree, or 
shrub, or vine, or flower of the Garden remains. All are gone — even 
the very spot on which this Elysium was located ! It, as well as the once 
flourishing town of Franklin, has fallen a victim to the treacherous cur- 
rents of the river, whose banks they once adorned. 

Of Franklin scarcely a vestige is left, for its very foundations were 
years ago undermined by the waters of the river and washed away. The 
site of its main business street, where, in the heyday of its prosperity 
and glory and power, the long caravans for Santa Fe formed in line of 
march, or busy merchants, adventurers, traders and speculators con- 
gregated to grasp the wealth of this new world, is a half a mile or 

^ Hon. Gr. O. Hardeman, one of the members of the Legislature from Franldin County 
(1877) , is a son of John Hardeman, He informs the writer that the farm and garden 
remained a part of his father's unsettled estate for many years — the garden, and best 
portions of the farm, having disappeared in the Missouri Eiver years before the remain- 
ing land was sold in 1865 to Dr. Kingsbury of Howard County. 



196 HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 

more from the present shore. Nothing remains of the town except the 
grave- yard, originally located in the rear of it in a grove of stately 
cotton-woods, where are interred the remains of many of those who 
early sought fame and fortune in the wilds of the Boone's Lick — this 
hallowed spot alone has escaped the mad whirl-pools and insidious 
eddies of the Missouri. 

Population of Howard County in 1821, 7,321 ; in 1876, 17,815. 

On the return of Colonel Ben. Cooper and others from Loutre Island 
in February, 1810, to Howard County, ^ two of the party — Hannah Cole 
and Stephen Cole — crossed the river and settled on or near the spot on 
which Boonville now stands. The families of these two pioneers con- 
sisted of seventeen persons, and these at that time were the only white 
persons living within the present limits of Cooper County. Their only 
neighbors, south of the river, were the Sauk and Fox Indians, the for- 
mer of whom, with their chief, Quashgami, occupied the country on the 
Moniteau Creek in the south part of what is now Cooper County. 

In 1811 others came from " Cooper's Bottom" in Howard County and 
settled near Hannah and Stephen Cole, and during the following year 
built Cole's Fort, about one and a-half miles east of Boonville, and on 
what is now known as " the old fort held. " 

Cooper County was organized December 18th, 1818, and was named 
in honor of Sarshell Cooper, whose tragic death on the night of April 
14th, 1814, is elsewhere noticed. 

Booneville was located on land first settled upon and owned by Mrs. 
Hannah Cole. The oiiginal plat Avas made by Captain Asa Morgan and 
Charles Lucas, August 1st, 1817, and was called Booneville by Judge 
J. B. C. Lucas in honor of the great pioneer. 

Charles Lucas was a sou of Judge Lucas, and was killed by Colonel 
Benton in a duel on Bloody Island, September 27th, 1817, aged twenty- 
five years. Booneville became the county seat August 13th, 1819, and 
was incorporated February 8th, 1839. The first election held May 3d, 
1839, made Marcus Williams, Sr., Mayor; J. Rice, President of the 
Board, and William Shields, J. L. Collins, Jacob Wyan, David Andrews, 
Charles Smith, J. S. McFarland, and J. H. Malone, Councilmen. The 
first court was held at the house of William Bartlett, Esq., March 1st, 
1819, David Todd presiding, William M. McFarland, Sheriflf, and 
Eobert C. Clark, Clerk. 

1 See preceding chapter. 



BOONE COUNTY 197 

The fii^t Coiirt-House — a small two-story brick — was completed iu 
1823, on the same spot on which the present Court-House, which was 
built in 1840, now stands. 

Population of Cooper County in 1821, 3,483; m 1876, 21,356. 

The first settlement, in what is now Boone County, was made in 
1812-13, at what a few years afterwards was called "Thrall's Prairie," 
by John Berry and Reuben Gentry; the latter the father of Colonel 
William Gentry, of Pettis County, who was a candidate for Governor in 
1874. In 1815, immediately following the treaty by which the Indians 
relinquished all their country in Missouri Territory, north of the river, 
Robert Hinkson, William Callaham, William Graham, Reuben and Henry 
Cave located along the old "Boone's Lick" trail, or old St. Charles 
Road, leading from St. Louis to Old Franklin, which was made by 
Benjamin Cooper and others in 1810. In 1816, Augustus Thrall, 
Dr. George B. Wilcox, Tyre Harris, Overton Harris, Anderson Woods, 
William Leintz, the Wilhites and others settled on what is now Thrall's 
Prairie, in the western part of the county. 

The years 1817 and 1818 witnessed a great influx of population to the 
"Boone's Lick Country," as all Central Missouri was then familiarly 
called. These early settlers were mainly from Kentucky (principally 
Madison County), Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina. The county 
was organized from Howard, November 16th, 1820, and named in honor 
of Daniel Boone. The county seat was first located at Smithton, one mile 
Avest of the present Columbia Court-House, and named in honor of 
General T. A. Smith, receiver of the land office at Franklin, and one 
of the proprietors of the town site. 

On July 23d, 1819, the following advertisement was published in the 
Missouri Intelligencer, at Franklin, giving notice of the wants of the 
Trustees of Smitbton : 

The Trustees of Smithton wish immediately to contract for building a Double 
Hewed Log House, shingled roof and stone chimneys, one story and a half high, 
in that town. Timber and stone are very convenient. They will also contract for 
DIGGING and WALLING a WELL. The improvements to be finished by the first of 
November next, when payment will be made. 

Taylor Berry, "| 
July 23, 1819. Eichard Gentry, V Trustees. 

David Todd, J 

The first count}'' court was held February 23d, 1821 ; the first circuit 
court, at Smithton, beneath the branches of a sugar maple, on April. 



198 HISTOEY OF MISSOUKI. 

2d, 1821 : David Todd, Judge ; Eoger N. Todd, Clerk ; Overton Harris, 
Sheriff; Hamilton R. Gamble, Circuit- Attorney. 

The county seat was removed from Smithton to Columbia, November 
15th, 1821, on account of a Mlure to find water in the former place 
by digging wells. 

The first circuit court held in Columbia, was December 7th, 1821. 

Nashville, on the Missouri River, was laid off in 1821, on a Spanish 
grant of land owned by Ira P. Nash; and Rocheport in 1825 — the latter 
town on a New Madrid claim. 

Population of Boone County in 1821, 3,692 ; in 1876, 31,923. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The First Steamboats. — Robert Fulton, the Pioneer Steamboat Builder. — His 
DEATH IN 1815. — In 1817 the "General Pike" lands at St. Louis.— In 1819 the 
" Independence" enters the Missouri Eiver, Proceeds to Franklin and Chariton, 
AND Returns to St. Louis. — Public meeting at Franklin. — Other Steamers 

NAVIGATE the MISSOURI DURING THE SAME YEAR. 

The invention of steam as a propelling power is an honor claimed by 
various nations ; but the first extensive employment of it, and the most 
valuable improvements made upon the steam engine, the world indis- 
putably owes to the Americans and English. 

Inseparably connected with the invention of steamboats and the great 
revolution they effected in the commerce of the world is the name of 
Robert Fulton, a celebrated American engineer and inventor, who was 
born near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1765. At the early age of seven- 
teen he evinced remarkable genius as a painter of portraits and landscapes, 
and opened a studio in Philadelphia. . Afterwards he visited London, 
where he pursued his art under the tuition of his celebrated country- 
man, Benjamin West. While in England he made the acquaintance of 
the Duke of Bridgewater and Lord Stanhope, through whose influence 
and encouragement he turned his attention to mechanics, and developed 
those remarkable powers which culminated in the invention of the 
steamboat. He afterwards visited Paris, and Bonaparte, then First 
Consul of France, appointed a commission to examine the Torpedo, a 
submarine vessel he had invented for naval warfare. In 1801 several 
experiments were made with it in the harbor of Brest. 



THE FIKST STEAMBOATS. J 9-9 

Keceiving in Paris but little encouragement, he returned in 1806 to 
the United States, and, being supplied with the necessary funds by 
Robert Livingston, who had been American ambassador at Paris, Fulton 
in 1807 conclusively proved that steam could be successfully applied to 
the propulsion of vessels on water. His first boat was the Clermont^ 
which made regular trips between New York and Albany at the rate of 
fi^ve miles an hour. Very soon this speed was increased by improved 
machinery. Other boats followed, both on the northern and western 
rivers, exciting the admiration and wonder of the people. 

In the midst of his great achievements Fulton died February 24, 1815. 

Within three months after the death of Fulton ; that is in May, 1815, 
the steamboat Enterprise, Captain Henry M. Shreve, made a trip from 
New Orleans to Louisville. She left New Orleans on May 6th, and 
reached Louisville on the 31st of the same month, making the passage 
in twenty-five days. 

The first steamboat which ascended the Mississippi above the mouth 
of the Ohio, Avas the General Pike, Captain Jacob Reid, which landed 
in St.- Louis at the foot of Market street, August 2, 1817, and was 
hailed by the citizens with demonstrations of joy. 

The next was the Gonstitution, Captain E. T. Guyard, which arrived 
October 2, 1817. There were several arrivals during the year 1818. 

The Independence, Captain John Nelson, from Louisville, Kentucky, 
was the pioneer steamboat in the navigation of the Missouri, and the 
first to enter that stream. Colonel Elias Rector and others of St. Louis 
had chartered her to go up the Missouri as high as the town of Chariton, 
now a deserted town two miles above Glasgow, near the mouth of the 
Chariton River. She left St. Louis May 15, 1819, and arrived at 
Franklin, Howard County, on May 28th, occasioning the wildest excite- 
ment and the greatest joy among the people. 

The following were some of the passengers on the Independence: 
Colonel Elias Rector, Stephen Rector, Captain Desha, J. C. Mitchell, 
Dr. Stewart, J. Wanton and Major J. D. Wilcox. 

Immediately after its arrival at Franklin, a public dinner was given 
the passengers and officers of the boat. A public meeting was then 
held, of which Asa Morgan Avas elected President, and Dr. N. 
Hutchinson , Vice-President. 

Numerous toasts were offered and speeches were made by Colonel 
Elias Rector, General Duff Green, Captain Nelson, Dr. J. H. Benson, 
C. J. Mitchell, Major Thomas Douglass, Stephen Rector, Lilburn W. 
Boggs, John W. Scudder, Benjamin Holliday, Dr. Dawson, Augustus 



200 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

Storrs, N. Patten, jr., Major J. D. Wilcox, Dr. J.J. Lowry, Major 
Richard Gentry, Joseph B. Howard and Lewis W. Jordon. 

The Independence conthmed her voyage up to Chariton, as per contract, 
returned to St. Louis on the 5th of June and took freight for Louisville. 

The St. Louis Enquire)' of the 9th of June, 1819, made the following 
remarks relative to the first attempt to navigate the Missouri by steam 
power : '' The passage of the steamboat Independence, Captain Nelson, 
up the Missouri to Franklin and Chariton, is an era in the history of that 
noble river, and has called forth the most lively feelings of joy and 
triumph all over the country. By referring to the head of Steamboat 
Litelligence, it will be seen that the banks of the river were visited by 
crowds of citizens to witness this great event, and to testify their joy and 
admiration." 

In 1818 the Goverment of the United States projected the celebrated 
Yellowstone Expedition, the objects of which were to ascertain whether 
the Missouri River was navigable by steamboats, and to establish a line 
of forts from its mouth to the Yellowstone. The expedition started from 
Plattsburg, New York, in 1818, under command of Colonel Henry 
Atkinson. General Nathan Ranuey, a well-known citizen of St. Louis, 
recently deceased, was an attache of this expedition. Also Captain Wm. 
D. HubbcU, now (1877) a citizen of Columbia, Missouri. It arrived at 
Pittsburg in the spring of 1819, where Colonel S. H. Long, of the Topo- 
graphical Engineers of the United States Army, had constructed the 
Western Engineer, a small steamer to be used by him and his scientific 
corps in pioneering the expedition to the mouth of the Yellowstone. 

In 1874, General Ranney presented to the Missouri Historical Society 
the following historical memorandum for incorporation in the scrap-book 
of the association : 

"In 1818-19, Major Long, of the United States Topographical Engineers, built a 
steamboat at Pittsburg for exploring the Western waters to the Yellowstone River. The 
boat was christened the Western Engineer. On its stern, (') running from the keel, was the 
image of a huge serpent, painted black, with mouth red and its tongue the color of a live 
coal. The steam exhausted from the mouth of the serpent, which led the Indians to look 
upon it with astonishment and wonder. They saw in it the power of the Great Spirit, 
and thought the boat was carried upon the back of the great serpent. Many were afraid 
to go near it, and looked upon the machinery of the craft with especial awe. The boat was 
in command of Lieutenant Swift, though his name in no wise applied to the traveling 
capacity of the steamer. As a means of exploration she proved a success. She was a 
side-wheeler, and the first boat to ascend the Upper Missouri." 



1 other authorities, and we believe them correct, say the image of the serpent's head projected from 
the prow instead of the stern of the vessel. 



FIEST STEAMBOATS UP THE MISSOURI. 201 

This boat arrived in St. Louis, June 8, 1819, and on the 21st of the 
same month, in company with the Government steamers Expedition, 
€aptain Craig ; Thomas Jefferson, Captain Orfort, and R. M. Johnson, 
Captain Colfax, and nine keel boats, (i) left on their long and perilous 
Yoyao-e. Their entrance into the mouth of the Missouri Eiver was 
signalized by music, w^akingthe echoes of the forest wilds, and by the 
streaming of flags in the breeze. 

It was the intention of those in charge of the expedition, out of respect 
to ex-President Jefferson, avIio had done so much to acquire Louisiana, 
to award the honor of the first entrance to the steamer bearing his name ; 
but an accident to her machinery caused a temporary delay, and there- 
fore the entry was made by the Expedition, which slowly steamed her 
way to Fort Belle Fountain, situated about four miles from the mouth of 
the river. • 

Afterwards they proceeded on their voyage ; the Jefferson, however, 
near Cote Sans Dessein, being wrecked on a snag and lost. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Missouri as a State.— Application to be admitted into the Union.— The beginning 
OF THE Anti-Slavery Agitation.— An Angry Debate in Congress.— The Proviso 
Adopted by the House and Rejected by the Senate.— Congress Adjourns, 
refusing to admit thu State.— Agitation and bitter Controversies Arise.— 
Integrity op the Union Menaced.— The Question before the XVIth Congress.— 
"The Missouri Compromise" passed.— Constitutional Convention of 1820.— David 
Barton.- Constitution Presented to Congress.— Resistance to Admission.— 
Another Fevrful Anti-Slavery Storm.— Mr. Clay with his Grand Committee 
OF Thirty comes to the Front.— They Report a Second " Missouri Compromise." 
which is Adopted.— Missouri is Admitted.— Popular Error Corrected Respecting 
Mr. Clay.— Questions Answered by President Monroe's Cabinet. 

One of the most interesting and instructive periods in the history of 
Missouri is that which succeeded the application of the Territorial Legis- 
lature of 1818-19 to admit the State into the National Union. Questions 
of the gravest moment engnged the attention of two consecutive sessions 
of Congress, and excited the people to an nlarrning degree. Indeed, 
"The Missouri Question " was fruitful of such violent and bitter discus- 

1 The keel boats had been fitted out with wheels and masts by Aaron Sutton, the father 
of Eichard D. Sutton, now a well-known citizen of St. Louis. 



202 HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 

sions in the National Legislature, and so convulsed the country, that for 
a time the Republic itself was in imminent peril. 

In Older that those who read these pages may have a proper appre- 
hension of the gravity of the occasion, and of the questions discussed 
and decided, it is proper that a clear and faithful synopsis of the pro- 
ceedings of Congress, which cut so prominent a figure in the history of the 
State, should appear in this volume. 

John Scott, having at the general election in 1817 been elected to 
succeed Mr. Easton, was the delegate of the Territory in Congress ; 
and although under the Constitution he could not vote, he frequently and 
ably exercised the privilege of debate. 

On February 15, 1819,^ the House resolved itself into a committee 
of the whole (Mr. Smith, of Maryland, in the chair,) on the bill to 
authorize the people of the Missouri Territory to form a Constitution and 
State Government, and for the admission of the same into the Union on 
an equal footing with the original States. During the progress of the 
discussion which followed, Mr. Tallmadge of New York moved to amend 
the bill by adding to it the following proviso : 

^'^ And Provided, That the further introduction of slavery or involuntary servitude be 
prohibited, except for the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been fully 
convicted ; and that all children born within the said State, after the admission thereof 
into the Union, shall be free at the age of twenty -five years." 

The introduction of this amendment and the exciting debate which 
followed, produced a profound sensation in Congress and throughout the 
country, especially in Missouri ; and it may be referred to as the 
commencement of the anti-slavery and pro-slavery agitation which for 
forty years thereafter distracted our public councils. 

During the debate, the proviso was supported in speeches by Mr. 
Taylor of New York and others, and opposed by Mr. Clay of Kentucky, 
Mr. Barbour of Virginia and others. The debate, which was quite 
exciting, involved two questions chiefly, as did all subsequent discussions 
of the subject in both Houses of Congress. On the one hand it was 
maintained with great spirit and persistency, that the resolutions of the 
House of Representatives of 1790, in response to the first petition 
presented asking the abolition of slavery, had adversely settled the 
question of Constitutional power over the institution ; that in the 
admission of Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama 

^Benton's Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, Vol. VI., p. 333. 



MISSOURI AS A STATE. 203 

no attempt was made either to revive the slavery agitation or to impose 
a similar restriction, and that in each of them negro slavery existed ; 
that Congress had no Constitutional right to prescribe to any State the 
details of its government, any further than that it should be republican 
in its form ; and that such power, if exercised, Avould be nugatory, since, 
once admitted into the Union, the people of any State have the 
unquestioned right to amend their Constitution, etc. On the other 
hand it was as strongly contended that while it might be true, and was 
true, that Congress had no Constitutional authority to interfere with 
slavery in the thirteen original States, it had full power to inhibit it in 
the Territories ; that Congress had the right to annex conditions to the 
admission of any new State into the Union; that admission or refusal 
to admit was within the discretion of Congress ; that slavery was 
incompatible with our Republican institutions, and that free and slave 
labor could not co-exist. 

The question being pnt on the proviso of Mr. Tallmadge, it was 
adopted, 79 to 67, and so reported to the House, which proceeded on 
February 16th to its consideration. 

Debate followed, Mr. Scott of Missouri being among those who 
addressed the House in opposition to the proviso, maintaining that the 
proposed restriction was not only a badge of inequality among States 
theoretically equal, but inconsistent with the treaty stipulations under 
which Louisiana (of which Missouri was a part,) was acquired. Louisi- 
ana from its , earliest colonization, had tolerated and recognized negro 
slavery on both sides of the Mississippi. Not only this, but the 
governments of both France and Spain had sustained African slavery; 
and in the transfer of Louisiana the treaty of cession secured to the 
inhabitants of the Province of which Missouri was then a part, protection 
and enjoyment of their property. 

Mr. Tallmado-e of New York — author of the amendment — followed 
Mr. Scott, controverting his fundamental propositions of law and policy, 
right and duty ; and a division being demanded, a vote was taken on the 
first member of the proviso ending with the word "convicted," audit was 
adopted: ayes 87 ; nays 76. The second member, being the remainder 
of the proposition, then passed — ayes 82 ; nays 78. The bill was then 
ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, 97 to 56. 

On the 17th of Februarj^ 1819, the bill was taken up in the Senate, 
and referred to a committee. Having been reported to the Senate, that 
body on the 27th proceeded to vote, first, on a motion to strike out the 
latter member of the amendment — all after the word "convicted" — which 



204 HISTOKY OF MTSSOUEI. 

passed: yeas 31, nays 7; and, secondly, on a motion to strike out the 
first clause, (or remainder) of the restriction, which also passed, yeas 22, 
nays 16 — thus by the two votes rejecting the entire proposition. 

On March 2d the House refused, 76 to 78, to concur in the Senate 
amendment striking out the Tallmadge proviso, and the bill was returned 
to the Senate ; and the Senate refusing to recede and the House to concur, 
the bill was lost, and on the 3d of March 1819 the xvth Congress 
adjourned siiie die. 

This left the two Houses geographically divided : the one free and 
north, the other slave and south, and the same division extended itself 
with electric speed to the States and the people. It was a period of 
deep apprehension, filling with dismay the hearts of the steadiest 
patriots. It would be nine months before Congress would sit again. 
The agitation, great as it was, was to become greater and fiercer, and the 
wisest could not forecast its consequences. The movement to put the 
anti-slavery restriction on Arkansas, also at that time asking admission 
into the Union as a State, and the close and equivocal votes on the 
question in Congress, greatly aggravated "The Missouri Question," and 
seemed to menace the Slave States with total exclusion from the Province 
of Louisiana. Hence the fearful storm of controversy which succeeded 
the adjournment, and marred the deliberations of the next Congress. 

The xvith Congress convened December 6th, 1819. On the 29th, 
Mr. Smith, of South Carolina, presented to the Senate the memorial of 
the Legislative Council and House of Representative of the Missouri Terri- 
tory, praying to be admitted into the Union as a separate and independent 
State, signed by David Barton, Speaker of the House, and Benjamin 
Emmons, President of the Council, which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary. 

On January 25th, the House, having on the previous day refused, 88 
to 87, to postpone the bill to await the action of the Senate on the same 
subject, went into committee of the whole on the bill authorizing the 
people of the Missouri Territory to form a Constitution and State 
Government, etc. ; and from day to da}^, with an occasional recess, 
remained in committee discussing the bill and proposed amendments 
until February 19th, when the House took up the bill from the Senate for 
the admission of Maine. This had been so amended as to connect it 
with "The Missouri Question," by the adoption, February 17th, on the 
motion of Honorable Jesse B. Thomas, Senator from Illinois, of the 
following : ^ ^ 

1 Benton's Abridgement of the Debates of Congress, vol. VI, p. 451. 



"MISSOUHI COMPEOMISE." 205 

And be it further enacted, That in all that territory ceded by France to the 
United States, under the name of Louisiana, which lies north of thirty-six degrees and 
thirty minutes nortli latitude \_excepting only such part thereof as rs] included within the 
limits of the State contemplated by this act, slavery and involuntary servitude, other- 
wise than in the punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, 
shall be and is hereby forever prohibited : Provided always, That any person escaping 
into the same, from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed in any State or Territoiy 
of the United States, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the 
person claiming his or her labor or services as aforesaid." 

This amendment was adopted by the Senate on February 17 ; yeas 34, 
nays 10, and became the basis of the "Missouri Compromise;" modified 
afterwards by striking out tlie words in italic and embraced in brackets. 
On ordering" the bill to a third reading in the Senate the vote stood, 
ayes 24, noes 20. After its passage it was not sent to the House until 
Marcli 2 ; and during the interval between its adoption by the Senate 
and its report to tlie House, the latter body was engaged in one of the 
most important and exciting debates which ever occurred in the American 
Congress. . It was during this great debate, and on February 8, 1820, 
that Mr. Clay, of Kentucky, at that time Speaker of the House, 
addressed the Committee of the Whole for four hours in one of the most 
eloquent and masterly speeches of his life against the right and expedi- 
ency of the proposed restriction. What a loss to mankind that the 
speech was not reported ! 

On the same day the bill and amendments Avere reported from the 
Senate, the House (March 2d) took them up, and by a vote of 134 to 42 
concurred in the amendment, which struck out the slavery restriction 
on the State of Missouri, and inserted the clause inhibiting slavery in 
the territory north of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north latitude. 

And so, all the amendments being concurred in, the bill was passed by 
the two Houses — the "Missouri Compromise," so-called then and so 
recognized now, constituting Section 8 of "An act to authorize the people 
of the Missouri Territory to form a Constitution and State Government, 
and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing 
with the original States, and to prohibit slavery in certain territory." 
Approved 6th March, 1820.1 

Under the act of Congress the people of Missouri, then oi-ganized into 
fifteen counties, were authorized to hold an election on the first Monda}-, 
and two succ'eeding days of May, 1820, to choose representatives to a 
State Convention, which was to meet at the seat of government ( then 
St. Louis) on Monday, June 12th of the same year. When thus 

1 Territorial Laws, vol. I, pp. 628-31. 



206 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

assembled they were authorized (1.) to adjourn to any other place in 
the Territory; (2.) to determine by a majority of the whole mimber 
elected whether or not it was expedient at that time to form a Constitu- 
tion ; (3.) if expedient, to proceed to discharge the high trust, and 
(4.) or if more expedient to provide by ordinance for electing representa- 
tives to another convention who should perform that duty. 

The election was held in May, and the following are the names of the 
members elected to the Convention, and the counties they represented : 

Cape Girardeau — Stephen Byrd, James Evans, Eichard S. Thomas, Alexander Buckner, 
Joseph McFerron. 

Cooper— Rober:t P. Clark, Eobert Wallace, Wm. Lillard. 

Franklin — John G. Heath. 

Howard — Nicholas S. Burkhartt, Duff Green, John Eay, Jonathan S. Findlay, Benj. 
H. Eeeves. 

Jefferson — ^Daniel Hammond. 

Lincoln — ^Malcolm Henry. 

Montgomery — Jonathan Eamsey, James Talbott. 

Madison — Nathaniel Cook. 

New Madrid — Eobert D. Dawson, Christopher G. Houts. 

Pike — Stephen Cleaver. 

St. Charles — Benj. Emmons, Nathan Boone, Hiram H. Baber. 

Ste. Genevieve — John D. Cook, Hemy Dodge, John Scott, E. T. Brown. 

8t. Louis — ^David Barton, Edward Bates, Alexander McNair, Wm. Eector, John C. 
Sullivan, Pierre Chouteau, Jr., Bernard Pratte, Thos. F. Eiddick. 

Washington — John Eice Jones, Samuel Perry, John Hutchings. 

Wayne — ^Elijah Bettis. 

In all forty-one representatives, who met in what was then known as 
the "Mansion House," ( now "Denver House," ) on the corner of Third 
and Vine streets, St. Louis, and concluded their labors by signing the 
Constitution they formed on the 19th July. David Barton was elected 
President of the Convention, and Wm. G. Pettis, Secretary. Mr. Barton 
was one of the ablest and most remarkable men Missouri ever produced. 
On the admission of the State into the Union, he was elected to the 
United States Senate, and served with distinction in that body from 1821 
to 1831, and died a lunatic at the house of Wm. Gibson, one mile east 
of Boonville, September 28th, 1837, and was buried in Walnut Grove 
Cemetery, at Boonville. 

The Constitution which the convention formed took effect from the 
authority of the body itself, no provision having been made to submit 
it to a vote of the people. It was a model of perspicuity and states- 
manship, and withstood all efforts to supplant or materially amend it 
until the celebrated "Drake Convention" of 1865. 



"MISSOUKI COMrEOMISE." 207 

The second session of the xvith Congress met November 13th, 1820, 
and on the 16th, Mr. Scott, delegate from Missouri, laid before the 
House a manuscript cop}^ of the Constitution of the State, which was 
referred to a select committee — William Lowndes of South Carolina, 
John Sergeant of Pennsylvania, and Samuel Smith of Maryland. On 
the 23d Mr. Lowndes made a report from the committee, accompanied 
by a preamble and resolution, the former reciting the title of the act of 
Congress of March 6th, 1820 ; the fact that a convention was held and a 
constitution formed pursuant thereto, and that said constitution "is 
republican, and in conformity with the provisions of said act ;" and the 
latter to admit the State into the Union on an equal footing with the 
original States. 

A debate at once arose, which continued for some three weeks, in 
which a fierce resistance was made to the admission of the State, 
chiefly on the grounds, first, because the Constitution sanctioned slavery, 
and, second, because in the article defining the legislative power of the 
General Assembly there was this injunction : 

" It shall be their duty, as soon as may be, to pass such laws as may be necessary to 
prevent free negroes and mulattoes from coming to, and settling in this State, under any 
pretext whatsoever." 

It was maintained that this clause, which was the fourth of the thirty- 
sixth section of the third article of the Constitution, authorized the 
Legislature to prohibit the emigration of free people of color into the 
State, it being held that the latter was a breach of that clause in the 
Federal Constitution which guarantees equal privileges in all the States 
to the cilzens of every State, of which the right of emigration was one. 

But the real point of objection with many was the slavery clause, and 
the existence of slavery in the State, which it sanctioned and seemed 
to perpetuate. 

On December 11th, on motion of Mr. Baldwin of Pennsylvania, the 
preamble oflfered by Mr. Lowndes was stricken out — 87 to 65 — and on 
the 13th, the House refused — 93 to 79 — to engross the resolution and 
order it to a third reading, which was equivalent to its rejection. 

Li the Senate the application of the State shared a similar fate. On 
the second day of the session the question was referred to a select com- 
mittee — William Smith of South Carolina, James Burrill of Rhode 
Island, and Nathaniel Macon of North Carolina, who, on November 29th, 
reported a resolution in favor of the admission of the State into the 
Union. 



208 HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 

After a two weeks' debate in the Senate, quite similar in spirit and 
argument to the debate in the House, Mr. Eaton of Tennessee (Decem- 
ber 11th) offered an amendment to the resolution, which Avas agreed to 
by a rising vote, as follows : 

^'■Provided, That nothing herein container! shall be so construed as to give the assent of 
Congress to any provision in the Constitution of Missouri, if any such there be, which 
contravenes that clause in the Constitution of the United States which declares that ' the 
citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in 
the several States.' " 

After which the resolution, as amended, was adopted — yeas 26, 
nays 18. 

On the 29th. of January, 1821, on motion of Mr. Clay of Kentucky, 
the House, in Committee of the Whole, took up the resolution and 
caveat or proviso, from the Senate. After various unsuccessful attempts 
to amend it, and an animated debate of three days on the evils of slavery, 
the rights of the South, the balance of power, the nature of the obliga- 
tions and benefits of the Union, etc., the Conmiittee — 75 to 73 — agreed 
to report the resolution to the House ; and the question then being on 
agreeing to the amendment reported from the Committee of the Whole, 
the vote in the House was : yeas 79, nays 88. Not agreed to. A second 
resolution to the same effect afterwards passed the Senate and was again 
rejected by the House. 

The perils of the situation being great and imminent, and anxious to 
make a last effort to settle this distracting question, Mr. Clay (February 
2 2d) moved that a committee of twenty-three, a number equal to the 
number of States, be appointed to act jointly with a committee of tke 
Senate, to consider and report "whether it be expedient or not to make 
provision for the admission of Missouri into the Union on the same footing 
as the orimnal States, and for the due execution of the laws of the United 
states, within Missouri ; and, if not, whether any other, and what pro- 
vision, adapted to her actual condition, ought to be made a law." 

This motion was adopted by a majority of nearly two to one — 101 to 
55 — and the committee of twenty-three, with Mr. Clay as chairman, 
was then chosen. 

The Senate ( February 24th) , by a vote almost unanimous — 29 to 7 — 
agreed to the joint resolution and appointed seven of its members on the 
joint committee. 

On Monday, February 26th, the committee reported to each House 
the following : 



"MISSOUEI COMPEOMISE." 209 

Besolved, hy the Senate and House of Bepresentatives 0/ the United States of America, in 
Congress assembled : That Missouri shall he admitted into this Union on an equal footing 
with the original States, in all respects whatever, upon the fundamental condition, that 
the fourth clause of the twenty-sixth section of the third article of the constitution 
submitted on the part of said State to Congress, shall never be construed to authorize 
the passage of any law, and that no law shall be passed in conformity thereto, by which 
any citizen of either ol the States in this Union, shall be excluded from the enjoyment 
of any of the privileges and immunities to which such citizen is entitled under the Con- 
stitution of the United States : Provided, that the Legislature of said State, by A solemn 
PUBLIC ACT, shall declare the assent of the said State to the said fundamental condition, 
and shall transmit to the President of the United States, on or before the fourth Monday 
m November next, an authentic copy of the said act; upon the receipt whereof, the 
President, by proclamation, shall announce the fact; whereupon, and without any 
further proceeding on the part of Congress, the admission of the said State into the 
Union shall be considered as complete. 

The resolution was considered in the House without delay, and, after 
a brief debate, was adopted — yeas 86, nays 82 — and ordered to be sent 
to the Senate for concurrence. All attempts to amend it in the Senate 
were voted down, and on February 28th, the resolution passed— yeas 28, 
nays 14, a vote of two to one.^ 

The reason of referring it to the President to announce the fact, by 
proclamation, that Missouri had complied with the condition of the 
resolution, and was thereby admitted, was for the purpose of preventing 
the question of admission, in any shape whatever, from coming before 
Congress and the country again, imperiling the harmony of both and 
the perpetuity of the Federal Union. 

Nothing now remained to secure the complete and final admission of 
the State except its compliance with the conditions of the resolution 
of Congress; and, therefore, in furtherance of this purpose. Governor 
Clark, by proclamation, convened the Legislature in special session in 
St. Charles on the 4th of June, 1821. 

On the 26th of the same month,^ the Legislature adopted "A Solemn 
Public Act," declaring the assent of the State to the fundamental 
condition of admission ; without delay transmitted to the President an 
authentic copy of the same, and on August 10th, 1821, President 
Monroe, by proclamatiou,^ announced the admission of Missouri into 
this Union to be complete ; and the State from that day took rank as the 
twenty-fourth of the American Eepublic. 



^ Benton's Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, Vol. VI, p. 711. 

2 Territorial Laws, Vol. 1, pp. 758-9. 

» Benton's Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, Vol. YU. p, 129, 

14: 



210 HISTOEY OF MISSOUKL 

Thus the portentous struggle of two years and a half came to an 
auspicious close, and "glad tidings of great joy" were proclaimed to 
the people. 

All who would correctly understand the remarkable history of 
Missouri's admission into the Union, should specially note the fact that 
the great event was the joint achievement of two "Compromises," 
neither of which separately was able to accomplish it, namely : First, 
the Thomas Proviso of March 6, 1820 — better known as "The Missouri 
Compromise" — which, while it admitted Missouri as a slave State, at 
the same time forever inhibited slavery in all the territory north of 36 
degrees 30 minutes north latitude ; and Second, the " Clay Compromise," 
of March 2d, 1821, whereby the unexpected and continued opposition 
to her admission with the Constitution she presented was conciliated, 
and the admission of the State completely effected (August 10th, 1821) 
on the "fundamental condition" that said State by a solemn public act 
should declare that no law will ever be adopted by her General Assembly 
by which any citizen of either of the States of the Union should be 
excluded from any of the privileges to which such citizen is entitled under 
the Constitution of the United States ; in other words, that Missouri 
expunge from her Constitution of June 19th, 1820, the clause making it 
the duty of the Legislature to pass such laws as may be necessary to 
prevent free people of color from emigrating to and settling in the State. 

While it is true, therefore, that Mr. Clay performed great and signal 
services in the adjustment of the Missouri Question, and is the author 
of the compromise which finally admitted the State into the Federal 
Union, it is not true, as many have supposed, that he was the author of 
the territorial line of 36 degrees 30 minutes incorporated in the Act of 
March 6th, 1820, nor was Missouri admitted under that act. On the 
contrary, as has been plainly shown, she was not admitted until August 
10th, 1821, by proclamation of President Monroe, and upon the "Funda- 
mental Condition " of the Clay Compromise, reported by the Grand 
Committee of Thirty, which was the keystone of the symmetrical arch. 

So great was the excitement which the discussion of this subject en- 
gendered throughout the countrj^ and such was the gravity and import- 
ance of the constitutional question involved, that, immediately upon the 
passage of the bill conditionally admitting Missouri into the Union, 
President Monroe requiied of each member of his cabinet — consisting of 
J. Q. Adams, Secretary of State; Wm. H. Crawford, Secretary of the 
Treasury; Jno. C. Calhoun, Secretary of War; Samuel L. Southard, 
Secretary of the Navy ; John McLean, Postmaster General, and Wm. 



"MISSOUKI COMPKOMISE." 211 

Wirt, Attorney General — to give his opinion in writing, to be filed in 
the Department of State, on the following interrogatories : 

" Has a Congress a right, under the powers vested in it by the Constitution, to make a 
regulation prohibiting slavery in a Territory? " 

"Is the 8th section of the Act which passed both houses on the 3d inst., for the 
admission of Missouri into the Union, consistent with the Constitution? " 

According to extracts from the Diary of John Quincy Adams, who was 
President Monroe's Secretary of State, dated March 3d, 5th and 6th, 
1820, it is established, first, that it was unanimously agreed by the 
cabinet, in answer to the first question, that Congress had the power to 
prohibit slavery in the Territories; and, second, that they difiered only, 
as they assigned their reasons, in thinking the 8th section of the 
Missouri bill consistent with the Constitution. President Monroe, having 
received an affirmative answer in wr iting from all of his cabinet, to the 
two questions, approved the bill on March 6th, 1820. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

First Election for Governor and other State Officers. — Alexander McN'air 
Elected Governor.— First Legislature Under the State Constitution.— Gov- 
ernor McNair's Message.— Supreme and Circuit Judges ArroiNTED.— Election of 
United States Senators. — Exciting Contest.— David Barton and Thomas H. 
Benton Elected. — Remarkable Incidents Connected with Benton's Election. — 
Counties Organized.— Capital Moved to St. Charles. 

In anticipation of the admission of the State into the Union with the 
constitution and form of government adopted by the convention on the 
19th of July, 1820, the General Assembly was required to meet in 
St. Louis on the third Monday in September of that year. A general 
election was also ordered to be held on Monday, August 28th, for the 
election of a Governor, a Lieutenant-Governor, a Representative for the 
residue of the xvith Congress, and one for the xviith ; Senators and 
Representatives to the General Assembly, and Sherifiis and Coroners. 
The number provided by the Constitution for the first legislature was 
fourteen Senators and forty three Representatives. 



212 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

Although, as was seen in the last chapter, the State was not admitted 
until August 10th, 1821, the election was held and the General Assembly 
met pursLumt to the provisions of the Constitution. 

For Governor there were two candidates, namely, William Clark (who 
for eight years had been Governor of the Territory), and Alexander 
McNair. The total vote of the State was 9,132, as follows: ForMcNair, 
6,576; Clark, 2,556; McNair's mnjority, 4,020. For Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor there were three candidates, with the following result : William H. 
Ashley, 3,907; Nathaniel Cook, 3,212; Henry Elliott, 931 ; Ashley's 
majority over Cook, 695. 

John Scott was elected without opposition to both Congresses, and at 
the time Avas Territorial Delegate. He was born in Hanover County, 
Virginia, in 1782 ; graduated at Princeton College in 1805 ; moved with 
his parents to Indiana, and soon after graduation settled at Ste. Gene- 
vieve, Missouri ; was delegate to Congress, from Missouri Territory, 
from 1817 to the admission of the State in 1821, and a Eepresentative of 
the State in Cor.gress to 1827. He died in Ste. Genevieve in 1861, aged 
79 years. He was a man of education and talents, and made his mark 
in the public councils. 

The General Assembly elected in August met in the " Missouri Hotel,'* 
corner of Main and Morgan streets, St. Louis, on Monday, September 
19th, 1820, and proceeded to organize by the election of James Caldwell 
of Ste. Genevieve, Speaker, and John McArthur, Clerk, of the House. 
William H. Ashley, Lieutenant-Governor, President of the Senate ;. 
Silas Bent of St. Louis, President pro tern. 

In his message, Governor McNair congratulated the General Assembly 
and the people upon the auspicious change which had been accomplished 
in the political condition of the State ; and claimed that the Constitution, 
in spite of a few imperfections, incident to its human origin, was a states- 
man-like instrument and did honor to its framers and to the infant State 
for which it had been framed. He anticipated the full admission of the 
State into the Federal Union, without serious delay or difficulty, not- 
withstanding the resistance with which the proposition met in both 
houses of Congress ; and in contemplation of the event, and of the 
approaching Presidential election, reminded the General Assembly that 
it would be necessary for them to make provision for the choice of three 
electors to represent the State in the electoral college. 

Among the tirst duties of the Legislature were the election of two 
United States Senators and the appointment of three Supreme and four 
Circuit Judges. 



FIKST ELECTIOTiT OF STATE OFFICEES. 213 

The Supreme Judges appointed, each to hold his office until sixty-five 
years of age, were Mathias McGirk, of Montgomery County, who 
resigned in 1841; Johu D. Cook, of Cape Girardeau, who resigned in 
1823 ; and John E. Jones, of Pike, who died in April 1824. 

Governor McNair, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
made the following appointments : 

For Secretary of State, Joshua Barton ; State Treasurer, Peter Didier ; 
Attorney-General, Edward Bates ; Auditor of Public Accounts, Wm. 
Christie, all of St. Louis. Each of them resigned the following year. 

During the same session of the Legislature, David Barton and Thomas 
H. Benton were elected United States Senators, but were not admitted 
to their seats until the tirst Monday of December, 1821, because the 
State was not admitted into the Union until the 10th of Auo-ust, 1821, 
jit which time, as has been shown, she was admitted upon the proclama- 
tion of President Monroe. 

The contest for United States Senator was attended by great excitement, 
and some interesting incidents of unusual occurrence. We are indebted 
to the Honorable John F. Darby, of St. Louis, for many interesting facts 
connected with the contest, which we propose to recite. David Barton 
was an exceedingly popular candidate, and was elected on the first ballot 
by a unanimous vote of both Houses. For the remaining Senator there 
were several aspirants : Thomas H. Benton, John B. C. Lucas, Henry 
Elliott, John R. Jones and Nathaniel Cook. The balloting continued 
through several days without success, and the excitement that prevailed 
has not been excelled by any Senatorial election which has since occurred 
in this or any other State. There is no evidence, however, of the 
employment of any of the modern appliances which, in the form of 
corrupt intrigues, manipulations and slush money, are now used to 
secure seats in the American Senate. In the embarrassing dilemma in 
which the Legislature found itself, several active and influential members, 
with the hope of opening a way of escape, importuned David Barton to 
aid them in bringing the contest to a close by intimating whom he would 
prefer as his colleague. Barton fixed upon Benton, although he had not 
been prominently mentioned as a candidate. It was found, however, that 
so great was the unpopularity of Benton at that time it was impossible to 
elect him, although the active support of his friends was supplemented 
by the able and powerful support of David Barton. Judge Lucas, who 
had been Land Commissioner and afterwards Chief Justice of the 
Superior Court, under the Territorial Government, and a man of 
acknowledged ability, was Benton's most formidable opponent, and we 



214 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

might add, his most inveterate personal enemy, for on September 27th, 
1817, Benton had killed his son, Charles Lucas, United States Attorney 
for Missouri, in a duel on Blood}^ Island. 

There was a Frenchman by the name of Marie Philip LeDuc, who was 
a member of the Legislature from St. Louis County. He was connected 
with some of the most powerful and influential families in the city, 
having been Secretary of Don Carlos De Lass us, "the last Lieutenant- 
Governor of Upper Louisiana at the time of the transfer of that 
Territory to the Government of the United States. LeDuc had assev- 
erated that he would lose his right arm before he would vote for 
Thomas H. Benton for United States Senator. 

Nevertheless, the contest was so close and the popular interest so 
intense that the friends of Benton, including David Barton, selected 
LeDuc as the olrjective point of the tremendous influences which they 
sought to wield in the accomplishment of Benton's election. Some of 
Benton's friends consisted of the earliest and most influential settlers of 
St. Louis ; for example, Colonel Auguste Chouteau, the patriarch and 
founder of the town with Laclede, aided by such men as Bernard Pratte, 
Sylvester Labadie, George Sarpy, and others — all gentlemen of intelli- 
gence, wealth and social positirm. 

They called on LeDuc, and knowing that the darling project of his 
legislative ambition was to secure the confirmation by Congress of the 
French and Spanish land claims, informed him that if Lucas was elected 
to the Senate no one of these claims ever would be confirmed, but that 
Benton was their ardent and unswervino; friend. It was a tremendous 
struggle with LeDuc, and the argument and importunities with him 
occupied the entire night, he about the break of day yielding and 
consenting to vote for Benton. 

Yet it was ascertained that even with his vote one more was lacking, 
and Benton's friends bethought themselves of the dernier ressort of 
bringing to the joint session a sick member, who was confined to his bed 
in an upper room of the hotel in which the Legislature sat. No time 
was to be lost lest Daniel Ralls, one of the representatives from Pike 
Count}^ who was a friend of Benton, should die before the election. 
Therefore, as soon as the two houses assembled, the friends of Benton 
carried a motion to resume the balloting. The sick member up stairs, 
unable to raise himself in bed, and indeed too ill to be lifted into a chair, 
was brought down on his bed to the dining room where the joint session 
was held — ^brought down by four negro men, one at each corner of the 
bed, and when his name was called voted for Thomas H. Benton, and 



DAJsTlEL BALLS. 215 

elected him. Mr. Ralls died in a few days, and for liis vote for Benton, 
the last official act of his life, the Legislature complimented him by 
calling Ealls County, which was organized daring that session, after his 
name. 

Daniel R;ills was a native of Virginia, emigrated with his father, 
(Nathaniel W. Ralls,) when quite young, to Kentucky, and settled in 
what is now Bath County. From there he moved to the Territory of 
IVIissouri in October 1817; lived in the County of St. Louis one year, 
and in October, 1818, moved to, settled and improved a farm near the 
town of New London, where he resided in 1820, when he died. His 
remains were interred near the city of St. Louis, but at what spot his 
son, Colonel John Ralls, now a citizen of Ralls County, has never been 
able to learn. 

Acts organizing the following counties were passed at this session : 
Boone, Callaway, Chariton, Cole, Gasconade, Lillard, (which was 
changed to Lafayette in 1834,) Perry, Ralls, Ray and Saline. 

Among the acts also passed at this session was one fixing the seat of 
government at St. Charles until October 1st, 1826, when it was moved 
to Jefferson City. 

On December 9th, 1822, the town of St. Louis was incorporated as a 
city, with a mayor and nine aldermen. Population, 4,800. 

Wm. Carr Lane was elected Mayor, and therefore was the first mayor 
of the city. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

From 1824 to 1830.— Frederick Bates Elected Governor to Succeed Governor 
. McNair, Defeating General William H. Ashley.— Bates' Death.— John Miller 
Elected his Successor.— Visit oe General Lafayette to St. Louis in 1825.— Dem- 
onstrations OF Kespect and Gratitude.— His Visit to Washington City.— Action 
OP Congress.— Grants of Land and Money,— His Return to France.— First Leg- 
islature AT Jefferson Chy in 1826,— Burning of the State House.— Canvass of 
1828.— Whigs and Democrats Organize.— Slavery Emancipation Programme.— 
Singular Incident Frustrates It,— Alexander Buckner Elected United States 
Senator in 1829 in place of David Barton. 

As the official term of Governor McNair drew to a close, and the 
general election in August, 1824, approached, public attention was di- 
rected to the choice of his successor. The presidential election of that 
year also excited more or less interest, and the people of the State for 
the tirst time gave earnest heed to national politics. Owing to a multi- 
plicity of candidates for the Presidency — Adams, Clay, Jackson, and 
Crawford — it was thought probable from the first that the electoral col- 
lege would fail to make a choice, and that therefore the election would 
devolve (as it did) U[:on the House of Representatives. Hence the 
canvass for member of Congress, Missouri having but a single repre- 
sentative, was the center of much interest. The result was the election 
of John Scott, he receiving 5,031 votes, George Strother 4,528, Robert 
Wash 1,125. Whole number of votes cast, 10,684. 

For Governor, to succeed McNair, there were two candidates — Fred- 
erick Bates and William H. Ashley. Each had strong and earnest 
friends who were confident of success. Mr. Bates was an old citizen of 
St. Louis and had filled acceptably many positions in the Territory, City 
and State ; and among them the office of Lieutenant-Governor. General 
Ashley was the well-known leader of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, 
a man of daring intrepidity, who had advanced with unflagging industry 
a great enterprise into the remotest regions of the West, and who there- 
fore had invested his character with much of the romance of a cavalier. 
Mr. Bates was elected, but died of pleurisy, very suddenly, August 1st, 
1825, after which Abraham J. Williams of Columbia, ^ President of the 



1 Mr. Williams was a baclielor, and one of the merchants of Colunilbia. Some years 
before his death he bought and improved a farm — now Imown as the Payne or Jen- 
nings Farm — six miles south of Columbia on the Providence road. He died on this 
farm December 30, 1839, aged 5S years, and was buried in the old grave-yard in Colum- 
bia, where his tomb is yet to be seen. 



VISIT OF GEXEEAL LAFAYETTE. 217 

Senate and ex-oficio Governor, served as Governor until tlie special 
election in September to fill the vacancy. There were several candi- 
dates for Governor to succeed Governor Bates, the most prominent of 
whom were General John Miller, Judge David Todd, William C. Carr, 
and Colonel Rufus Easton. A very exciting and bitter canvass followed, 
during which the political antecedents and personal characters of the 
several aspirants were criticised, misrepresented, denounced and eulo- 
gized with relentless vigor and enthusiasm. The vote stood : Miller, 
2,380: Carr 1,470, Todd 1,113. Whole number of votes cast 4,963. 
Population of the State 62,000. 

General Miller was elected Governor and Colonel Benjamin H. Eeeves 
of Howard County, Lieutenant-Governor. 

The Legislature of 1824-5 was the first revising session under the 
Constitution. Previous to its assembling, the entire code had been 
revised with great care by Henry S. Geyer, Speaker of the House of 
Sepresentatives, and Rufus Pcttibone, one of the Judges of the Supreme 
Court, who had been appointed for that purpose. Very few changes in 
the revision of these distinguished citizens were made by the General 
Assembly, and the laws were pul)lished in two volumes by authority of 
an act passed February 11th, 1825. 

The most notable event in Missouri in 1825, was the visit of the 
Marquis de Lafayette to St. Louis. Accompanied by his son, George 
Washington Lafayette, and on an invitation from the President of the 
United States, he arrived in this country in 1824, after an absence of 
forty years. He came to revisit the friends and comrades with whom he 
associated during our revolutionary struggle, and to gaze once more npon 
the scenes of his youthful exploits. He visited each of the twenty-four 
States of the Union, and was everj^ where received with cordial demon- 
strations of honor and gratitude. Indeed, his journey from State to 
State was a triumphal march — an ovation, for he was everywhere hailed 
as the Nation's guest. "To the survivors of the Revolution" — says 
Colonel Benton — "it was the return of a brother; to the new generation, 
born since th;it time, it was the apparition of an historical character, 
familiar from the cradle. He visited every State in the Union, doubled 
in number since, as the friend and pupil of Washington, he had spilt his 
blood and lavished his fortune for their independence. Many were the 
happy meetings he had with old comrades, survivors for near half a 
century, of these early hardships and dangers. Three of his old associates, 
(Adams, Jeff"erson and Madison,) he found ex-Presidents, enjoying the 
respect and affection of their country, after having reached its highest 



218 HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 

houurs. Another, and the last one that Time woukl admit to the 
Presidency, (Mr. Monroe,) now in the Presidential chair, and inviting 
him to re-visit the land of his adoiDtion. Many of his early associates 
seen in the two Houses of Congress, many in the State Governments, 
and many more in the walks of private life, patriarchal sires, respected 
for their characters and venerated for their patriotic services." 

He visited the national capital and was received in both Houses of 
Congress, then in session, with distinguished marks of respect and 
gratitnde. To these, Congress added something more substantial than 
wordy testimonials of regard — re wards for long past services and sacrifices. 

During our Revolutionary struggle, Lafayette expended out of his own 
fortune, in six years, from 1777 to 1783, the sum of 700,000 francs 
($140,000.) He equipped and armed a regime pt for our service, and 
freio'hted a vessel to us, loaded with arms and munitions of war. 

In testimony of the appreciation in which these services and sacrifices 
were held by the American people, and as a grateful remembrance of 
them. Congress, during his visit in 1824, made an appropriation for his 
benefit of two hundred thousand dollars in money, and twenty-four 
thousand acres of land in Florida. 

Having visited New Orleans, Lafayette, on invitation of the citizens, 
came to St. Louis, reaching Carondelet on the 28th of April, 1825, and 
the next morning came up to the citj^ He was tendered a most enthu- 
siastic reception, as many of the citizens were not only of the same 
nationality, but all were familiar with his name and fame. He landed 
opposite the old Market House, where half the town were assembled 
awaiting; his arrival and received him with cheers, took his seat in a 
carriage, accompanied by William Carr Lane, Mayor, Stephen Hemp- 
stead, an officer of the Revolution and father of Edward Hempstead, and 
Colonel Auguste Chouteau, one of the companions of Laclede. Apart 
from private hospitalities, a splendid banquet and ball were given the 
distinguished visitor at the Mansion House, then the prominent hotel, 
and situated on the northeast corner of Third and Market streets. After 
dinner he visited jMissouri Lodge No. 1, of Ancient Free and Accepted 
Masons, of which fraternity he had long been a member, and was received 
by about sixty brethren and welcomed by the late Archibald Gamble. 
Both Lafayette and his son were elected honorary members of that Lodge. 

Lafayette was at this time sixty-eight years of age, but still active and 
strons;. 

The next morning he left for Kaskaskia, and was escorted to the boat 
by crowds of citizens who manifested their esteem and respect by the 



LEGISLATUKE AT JEFFEESON" CITY. 219 

wildest demonstrations of enthusiasm, cheer after cheer following him as 
the boat left the shore. 

Returning to Washington during the session of Congress, the frigate 
"Brandy wine," just completed, was appointed to convoy him back to 
France — a very befitting compliment, as the vessel was named after the 
stream on whose banks Lafayette fought his first battle (September 11, 
1777), and was wounded, in the cause of American Independence. 
Lafayette died May 20, 1834, leaving one son and several daughters. 

On November 20, 1826, the Legislature for the first time met in Jeif- 
erson City, and it was numerically the fourth general assembly. At the 
time of the admission of Missouri into the Union, Congress granted four 
sections of land for the location of the seat of government. The Con- 
stitution fixed the location of the capital upon the Missouri River within 
forty miles of the mouth of the Osage. At the first session of the 
Legislature, commissioners were appointed who, after a tedious examin- 
ation, selected the present site of Jefi'erson City, which Major Elias 
Bancroft laid off into lots in 1822. The first sale of lots took place in 
May, 1823, under the supervision of Major Josiah Ramsey, Jr., Captain 
J. P. Gordon and Adam Hope, Esq., trustees on the part of the State. 
At this time there were but two families residing in the place, Major 
Josiah Ramsey, Jr., and Mr. William Jones. This year (1823) the 
buildins of a brick State-house was let to the lowest bidder, Daniel 
Colgan, and afterwards transferred to James Dunnica, of Kentucky, who 
built the capitol at the bid of $25,000. The State-house was completed at 
the time stipulated in the contract, and the Legislature assembled for the 
first time in the new State capitol on Monday, November 20, 1826, as 
before stated. The building was a rectangular brick structure, two stories 
high, without any architectural beauties. The Representatives occupied 
the lower story, the Senators the upper. An anecdote is told of a Repre- 
sentative who presented his credentials to the Secretary of the Senate. 
"This belongs to the Lower House," said the Clerk. "Where is that?" 
asked the gentleman. "Down stairs." " Why," said the man, "I saw 
them fellows there, but I thought it was a grocery." 

On Wednesday night, November 17, 1837, the State-house, which 
occupied the same site now occupied by the Governor's Mansion, acci- 
dentally caught fire and was consumed, with all the records in the oflice 
of the Secret:.ir3' of State. The whole of the furniture of the office and 
about one-half of the State Library were destroyed, involving a loss that 
could not be replaced. The bonds, original acts of the Legislature, and 



220 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

other important State records — the accumulations of seventeen years in 
tliat important office — ^^vere suddenly swept away. The building was of 
brick, erected at a cost of $25,000, and was designed originally for the 
Governor's residence when the capitol, then in progress of construction 
on Capitol Hill, should be completed. 

The Legislature met a few days after the fire and held its sessions in 
the Cole Count}^ Court-house, the same stone buildmg now used as a 
court-house. The Representatives occupied the present court-room, and 
the Senators the second story, which was at that time unobstructed by 
partitions. In 1840, the Legislature and the State officers took posses- 
sion of our present Capitol. 

The present State Capitol was commenced in 1838, and occupied by the 
Legislature of 1840-41, and cost about $350,000. The stone for the 
building was taken from the bluffs near by, along the line of the Pacific 
Railroad, in front of the city. The limestone for the pillars was from 
Callaway county. Mr. Stephen Hills, afterwards architect of the State 
University at Columbia, was the architect of the Capitol, which is one of 
the most substantial and beautiful buildings in the West. 

On December 29, 1826, the Legislature re-elected Thomas H. Benton 
United States Senator for six years ; and thrice afterwards he was re- 
elected to the same office, wliich he filled thirty consecutive years, from 
the organization of the State government in 1821 to March 4, 1851. 

Of the State Senate at this session, Felix Scott was chosen President 
pro tern., and J. S. Langhorn, Secretary; of the House, Alexander 
Stewart was made Speaker and Samuel C. Owen, Clerk. Forty-six acts 
were passed, among them acts organizing Jackson and Marion Counties. 
Also a memorial to Con2;ress for the selection of 25,000 acres of lands 
donated for "A seminary of learning." Adjourned January 3d, 1827. 

Political parties did not assume definite form in Missouri until the 
Presidential and State elections of 1828. During this canvass, national 
issues and noctional leaders occupied much of the public attention, and 
the people very naturally disclosed their Whig or Democratic predilec- 
tions by avowals of confidence in Adams or Jackson. 

Early in the year — sometime in January — the friends of Jackson met 
in Jetferson City, and nominated an electoral ticket of three, to be 
supported by the Jackson party at the Presidential election on 
November 3d. Dr. John Bull of Howard, Benj. O'Fallon of St. 
Louis, and Ralph Dougherty of Cape Girardeau, were nominated. 
During the month of March following, the Whigs, or Adams party, met 
in Jetferson City for a similar purpose, and placed on their electoral 



SLAVEKY EMANCIPATION^ PROGKAJMME. 221 

ticket Benj. H. Eeeves of Howard, Joseph C. Brown of St. Louis, and 
John Hall of Cape Girardeau. 

Not only did tlie Presidential election of 1828 divide and distract the 
people of Missouri, but the State, Congressional and Legislative elec- 
tions as well. 

For Governor, various distinguished members of the Adams party 
were spoken of, and for a time some of them were candidates ; but 
Johp Miller, then the Chief Executive of the State, was the only candi- 
date who continued in the field till the election. Of course he was re- 
elected. The canvass for Lieutenant-Governor was closely contested by 
five candidates, and Daniel Dunklin was the successful aspirant. For 
Representative in Congress there were three candidates — Edward Bates, 
Whig, and Wm. Carr Lane and Spencer Pettis, Democrats, the two latter 
of whom so equally divided the strength of the party that the election of 
Bates was inevitable if both continued in the field. Finally, the ques- 
tion as to which of the tw^o should retire was submitted to Colonel Ben- 
ton. He, without hesitation, decided that Lane should withdraw and 
Pettis continue before the people ; and the fact being proclaimed by 
handbills throughout the State — for at that time there were no lines of 
telegraph and but few newspapers — Pettis was elected. The Adams 
party polled 3,400 votes and the Jackson party 8,272 — ^the total vote of 
the State being 11,672. 

Notwithstanding the virulence with which the canvass of 1828 was 
prosecuted, and the slavery agitation which attended the admission of 
the State into the Union, and from which the people had scarcely 
emerged, there seems to have been in the minds of some leading- 
men on both sides a growing repugnance to the institution of slavery, 
and they desired to rid the State of it by gradual emancipation. That 
they did not fully disclose their purposes during the incipient stages of 
this canvass and organize an effort to achieve success, are referable — 
according to recently-discovered testimony — to a very singular and 
interesting incident. 

At the February session, 1877, of the Missouri Historical Society, 
Hon. Albert Todd, of St. Louis, presented an autograph letter written 
by Hon. John Wilson, formerly a distinguished lawyer and politician of 
Fayette, Missouri, (but for many years a citizen of San Francisco, Cali- 
fornia, where he died in his eighty-seventh year, February 2, 1877,) to 
Hon. Thomas Shackelford, of Glasgow, Howard County, wherein he 
records the first effort made in this State for the destruction of slavery, 
— it being in the year 1827 or 1828, and by Thomas H. Benton, David 



222 HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 

Barton and others, including himself, — and the curions cause of its 
failure. The following is a portion of the letter: 

" In 1S27 (I believe it may have been in 1828) I was one of those who attended a private 
meeting in that good old State, when about twenty of us, claiming at least to be party 
leaders, about equally representing every district of the State, of about equal numbers of 
Democrats and Whigs. Colonel Benton and Judge Barton were present, the two latter, 
however, not being on speaking terms. One object that brought us together was to 
consider how we should get rid of slavery in Missouri. We unanimously determined to 
urge upon all candidates at the approaching election, and resolutions were drawn up and 
printed (in secret) and distributed amongst us, with an agreement that on the same day 
these resolutions, in the shape of memorials, were to be placed before the people all over 
the State, and both parties were to urge the people to sign them. Our combination, too, 
then had the power to cany out our project. Unfortunately, before the day arrived it 
was published in the newspapers generally that Arthur Tappan of New York had enter- 
tained at his private table some negro men, and that, in fact, these negroes had rode out 
in his private carriage Avith his daughters. Perhaps it was not true, but it was believed in 
Missouri, and raised such a furor that we dare not nor did not let our memorials see the 
light! And, as well as I can call to mind, of the individuals who composed this secret 
meeting, I am the only one left to tell the tale; but for that story of the conduct of the 
great original fanatic on this subject we should have carried, under the leadership of 
Barton and Benton, our j)roject, and began in future the emancipation of the colored 
race that would long since have been followed by Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, North 
Carolina, Tennessee, etc. Our purpose further, after we got such a law safely placed on 
the statute book, was to have followed it up by a provision requiring the masters of 
those who should be born to be free to teach them to read and write. This shows you 
how little a thing turns the destiny of nations." 

These are new and deeply interesting facts, well calculated to arrest 
the attention of reflecting men, as affording another illustration of the 
truth that a leaf sometimes changes the incipient course of great 
streams. 

The vith General Assembly met November 17, 1828. George Bolin- 
ger, of Cape Girardeau, — after whom Bolinger County was called — was 
elected President pro tern, of the Senate; John Thornton, of Clay, 
Speaker of the House, and James H. Birch, of Howard, Chief Clerk. 
Governor Miller, in his message, made a synoptical statement of the 
financial affairs of the State, and informed the Legislature that seventy- 
two sections of lauds for a seminary of learning had been selected. 

The viith General Assembly convened in November, 1829, and on 
the first ballot Alexander Buckner was chosen United States Senator in 
place of David Barton. The vote stood : Buckner, 34 ; John Miller, 27 ; 
W. H. Ashley, 2. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Feom 1830 TO 1840.— Cholera in St. Louis in 1832.— The Alarm it Occasioned.— Deaths. 
—The Black Hawk War.— The First Railroad Convention in Missouri.— "The 
Hetherly AVAR."—" The Platte Purchase."— Origin ov the Measure and its 
Accomplishment. — Daniel Webster's Yisit to St. Louis ix 1837.- Reception, 
Banquet and Speech.— The Florida War.— Colonel Richard Gentry Raises a 
Regimknt in Central Missouri.^Their March from Columbia. — Arrival in 
Florida.— Battle ov Okee-cho-bee. — Colonel Gentry's Heroic Death. — Bravery 
of the Missouri Volunteers.— Report of Colonel Zacuary Taylor.— Action of 
the Missouri Legislature thereon. 

Nothing in the previous history of the city of St. Lonis occasioned 
more consternation and alarm, not only in the city itself but in all the 
region of country whose trade it commanded, than the appearance there, 
in the summer of 1832, of the Asiatic cholera. The news of the deso- 
lation which this dreadful scourge of the human race had caused in 
the cities of Europe, and those on our Atlantic seaboard, had reached 
the people of the "Far West," and they stood in awe of its appearance 
among them. Finally it came, first attacking a soldier at Jefferson Bar- 
racks ; but its advent was not without warning. The pestilence had 
previously invaded New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and the Southern 
cities. The first indication of its presence in St. Louis was followed by 
the enforcement of sanitary measures to arrest its progress. All un- 
healthy matter, everything which could contribute to render the air 
impure, was removed by order of the city authorities. But it was of 
little avail. "The abomination of desolation" nestled on the wings of 
the breeze, and alike set at defiance the ripest professional skill and the 
strictest sanitary ordinances. First visiting the outskirts of the city, it 
invaded the most populated streets, carrying death to the homes of the 
rich and the poor alike, and swelling the daily interments in the church- 
yards alarmingl}^ 

The population of the city at that time, including those who had fled 
the town to escape the pestilence, was 6,918. Yet the number of deaths 
for two wrecks or more was from twenty to thirty per day, destroying 
about four per cent, of the population during the five weeks of its con- 
tinuance. ^ 

' The pestilence re-appeared in St. Louis in the summer of 1836, and again in 1849. 
During the latter j^ear the mortality reached, some days, as high as 160 deaths — the total 
number during its prevalence, more than 4,000 ; among them, two eminent physicians 
of the city, Drs. Hardage Lane and Thomas Earbour. 



224 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

The Black Hawk War occurred during the same year, (1832) — called 
"The Black [lawk War" because the Indians engaged in it were led by 
a brave by the name of Black Hawk.^ Whatever maybe his designation 
in the public mind, he never was a chief either by Indian authority or 
by recognition of the United States. He cannot rank in intelligence or 
heroism with Pontiac or Tecumseh, for he showed no special intellectual 
power; was simply a desperate savage, and fought only for revenge. 

In 1832 several tribes on the northwestern frontier, who had made 
common cause with the British in 1812, became restless and appeared 
bent on hostilities. These tribes were the Sacs, Foxes and Winnebagoes. 
After the peace of 1815 they maintained their intercouse with the 
British in Canada, the consequence of which was the influence over them 
by the United States Avas greatly weakened. In fact, in 1816, Black 
Hawk, having gathered around him a small band of disaffected spirits, 
refused to attend the negotiations of that year, went to Canada, proclaimed 
himself a British subject, and received presents from that quarter. 

They were therefore in no state of mind to recognize the obligations 
of the treaties of 1815, 1822 and 1825, or properly to appreciate the 
efforts of the United States to maintain peaceable relations with them. 
Moreover the Sacs and Foxes possessed no original right, even in con- 
templation of Indian ideas of justice, to any portion of the Rock River 
country or any other portion of Illinois. They were simply intruders 
on the country of the Santeaurs and lowas. 

Nevertheless, blinded by prejudice and fired by a spirit of revenge for 
imaginary wrongs, the Sacs and Foxes claimed the right to occupy a 
part of the country on Rock River, although by a treaty made "with the 
chiefs, warriors and head men of the Sac and Fox tribes" at Fort Arm- 
strong, [Rock Island,] on September 3d, 1822, the country for a 
valuable consideration was tranferred to the United States, and had been 
settled by its citizens. 

Frequent collisions with the inhabitants were the consequence. In 
1831 these aggressions were so serious, and preparations for open hostil- 
ities so threatening, that a considerable force of Illinois militia were 
called into the field. This formidable array alarmed the savages into an 
agreement to retire to their own lands west of the Mississippi. 

It was not long however before a party of the same Indians committed 
a flagrant outrage, almost under the guns of Fort Crawford, upon a band 
of friendly Menomonie Indians encamped in the village of Prairie du 

* "Ma-ka-tai-me-slie-kia-kiah " or Black Hawk. 



THE BLACK HAWK WAR. 225 

Chien. Twenty-five of these friendly Indians were wantonly murdered 
and many others wounded. 

Fearing that the Sacs and Foxes would renew their • attacks upon the 
settlements on our frontier, and determined that the murderers ofthe 
Menomonies should be surrendered or captured for punishment, on the 
7th of March, 1832, Brigadier-General Atkinson was ordered to ascend 
the Mississippi with a large detachment of the regular troops at Jefferson 
Barracks to chastise the Indiai\s, who, under Black Hawk and the 
Prophet, had violated their treaty With the United States by removing 
east of the Mississippi, and invading w^th fire and scalping-knife the 
unprotected frontier settlements of Illinois. 

To the demand for the surrender of the murderers of the Menomonies, 
no attention was paid ; on the contrary, the murderers and their adherents 
under Black Hawk re-crossed the Mississippi, and in hostile array 
established themselves on Eock River. This was in May, 1832. 

A bloody engagement near Dixon's Ferry on the 14th of the month 
rendered peace hopeless. Keokux was the legitimate chief of the tribe ; 
but, although he controlled a majority, the temptations of war and 
plunder were too strong for those who followed the track of Black Hawk. 

The proximity of these' hostilities to the Missouri frontier caused 
Governor John Miller to adopt precautionary measures to avert the 
calamities of an invasion which seemed imminent. Therefore, in May, 
1832, he ordered Major-General Richard Gentry, of Columbia, Missouri, 
(of whom James S. Rollins, Caleb S. Stone and Calvin L. Perry were 
Aids-de-Camp,) to raise without delay one thousand volunteers for the 
defense of the frontiers of the State, to be in readiness to start at a 
moment's warning. 

Accordingly, on the 29th of May, 1832, orders Avere issued by 
General Gentry to Brigadier-Generals Benjamin Miens, commanding the 
seventh, Jonathan Rigg&, eighth, and Jesse T. Wood, ninth brigade, 
third division, to raise the required quota, the first named four and each 
of the last three hundred men, each man "to keep in readiness a horse 
with the necessary equipment and a rifle in good order, with an ample 
supply of ammunition," etc. 

Five companies were at once raised in Boone County and others in 
Callaway, Montgomery, St. Charles, Lincoln, Pike, Marion, Ralls, Clay ^ 

1 Several companies were ordered out in Clay ; marched northward to the Iowa line, 
and thence into the Grand Kiver country. They were absent about four weeks. It is 
not known to the writer who commanded them. Two companies were raised in Ealls — 
one, commanded by Captain Richard Matson, was in active service; the other, John 
Ealls in command, was held in reserve, but was never ordered into service. 
15 



2 2 (J HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 

and M(MU-()c. Two of them, Cjiptaiu John Jamison's of Callaway and 
Captain David M. Hickman's of Boone, in July, 1832, were mustered 
into service for thirty days and placed under command of Major Thomas 
W. Conyers, with orders to march to the mouth of the Des Moines and 
to range from thence to the head waters of Salt River and on towards 
the main Chariton. This detachment, accompanied by General Gentry 
in person, at once took up the line of march for the northern frontier ; 
arrived at Palmyra July 10th, and at Fort Pike five days afterwards. 
This fort ^vas built Ijy Captain Eichard Mace, of the Ralls County "Volun- 
teer Ranoers," and was situated ten miles from the mouth of the Des 
Moines, in what is now Clark County. 

Finding "the wars and rumors of wars" much exaggerated, and that 
no hostile Indians had crossed into Missouri, General Gentry ordered 
work to be discontinued on Fort Matsou, sixty-five miles from Fort Pike 
and w^ithin eight miles of the Chariton, and left for Columbia, where he 
arrived on the 19th of July. Major Conyers' detachment was left at 
Fort Pike, (to quote General Gentry's report to the Governor,) with 
"something like 40 barrels of flour, 2 hogsheads of bacon, 4 barrels of 
whiskey and 100 bushels of corn." 

On August 5th, Major Conyers' command was relieved by two other 
companies under Captains Sinclair Kirtley, of Boone, and Patrick Ewing, 
of Callaw^ay. C^olonel Austin A. King marched the detachment to Fort 
Pike and conducted those who were relieved to their homes. Major 
Conyers was retained in command of the Fort. In September the 
Indian troubles having seemingly subsided, all the troops on the 
northern frontier were mustered out of service ; and thus ended " The 
Black Hawk War" in Missouri. ^ 

But it did not thus, or at this time, end in Illinois. For nearly a year 
afterwards it was continued at various poiiits in the territory now 
occupied by the States of Iowa and Illinois, till the decisive battle on 
the Mississippi near the mouth of Bad-ax River, August 2d, 1833, -when 
the troops under Generals Atldnson, Dodge, Henry, Posey and Alexan- 
der overtook and defeated Black Hawk with great slaughter, entirely 
broke his power and ended the war. While the battle waxed warm 
Black Hawk stole ofl' up the river, but on the 27th of August, 1833, 
he was captured by two Winnebagoes and delivered to the United States 
officers at Prairie du Chien. He was well treated and carried in triumph 

1 For most of the facts here detailed the writer is indebted to the orders as recorded at 
tlie time by Major J. S. Eollins, aid-de-camp to General Gentry, in a book kept for 
that pm-pose, and which he now has in his possession. 



FERST EAILEOAD COISTENTIO:^'. 227 

through a great part of the United States, after which he was permitted 
to return to his people. 

Black Hawk died at the village of his tribe on the Des Moines Eiver, 
in Iowa, October 3d,. 1838, aged about 70 years. 

About 1835, the railroad mania seized upon the older States, on the 
Atlantic seaboard, and in due time attacked the Western States. Other 
portions of this volume record vrhat has been accomplished in this 
direction since that time ; suffice it to say, in this place, that the first 
railroad cbnvention ever held in Missouri assembled in the Court-House 
in St. Louis on April 20th, 1836, from the proceedings of which we make 
this extract : 

" St. Louis, Saturday, AprU 23, 1836. 

"The Convention met pursuant to adjournment. 

" The President (Dr. Samuel Merry) proceeded to appoint a committee, in accordance 
with the provisions of the last resolution adopted yesterday, to memorialize Congress for 
land, and appointed the following gentlemen : Messrs. J. S. Eollins, Edward Bates, 
and H. E. Gamble. 

" The following propositions, upon the subject of routes, etc., ordered on yesterday 
to be engrossed, were taken up, read and agreed to. 

" 1st. It is now expedient to adopt measures for the construction of a railroad from 
St. Louis to Fayette, -with the view of ultimately extending the road in that general 
direction as far as public convenience and the exigences of trade may require. 

"Also, a railroad from St. Louis, in a southwestern direction, to the valley of Bellevue, 
in Washington County, so as to traverse the rich mineral region in that part of the State, 
with a view to its indefinite extension in that direction, when and as far as public interest 
may require. 

"And, also, a branch from some convenient point on the last-mentioned road, to the 
Merrimac ton "Works in Crawford County, with a view to its ultimate extension through 
Cooper County to a point on the Missouri Eiver in Jackson County. 

" 2d. That the proposed railroad from St. Louis to Fayette ought to cross the Mis- 
souri Eiver at the town of St. Charles, and thi'ough or within one mile of the several 
towns of Warrenton, Danville, Fulton and Columbia, the said towns being points most 
acceptable to the people of the counties thi'ough which the road is proposed to pass." 

MEMBERS OF THE CONVENTION. 

From St. Louis County— Edwsird Tracy, Major J. B. Brant, Colonel John O'Fallon, 
Dr. Samuel Merry, Ai'chibald Gamble, M. L. Clark, Colonel Joseph C. Laveille, Thorn- 
ton Grimsley, H. S. Geyer, Col. Hemy Walton, Lewellyn Brown, Hemy Von Phul, 
George H. McGunnegle, Colonel B. W. Ayi-es, Pierre Chouteau, Jr., and Hamilton E. 
Gamble. 

From Lincoln County — Colonel David Bailey, Hans Smith, Emanuel Block, Benjamin 
W. Dudley and Dr. Bailey. 

From Washington County— Dr. J. H. Eelfe, Philip Cole, John S. Brickey, Jesse H. 
Mcllvaine, Myers H. Jones, James Evans and W. C. Eeed. 

Fi'om Cooper County— Benjamin E. Ferry, N. W. Mack and Dr. William H. Trigg. 

From Warren County — Carty Wells, Nathaniel Pendleton and L.-vin S. Pitman. • 



228 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

From St. Charles County— Edward Bates, Moses Bigelow, William M. Campbell, and 
W. L. Overall. 

From Montgomery County — Dr. M. M. Maughs, S. C. Ruby and Nathaniel Dryden. 

From Boone County — Dr. James W. Moss, John B. Gordon, John W. Keiser, David M. 
Hickman, James S. RoiUns, William Hunter, R. W. Morris and Granville Branham. 

Fro7n Howard Coxmty — Dr. John Bull, Major Alphonso Wetmore, Weston F. Birch, 
Joseph Davis, General John B. Clark, T. Y. Sterns and John Wilson. 

From Jefferson County — James S. McCutchen. 

This convention, as will be seen by the lines of railroad projected, 
foreshadowed the system of roads as now existing in the State, and 
inangurated the net-wt)rk of intercommunication which at* this day 
encompasses the whole State. 

The memorial to Congress for a grant of land, in aid of the railroads 
mentioned, was written after the adjournment of the Convention by 
Hon. J. S. Rollins, of Boone, was afterwards signed by Messrs. Bates 
and Gamble, and is the tirst memorial on that subject ever transmitted to 
Congress from Missouri. 

In the month of June, 1836, a band of desperadoes, composed prin- 
cipally of men by the name of Hetherly, living in that part of Carroll 
County then known as the " Upper Grand River Country," and now 
included in Mercer and Grundy Counties, availed themselves of a pre- 
text to curry on their nefarious profession of stealing Indian horses and 
plunder the few pioneers who had ventured to seek homes in that fine 
portion of Missouri. This family could be classed neither as wholly 
civilized nor savage. Early in the month of June of the year mentioned, 
a number of Indians of the Iowa tribe made a friendly incursion into 
Missouri for the purpose of hunting along the State border. As soon as 
they arrived, the Hetherlys began to steal Indian ponies. Taking with 
them James Dunbar, Alfred Hawkins, and a man named Thomas, they 
managed to capture a lot of ponies and escaped with them. The Indians 
followed in pursuit and overtook the desperadoes in the forks of Grand 
River. A skirmish ensued. In the conflict Thomas was killed by the 
Indians and the others escaped. A difficulty now broke out between the 
desperadoes themselves, to which James Dunbar and the Hetherlys were 
parties. The Hetherlys apprehended, if arrested, that Dunbar would 
turn State's evidence against them, and therefore resolved upon his 
murder, which was accomplished. Tiie Hetherlys, availing themselves 
of the alarm consequent upon the approach of the Indians, fled to the 
settlements near the Missouri River, with the report that the Iowa Indians 
were making a murderous and thieving incursion on the frontier settle- 
ments, and that they were fleeing from them for life. 



"THE HETHEELY WAK." 229 

Brigadier-General James T. V. Thompson, (then of Ray,) command- 
ing the militia force in the district, ordered out several companies and 
moved toward the scene of trouble. Among these were two companies 
from Clay, commanded respectively by Captains David R. Atchison and 
Smith Crawford, the former of which was well-known as the "Liberty 
Blues." There was also a battalion under the personal command of 
Colonel Shubael Allen, who, in 1817 planned and constructed the first 
bridge across the Kentucky River, at Frankfort. He died in Clay 
County, January 18, 1841. 

At the period of this difiiculty with the Hetherlys, Carroll County, as 
then constituted, did not contain a population of more than fifteen 
hundred. The whole county was scoured by the military, and no hostile 
Indians found, whereupon, the falsity of the alarm being discovered, 
the soldiers returned home. 

The depredations and murders were subsequently traced to the 
Hetherlys, and a warrant for their arrest was issued by Jesse Newlin, 
a Justice of the Peace, living at Knavetown, now Springhill, in 
Livingston County, and placed in the hands of Lewis N. Rees, then 
Sheriff of Carroll County. On the 17th of July, 1836, the arrest was 
made, and the whole gang brought before Jesse Newlin. After several 
days' examination, the Hetherlys, together with Alfred Hawkins, were 
found guilty of the murder of Dunbar, and on the 27th of July, the 
parties so charged were given over to the Sheriff of Ray County for safe 
keeping, till the October term of the Carroll Circuit Court, with the 
exception of the old man Hetherly and wife and their daughter, Ann 
Hetherly, who gave bond for their appearance. At the October term, 
a true bill for the murder of Dunbar was found against them, and the 
case set for the March (1837; term of the court. At the March term 
some of the Hetherlj'S turned States' evidence ; a nolle prosequi was 
entered and the Hetherlys dismissed, whereupon they turned witnesses 
against Alfred Hawkins, who was found guilty and sent to the peni- 
tentiary for ten years. 

The affair was known as the Hetherly war, and occasioned great 
excitement at the time. The Hetherlys were known and dreaded for 
their notorious character by all w^io traveled in the Grand River country. 
Old Mrs. Hetherly was a sister to the notorious Kentucky brigands. Big 
and Little Harp.i 

The accomplishment, in 1836, of what is known as the "Platte Purchase" 
deserves special mention in this place. Intelligent and inquisitive citizens 

1 See Alex. C. Blackwell's History of Carroll County, 1876. 



230 inSTORY OF MISSOUEI. 

have often propoiindecl the inquiry, without having it answered— When, 
where and by whom was the suggestion first made that Missouri, a State 
already among the hirgest in territorial area in the Union, should extend 
her boundary so as to embrace what is now known as the "Platte 
Purchase?" The idea originated in the summer of 1835, at a regimental 
militia muster at Dale's farm, three miles from the town of Liberty, in 
Clay County. 

After the morning parade and during the recess for dinner, the citizens 
present were organized into a mass meeting, which was addressed, among 
others, by General Andrew S. Hughes, who came to Clay from Mont- 
gomery Co., Kentucky, in 1828, and who soon afterward was appointed 
Indian Agent by President John Quincy Adams. General Hughes was 
a lawyer by profession, a gentleman of acknowledged ability, and in wit 
and sarcasm almost the equal of John Randolph. ^ At this meeting, and 
in this public address, he proposed the acquisition of the Platte country ; 
and the measure met with such emphatic approval that the meeting 
proceeded at once, by the appointment of a committee, to organize an 
effort to accomplish it. The committee was composed of the following 
distinguished citizens : William T. Wood, now Judge of the Lexington 
Circuit ; David R. Atchison, ex-United States Senator ; A. W. Doniphan, 
a distinguished lawyer of Richmond, Missouri, and commander of "Don- 
iphan's Expedition;" Peter H. Burnett, afterwards one of the Supreme 
Judges of California, and Edward M. Samuel, afterwards President of 
the Commercial Bank in St. Louis, and who died there in September, 
1869 — all of them, at the time of the appointment of this Committee, 
residents of Clay County. 

An able memorial to Congress was subsequently drafted by Judge 
Wood, embracing the facts and considerations in behalf of the measure, 
which all the Committee signed, and it was forwarded to our Senators 
and Representatives at Washington. 

Pursuant to the prayer of this memorial, in 1836 a bill was introduced 
into Congress by Senator Benton, and ardently supported by his colleague, 
Senator Linn, namely, an act to extend the then existing boundary of 
the State so as to include the triangle between the existing line and the 
Missouri River, then a part of the Indian Territory, now comprising the 
counties of Atchison, Andrew, Buchanan, Holt, Nodaway and Platte, 
and known as the "Platte Purchase." The difficulties encountered were 



^General Andrew S. Hughes died while attending Court at Plattsburg, Missouri, 
Decemloer 14tli, 1843, aged 54 years. 



DANIEL WEBSTER'S VISIT TO ST. LOUIS. 231 

tbree-fold : 1. To make still larger a State which was already one of 
the largest in the Union. 2. To make a treaty with the Sac and Fox 
tribes of Indians whereby they were to be removed from lands which had 
but recently been assigned to them in perpetuity. 3. To alter the 
Missouri Compromise line in relation to slave territory and thereby con- 
vert free into slave soil. Notwithstanding these difficulties, the two first- 
mentioned serious and the last formidable, the act was passed and the 
treaties negotiated, and in 1837 the Indians removed west of the Missouri 
River, thus adding to our State a large body of the richest land in the 
world. 

The advent of no distinguished personage into St. Louis, since the 
visit of Lafayette in 1825, occasioned such a sensation as the visit of 
Daniel Webster in 1837. It was hoped that he would be accompanied 
by another of the great statesmen of the country, Henry Clay, whose 
name, like his own, Avas honored in all lands as a synonym of spotless 
patriotism and genuine eloquence. The friends and admirers of both 
were very numerous in St. Louis, and their respect for them fell little 
short of adoration itself; so that the expectation of a visit excited in the 
public mind a delirium of excitement and joy. But Mr. Clay, on account 
of an important business engagement, could not come. 

In anticipation of Mr. Webster's arrival, a public meeting was held, 
and presided over by Robert Wash, one of the Judges of the Supreme 
Court, which passed resolutions and appointed committees to secure such 
a reception of the distinguished visitor as befitted his fame and the 
rising importance of the city of St. Louis. 

As soon as it was ascertained that the steamer Robert Morris, on which 
Mr. Webster was a passenger, had passed the mouth of the Ohio, the 
committee of reception and many citizens proceeded on the H. L. Kenney 
down the river to meet him, which they did a little below Jeflerson 
Barracks. The Kenney came alongside of the Robert Morris, which the 
committee boarded, and were introduced to the great statesman. As 
soon as the steamer hove in sight of the city the national flag was dis- 
played from the Conrt House; and on the steamboats at the levee, and 
dwellings and places of business throughout the city, the star-spangled 
banner was displayed and gaily kissed the breeze. 

The Robert Morris landed at the foot of Market street, where admiring 
thousands were gathered to welcome the great "Expounder of the Con- 
stitution," together with his wife and daughter. On landing, the distin- 
guished guests were conducted to the "National Hotel," corner of Third 



232 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

and Market stretjts— now " St. Clair Hotel"— where they spent several ^ 
days, and where they were visited by large numbers of the leading 
citizens of the city and country, who vied with each other in efforts to 
make their stay agreeable. 

The day after his arrival a sumptuous banquet, or in popular Western 
parlance, a "barbecue," was tendered him by the citizens, in a woodland 
near the spot where Lucas Market now stands, and west of Ninth street, 
then a beautiful grove of timber of natural growth, belonging to Judge 
J. B. C. Lucas. The objects of this banquet were to afford the people 
a sight of the great patriot and orator, and to hear him speak. 

The late Colonel Charles Keemle, as marshal of the day, and numerous 
assistants, escorted the procession and Mr. Webster to the grove, where 
General William H. Ashley presided as President, and Messrs. Kichard 
Graham, William Carr Lane, John B. Sarpy, John Perry, James Clemens, 
Jr., and James Russell, as Vice-Presidents. Mr. Webster made a speech 
of more than an hour's duration — a political and financial speech — 
distinguished for statesmanship and massive eloquence, and.which elicited 
frequent outbursts of applause. It was published in the newspapers at 
the time, and the writer of this well recollects reading it. 

There were about five thousand persons present, many of them from 
the surrounding country — a concourse which outnumbered the entire 
population of the city of St. Louis at the time of the visit of LaFayette, 
twelve years previous. 

The Florida or Seminole War grew out of the opposition of the Sem- 
inole Indians to their removal from Florida west of the Mississippi River. 
This attempt was first made in 1835, but the Seminoles were unwilling 
to relinquish their lands, and rallying under the leadeiship of their great 
chief, Osceola, organized a determined resistance to the efforts of the 
general government. In May, 1836, the Creeks joined the Seminoles and 
the war spread into Georgia. The Creeks were soon conquered and sent 
beyond the Mississippi. The Seminoles continued the war, and as often 
as defeated in the open field would take refuge in the swamps and ever- 
glades, where it was difficult for the United States soldiers to follow 
them. In October, 1837, Osceola was captured by General Jessup, and 
sent a prisoner to Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, where he died of a 
fever. Nevertheless, the war continued for several years, and Mis- 
sourians took part in it. 

Sometime in the fall of 1837, and during the administration of Gov- 
ernor Boggs, the President of the United States, Mr. Van Buren, asked 
Colonel Benton, one of our Senators in Congress, whether Missourians 



THE FLOKIDA WAK. 233 

could be induced to travel so far as the swamps of Florida and assist in 
chastising the Seminole Indians. Colonel Benton answered: "The 
Missoiirians will go wherever their services are needed," and went imme- 
diately to Joel K. Poinsett, then Secretary of War, and urged him to 
issue an order for raising volunteers in Missouri for that purpose. The 
Secretary being assured of a favorable response, issued a requisition on 
Governor Boggs, for two regiments of mounted volunteers. The following 
is a copy (made from the original) of the letter of the Secretary of "War 
to Colonel Richard Gentry, of Columbia: 

War Department, September 8th, 1837. 
Sir : — ^You are hereby informed that a regiment of six hundred volunteers from the 
State of Missouri will be accepted by this Department, for service in Florida, during the 
next campaign against the Seminoles, provided they can be raised by you in season to 
reach Tampa Bay by the middle of October, or the 1st of November, at latest. General 
Atkinson has been instructed to dispatch an officer of the army to muster these troops 
into the service, and to render such other aid as may be necessary to expedite their 
movements towards Florida. 

Very respectfully, your most obedient servant, 

J. E. Poinsett. 
Colonel Gentry, Columbia, Boone County, Missouri. 

The first regiment was raised chiefly in Boone and neighboring coun- 
ties by Colonel Gentry, of which he was elected Colonel, John W. 
Price, of Howard, Lieutenant-Colonel, and Harrison H. Hughes, also of 

Howard, Major; Parks, of Ray, Quartermaster, and William 

McDaniel, of Marion, Commissary. The regiment was composed of the 
following companies : 

From Boone County : Captains John Ellis and Thomas D. Grant ; 
Callaway, Captain William H. Russell ; Howard, Captain Congreve Jack- 
son ; Chariton, Captain James Flore; Ray, Captain John Sconce; 
Jackson, Captain Jas. Chiles ; Marion, Captain John Curd. 

Four companies of the second regiment were also raised and attached 
to the first. Two of these companies were composed of Delaware and 
Osage Indians. 

On October 6, 1837, Col. Gentry's regiment left Columbia for the field 
of danger and duty, but before taking their departure were presented by 
the ladies of Columbia with a beautiful regimental flag, the presentation 
address being made by Miss Lucy Wales, a very cultivated and accom- 
plished lady, at that time preceptress of Columbia Female Academy. 
This flag was borne by the regiment throughout the campaign in Florida, 
and floated at its head in battle, and after its return to Missouri was 



234 HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 

delivered to the widow of Colonel Gentry, October 26tli, 1842, by 
Ciiptain William Henry Russell, and it is now in the possession of the 
family. 

After the regiment left Columbia, they marched by land to Jefferson 
BarracliS, below St. Louis, where they were detained for several days and 
were addressed by Hon. Thomas H. Benton. They were there mustered 
into service by General Henry Atkinson, the commander of this depait- 
ment. They were taken b}^ boats from there to Jackson Barracks, New 
Orleans, from which point they were transported in brigs across the gulf 
to Tampa Bay, Florida. 

Mr. Elihu H. Shepard, in his "Early History of St. Louis and Mis- 
souri," says, on the voyage they were overtaken by a violent storm and 
several of the vessels stranded. IMany horses were lost, but no lives, 
and they disembarked on the 15th of November at the place of desti- 
nation. On the 1st of December they received orders from General 
Zachary Taylor, then commanding in Florida, to march to Okee-cho-bee 
Lake, one hundred and thirty-five miles inland by the route traveled, 
in the vicinity of which the whole force of the Seminoles was said 
to have collected, under their four most redoubtable leaders, Sam Jones, 
Tiger Tail, Alligator and Mycanopee, prepared for battle. 

Having reached the Kissemmee River, seventy miles distant, the 
cavalry scouts captured several Indians who were guarding grazing stock, 
by which the Colonel learned the Indians were near at hand ; and 
immediately crossing the river, he formed the Missouri volunteers in 
front and advanced, supporting them at a proper distance by the regular 
army on either flank. 

The Indians appeared to have noticed all the surroundings of the place, 
and commenced the attack at the point affording them the best position 
for prolonging a battle, and continued it with a pertinacity they seldom 
exhibit. 

Colonel Gentry fought on foot, as did all his command, and had 
repulsed the Indians after several hours of severe fighting. He was 
gradually pushing them across a swamjj, and had nearly reached the dry 
soil, when a bullet pierced his abdomen, inflicting a fatal wound. He 
knew its extent, yet he stood erect an hour afterward, and cheered his 
men to victory ; until at last being compelled to yield, he was borne from 
the fight and expired the same night. 

The fall of their leader did not relax the exertions of the Missourians. 
They made good all their Senator had said of them, and continued to 
fight several hours longer, until the Indians were entirely vanquished. 



COLONEL GENTEY'S HEEOIC DEATH. 235 

The loss in killed and wounded was one hundred and thirty-eight, most of 
whom were Missourians. 

There being no further service required of the Missourians, they were 
returned to their homes early in 1838, and the name and fame of Colonel 
Gentry placed where it will never perish. His remains, as well as those 
of Captain Vanswearingen, and Lieutenants Brooke and Center, 6th 
Regular United States Infantry, were afterwards brought to Jefferson 
Barracks and buried, the Government of the United States erecting over 
them a suitable monument. The County of Gentry, organized February 
12th, 1841, was named in honor of his memory. ^ 

The official report to the War Department by General Zachary Taylor. 
U. S. A., in regard to the battle of Okeechobee, occasioned much excite- 
ment and adverse criticism in Missouri, because it was claimed that he 
not only did great injustice to the Missouri volunteers under Colonel 
Gentry, but that on one occasion he treated Colonel Gentry himself with 
a degree of insulting hardship and violence wholly unmerited by that 
gallant officer. Therefore, during the session of the Legislature of 
1838-9, a special committee was appointed, David R. Atchison, chair- 
man, to investigate the facts and make report of them to the General 
Assembly. This committee caused about twenty of the officers of the 



1 The following is a copy of a letter from Brigadier General Henry Atkinson, U. S. 
Army, to Mrs. Ann Gentry, widow of Colonel Gentry, in regard to tlie receipt and in- 
terment of his remains : 

St. Louis, 7th May, 1839. 

Mt Dear Madam : — I have the satisfaction to inform you that I have received the 
remains of the late Major General Gentry, yom- lamented husband, from Florida, 
mingled in the same box with the remains of Captain VanSwearingen and Lieutanants 
Brooke and Center, 6th Eegiment U. S. Infantry. The whole will be this day taken from 
the box and placed in a suitable coffin and carried to the Episcopal Church, where at 
half past two o'clock, the funeral service will be performed by the reverend clergy ; after 
which all appropriate military honors will take place, by the military and civil author- 
ities of the city. The remains will then be taken to JeflFerson Barracks, where they will 
be deposited for final interment as soon as the 6th Eegiment returns to that post. It is 
intended to inter all the remains in the same grave, over which a monument, with suit- 
able inscriptions, will be erected. 

I hope this disposition of the remains of Major General Gentry, will be agreeable to 
you and your family. It would now be difiicult, if not impossible, to designate the sep- 
arate remains of either individual ; therefore, should you wish to have the General's bones, 
it would be impossible, I think, to select them. 

With the kindest regards, madam, I am most respectfully, 
Your most obedient servant, 

H. Atkinson, Brigadier General U. S. Army. 
Mrs. Gentry, relict of the late Major General Gentry, Columbia, Mo. 



236 HISTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 

Missouri Volunteers, who had served in the Florida campaign, to be 
examined before them, anions^ whom were individuals who were en2:aofed 
during the battle in every part of the line, and others who were posted 
at the baggage on the opposite side of the swamp. After the examina- 
tion of these witnesses, Mr. Atchison made a report, in which it was 
maintained that General Taylor's report did the Missouri troops great 
injustice ; among other reasons because it charged that the Missouri 
Volunteers mostly broke and fell back to the baggage, and that the 
repeated efforts of his Aids could not rally them. Mr. Atchison's report 
states, in substance, that the battle commenced between nine and ten 
o'clock A. M., December 25th, 1837 ; that the Missouri Volunteers first 
attacked the enemy, led the charge, and bore the brunt of the battle 
along the whole line ; that they had to march through a deep, miry 
swamp for about half a mile in order to approach the Indians, who were 
concealed in the edge of the hummock ready to receive them, on ground 
which they had chosen and prepared for that purpose ; that the Indians 
were protected by the heavy timber and thick underbrush, while the Volun- 
teers, mostly unsupported by the Regulars, were exposed in open line, 
uncovered, in the swamp, standing up to their knees in mud and water, 
when they received the first deadly fire of the enemy. Nevertheless, they 
fought bravely till the heat of the battle was over, and it was principally 
by their fire that the Indians were first dispersed. Although a large 
number of the Volunteers were killed or wounded by a concealed enemy, 
they heroically stood their ground or pressed forward to the attack, until 
the hummock was taken and the victory gained. None of the witnesses 
examined knew of any attempt on the part of General Taylor's staff to 
rally the Volunteers, or of any necessity for such attempt; and the fact 
is established that after the heat of the battle was over, a considerable 
portion of the Volunteers, instead of being dispatched in pursuit of the 
retreating enemy, were, by order of the Eegular officers, detailed to 
make a causeway across the swamp, upon which to carry out the dead 
and wounded. To the committee it was manifest that General Taylor 
entertained strong prejudice against the Volunteers, and a most contempt- 
uous opinion of that description of troops, and they reported it probable, 
that, owing to this prejudice, he could not do justice to the Volunteers 
from Missouri. Also, that "Colonel Gentry fell at the head of his troops, 
in a manner worthy of the commander of Volunteers, and the conduct of 
the Volunteer officers and soldiers generally was such as ought to have 
elicited praise and commendation, instead of censure and reproach." 



ACTION OF THE MISSOTJEI LEGISLATURE. 237 

The committee concluded their report by recommending the adoption 
of the following joint resolutions : 

1st. Besolved, by the Senate and House of Bepresentatives, that the conduct of the 
Missouri Vokinteers and spies, in the Florida campaign, was such as only could be 
expected from good soldiers and brave men. 

2d. Besolved, that so much of Colonel Z. Taylor's report of the battle of Okeechobee, 
which charges that the Missouri Volunteers and spies mostly brolce and fell back to the 
baggage, and that the repeated efforts of his staff could not rally them, is proved to be 
unfounded, not to say intentionally false, and that so niucla of said report which states 
that the Regular troops were joined by Captain Gilliam and Lieutenant Blakey with a 
few men, but not until they had suffered severely, is incorrect in this, — that Gilliam and 
Blalcey were in advance of the Eegular troops during the most of the fight and never in the 
rear. 

3d. Besolved, that so mucli of said report, which states that the Missouri Volunteers 
and spies behaved themselves as well or better than troops of that discription usually 
do, is not so much a compliment to them, as a slander upon citizen soldiers generally. 

4th. Besolved, that Colonel Taylor, in his report of the battle of Okeechebee, has done 
manifest injustice to the Missouri Volunteers and spies, and that said report was not 
founded upon facts as they occurred. 

5th. Besolved, that a commanding officer who has wantonly misrepresented the 
conduct of men who gallantly sustained him in battle, is unworthy a commission in the 
Army of the United States. 

6th. Besolved, that the Governor of the State be required to lay before the President of 
the United States, the evidence reported to this House, in relation to the conduct of the 
Missouri volunteers and spies in the Florida campaign, and Colonel Z. Taylor's report 
of the battle of the Okeechebee, and that he solicit on the part of this State a court of 
inquiry into the conduct of the Missouri volunteers and spies, and the truth of said 
report. 

7th. Besolved, that the Governor of the State be required to lay before the President 
of the United States, a statement of facts relative to the treatment of the spies imder 
Colonel Morgan and Captain Sconce: 1st , as it regards the fact of the organization of 
said command into a spy battalion, under the order of Colonel Taylor. 2d. His subse- 
quent acknowledglement and recognition of said corps. 3d. The performance of 
arduous duty by the officers of said battalion under the requisition of Colonel Taylor. 
4th. Their subsequent discharge as privates and the pay that they received as such, 
oth. The necessity of adopting some course to obtain redress. 

The resolutions passed both houses of the Legislature unanimously, 
and there the matter rested, no court of inquiry having been called by 
the President of the United States to investigate the truth of Colonel 
Taylor's report. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

From 1830 to 1840 Continued. —The Mormons and the Mormon "War.— Sketch of 

MORMONISM AND OF JO. SMITH.— "THE BOOK OP MORMON"— ITS ORIGIN. — MORMONS 

Settle at Independence in Jackson County. — Are Driven Out and Establish 
Themselves at Far West in Caldwell County. — Description of Far West and 
OF THE Mormon Temple.— The Mormons at DeWitt, Carroll C'ounty. — They 
Organize Under Colonel G. W. Hinkle.— The Citizens Fly to Arms and Elect 
General Congreve Jackson to Command Them. — Bloodshed Imminent.- Judge 
James Earickson of Howard Negotiates a Peace. — The Mormons Abandon 
DeWitt and go to Far West.— False Alarm at Carrollton.— Missouri Militia 
March Against the Mormons in 1838.— Their Surrender and Dispersion.— The 
Tragical Deaths op Jo. Smith and Parley P. Pratt.— Attempted assassination 
OP Governor Lilburn W. Boggs by Porter Rockwell, a Mormon Leader. 

Unquestionably one of the most striking features in the history of 
modern fanaticism is the progress of Mormonism in the United States. 
That an uneducated youth, without wealth or social standing, indeed 
without the prestige of common morality, and in f\ict notorious only for 
a vagrant and dissolute life, should excite a revolutionary movement in 
the religious world, and be able to operate on the public credulity by- 
means of the most absurd pretensions to the divine and prophetic 
character, and that too in an age boastful of its intelligence, is a paradox 
difficult to be accounted for on any known laws of the human mind. 

Joe Smith, their prophet, priest and king, assumed to act by divine 
appointment, and claimed that his mission was of both a temporal and 
spiritual character. He was to radically and essentially change all the 
features of divine worship, and herald the millennial reign of Christ on 
earth. In addition to this he was to establish a temporal kingdom, in 
which "the Saints" were to reign, and crush the unbelieving world 
Ijeneath their righteous rule. When he came to Missouri, in 1831, it 
was claimed that the foundations of this kingdom were laid at Indepen- 
dence, which Smith named "The New Jerusalem." From this nucleus 
it was to be extended by a series of supernatural incidents and brilliant 
conquests, more miraculous, dazzling and complete than the rapid march 
of the Moslem prophet under his crescent banner. 

To accomplish his designs, he proposed to concentrate all the Indian 
tribes of the West, and incite them to avenge the wrongs they had 
suffered at the hands of their white oppressors. The blood-thirsty 
Comanches, the cruel Sacs and Foxes, still smarting under the defeat 
and capture of their celebrated chieftain, Black Hawk ; the Winnebagoes, 
the Pawnees, the Omahas, and all the wild tribes of the deep valleys 



" THE BOOK OF MOEMON." 239 

and lofty crags of the Rocky Mountains, were to hear the voice of the 
prophet, heed his counsel, and subordinate all their savage energies to 
the establishment of Mormon supremacy on the American Continent. 

''The Book of Mormon" ( a copy of which, once the property of Jo. 
Smith's mother, is now before the writer ) contains a pretended history 
of the ancient aborigines of the country, from whom it is claimed the 
modern tribes have descended. This "Book" was to be used for the 
conversion of the Indians. From the pao;es of this bhmderino- fiction 
the red man was to be taught of his high origin ; of an ancestry which 
had peopled a vast continent, and established a civilization even superior 
to that of their European enemies who had robbed them of their homes 
and hunting grounds. 

The truth is, there is something so remarkable about this strange 
infiituation and its pretensions as to justify, in this place, a brief reference 
to the history of Joseph Smith, the founder and apostle of Mormonism. 
He was born December 23d, 1805, at Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, 
and in 1815, removed with his father and family to Palmyra, Wayne 
County, New York. A few years afterwards, many revivals of relio-ion 
occurred in Western New York, and Smith professed to have become 
seriously impressed on the subject. In April, 1820, while praying in 
the woods, he pretends to have received his first remarkable vision and 
revelation, and asserts that God appeared to him in the forest, and, 
like Mohammed's Gabriel, informed him that his sins were forgiven ; 
that all of the then existing denominations of Christians were in error 
and enemies of the Covenant of Grace, and that he was the chosen of 
God to reinstate his Kingdom, and re-introduce his Gospel on earth. 
Three 3^ears afterwards. Smith fearfully backslided ; became oblivious of 
his pretended revelation and conversion, and relapsed into his old 
habits of swearing, swindling and drunkenness. Nevertheless he 
pretends that about this time (September 21st, 1823) an angel came 
to him while in bed and revealed to him the existence and preservation 
of the history of the ancient inhabitants of the American continent, 
engraved on plates of gold, and directed him where to find them. The 
next day he obej^ed the angelic injunction and discovered the gold 
plates, in a stone box, buried in a hillside — "Cumorah" — between 
Manchester and Palmyra, New York. He attempted to take them, but 
the devil and his angels prevented him for a time, by hostilities wa^ed 
with carnal weapons, but they were finally vanquished and retreated. The 
angel of the Lord then safely delivered to him the plates — plates of gold, 
bell-shaped, seven by eight inches in size and six inches thick, and 



240 



HISTOEY OF MISSOURI. 



fastened through the ends with rings. The engraving below represents 
one of the plates. 

These plates, as can be seen, contnined all kinds of characters, arranged 
in columns like Chinese writing, and presented a singular medley of 
Greek, Hebrew and all sorts of hieroglyphics, with sundry figures of 
half-moons and stars, the whole ending in a rude representation of the 
Mexican zodiac. He at once set about translating them ; but in July, 
1828, the translation was suspended in consequence of Martin Harris, 
one of the scribes, stealing 118 pages of manuscript, which have never 
been recovered. In April, 1829, the translation was resumed, Oliver 
Cowdery, whom John the Baptist came to the earth and ordained, acting 
as clerk. The ensuing year the "Book of Mormon" was published as a 
revelation from Heaven. 




The Book of Mormon. 



Mr. Thurlow "Weed, late of the Albany (N. Y.) Journal, says in a 
letter published in the N. Y. Herald of July 29, 1858, that "the original 
impostor, Joe Smith, come to the writer only thirty-two years ago with 
the manuscript of this Mormon Bible to be printed. He then had but 
one follower, a respectable and wealthy farmer of the town of Macedon, 
who offered himself as security for the printing. But after reading a 
few chapters, it seemed such a jumble of unintelligible absurdities that 
we refused the work, advising Harris not to morto;age his farm and beg- 
gar his family. But Joe crossed over the way to our neighbor, Elihu F. 
Marshall, and got his Mormon Bible printed." 



THE MOEMOIsrS AT INDEPENDElSrCE. 241 

"Witliout going farther into the history of this wonderful delusion, 
there is very good evidence for the statement that the real author of the 
" Book of Mormon " was Solomon Spalding, a Presbyterian clergyman 
of Ashford, Connecticut, who graduated at Dartmouth in 1785, and was 
ordained and preached for three or four years. Relinquishing the ministry, 
he engaged in mercantile business in Cherry Valley, New York, when, in 
1809, he moved to Conneaut, Ohio, and tinally, in 1814, to Amity, Penn- 
sylvania, where he died in 1816. He wrote several novels, which he Avas in 
the habit of reading to his friends in manuscript, among them (in 1810-12) 
a romance of the migration of the ten lost tribes of Israel to America, 
maintaining the hypothesis that the American Indians are descended from 
the Hebrews. 

Mr. Spalding intended to publish this fiction in book form, and placed 
it before his death in a printing office in Pittsburgh, with which Sidney 
Rigdon was connected, who copied it. The book was never published, 
and the original manuscript was returned to Spalding. After the appear- 
ance of "The Book of Mormon," Mr. Spalding's widow recognized its 
paternity, and on May 18th, 1839, in a card in the Boston Journal, 
published a statement in regard to its history. ^ 

Having made a number of converts, Smith in 1831 moved to Kirtland, 
Ohio, and during the same year made a visit to Missouri in search of a 
location for "Zion " ; found it at Independence, Jackson County ; named 
the place "The New Jerusalem," and returned to Kirtland. 

In 1832 Smith returned with many followers to Jackson County. They 
entered several thousand acres of land, mostly west of Independence, 
professed to own all things in common, though in reality their bishops 
and leaders owned everything (especially the land titles) and established 
a "Lord's Storehouse" in Independence, where the few monopolized the 
trade and earnings of the many. They published The Evening Star, 
(the first newspaper in the county) in which appeared weekly install- 
ments of " revelations " promising wonderful things to the faithful, and 
denouncing still more wonderful things' against the ungodly Gentiles. 
The result was that the Gentiles threw the press and type into the 
Missouri River, tarred and feathered the Bishop and two others, on the 
public square at Independence, and otherwise maltreated the Saints, 
who retaliated upon their adversaries, "smiting them hip and thigh" at 
every good opportunity. On October 31st, 1833, a deadly encounter 
took place two miles east of Westport, in which two citizens and one 

1 See American Cyclopedia, 1875, Vol. xi, p. 833. 
16 



242 



HISTOEY OF MISSOURI. 



Mormon were killed. The Mormons routed their enemies, and, elated 
with victory, determined to utterly destroy that wicked place, Independ- 
ence, which had been the scene of their sorest trials. A " revelation " 
ordered the work of destruction and promised victory. They marched 
during the night, and soon after daylight of November 2d, arrived one 
mile west of the town ; but the Gentiles pouring in from all quarters, 
met them at that point, and forced them to lay down their arms and to 
agree to leave the county with their families by January 1st, 1834, o'n 
the condition that the owner should be paid for the loss of the Star 
printing office, which was agreed to. 

Leavino" Jackson, they flocked into Clay, Carroll and other counties 

north of the river, but 
chiefly into the new 
county of Caldwell, 
where John Whitmer 
and a few others had 
selected a site for a 
new town and lands 
for a new home of the 
Saints. The town was 
called ■ " Far West, " 
and Joe Smith and 
his chief officers locat- 
ed there, and assured 
theii; followers that it 
would soon become 
one of the mighty 

Joe Smith's House. ^-^.j^g ^f ^^^ WOrld. 

The old town site is now^ in the midst of a corn field, which constitutes 
part of a tract of land belonging to Col. Calvin F. Burns, of St. Joseph, 
and is situated about eight miles southwest of Hamilton and about the 
same distance southeast of Cameron. About half a mile west of the 
town is the burying-ground of the Mormons. It is now included within 
the limits of a farm owned by Mr. Peter L. Boultou, a brother of Judge 
Jesse A. Boulton of Boone County. Here are some two or three hun- 
dred graves, all more or less obliterated, with scarcely an occasional rude 
headstone to mark the presence of a once sacredly-guarded, but long- 
forsaken and forgotten village of the dead. But perhaps the most inter- 
esting relic of the times of which we write is the former residence of 
Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet, and founder of the Church of Jesus 




FAH WEST AND THE MOKMON TEMPLE. 243. 

Christ of Latter Day Saints. We give a faithful picture as itiiow stands 
to-day. It is a rude, old-fashioned, one-story frame building, with two 
rooms, situated about a quarter of a mile southwest of the temple site, 
which was in the middle of the town. An unusually large and clumsy 
stone chimney at the north end of the building is its distinguishing- 
characteristic. Otherwise the structure is an exceedingly ordinary and 
common-place building, suggestive of anything rather than the residence 
of the founder of a mighty sect whose wonderful rise and progress con- 
stitute an era in the history of Missouri. 

Under the influence of their missionaries, who were canvassing all 
the Eastern States and many parts of Europe, the young city of Far 
West promised much. Converts settled all over the county, and 
especially along the streams and belts of timber. Farm houses sprang 
up as if by magic, and the wilderness was in a few months transformed 
into an industrious and promising community. Their settlements 
extended into Livingston, Daviess and Clinton Counties, but Far West, 
their only town, was their commercial center, and became their county 
seat. In 1837, the Mormons began work on what was intended to be 
one of the most magnificent temples in the United States. 

The town was laid out in blocks 396 feet square, and the streets were 
on a grand scale. The four principal avenues were each 132 feet wide, 
and all the others 82^ feet wide. These diverged at right angles from 
a public square in the center, designed as the site of a grand temple, 
which, however, w^'^s never built. In 1837, the cellar under the 
prospective temple was dug. The excavation, 120 by 80 feet in area, 
and 4 or 5 feet deep, was accomplished in about one-half of a day, 
more than 500 men being employed in the work, with no other means 
of removing the earth than hand-barrows. It is generally believed 
that on the 4th of July following, which was duly observed as a national 
holiday, the corner-stone of the temple was laid. This, however, is a 
mistake. 

The prosperity of the Mormon settlement had drawn thither many good 
and industrious men, and also many desperadoes and thieves, who soon 
obtained full sway in their councils. They boldly declared that "the 
Lord had given the earth and the fullness thereof to His people," and 
that they were "His people," and consequently had the right to take 
whatsoever they pleased from the Gentiles. In pursuance of this 
declaration, bands of the more lawless of them strolled about the 
country, taking what ihey pleased. As they largely outnumbered the 
Gentiles, and as the county officers were mostly Mormons, they were 



244 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

enabled to act with impunity until their lawless course excited the indig- 
nation of the other settlers, who, not being able to obtain justice in a 
lawful manner, also resorted to mob violence and retaliation in kind, 
until many a dark and unlawful deed was perpetrated on both sides. 

It will be a matter of interest to many to know that among the 
Mormon j-esidents at Far West was the widow of Morgan, the so-called 
exposer of the mysteries of Masonry, whose sudden disappearance 
from his home in New York, in the year 1826, created the suspicion of 
his havino- been abducted and murdered by certain over-zealous members 
of the craft. The excitement in that day, in reference to this mythical 
murder, was of a sufficiently grave and extensive character to result 
in the inauguration of a short-lived party in national politics, the 
leadino- characteristic of which was its opposition to Free Masonry. 

The Mormons not only had a sad experience in the counties of Jackson 
and Caldwell, but also in Carroll, in the neighborhood of DeWitt, near 
the Missouri liiver. During the summer of 1838, a citizen of this village, 
by the name of Root, then a merchant there, and now a banker in Quincy, 

Illinois, sold a large number of lots to G. W. Hinkle and ■ 

Murdock, whom it was afterwards discovered were Mormon leaders, who 
came to Carroll county to establish a settlement of their order. De Witt 
beino" a good landing on the river, they regarded it as a convenient point 
from which to forward goods and immigrants to Far West. No sooner 
was it known that these new comers were Mormon leaders, coming into 
the country with the view of planting a colony, than great excitement 
arose in the sparse settlements thmi existing there. The settlers became 
alarmed for their own safety, and in July, 1838, a public meeting was 
held in CarroUton, which was addressed by Dr. W. W. Austin, Alex. C. 
Blackwell, Eev. Abbot Hancock, Rev. Sarchel Woods, Hiram Wilcoxson 
and others. No definite measures were adopted at this meeting, but at 
another held a few days afterward, it was with difficulty that portions of 
the people were restrained from making an immediate advance on the 
Mormon settlement at DeWitt. Assistance from neighboring counties 
was proffered to expel the Mormons from Carroll, and it was finally de- 
termined that their expulsion was a necessity. A committee of citizens 
was appointed, of which Sarchel Woods was made chairman, to notify 
Col. Hinkle of the course the people intended to pursue. Accordingly, 
on the following Monday, the committee visited DeWitt, where they met 
Col. Hinkle and a large number of his adherents. On being informed of 
their mission. Col. Hinkle drew his sword, and, defiantly flourishing it the 
air, threatened extermination to those who should attempt to disturb the 



MOEMOIS^ DIFFICULTIES. 245 

peace of himself and the Samts. To all of which the chairman, Rev. 
Mr. Woods, replied: "Colonel, put up your sword. I am an old 
pioneer, have heard the Indians jell, the wolves howl and the owls hoot, 
and am not alarmed at such demonstrations." 

Before decisive measures were adopted for the expulsion of the 
Mormons at DeWitt, troubles broke out in Daviess County, and the 
people of Carroll were called upon for aid. During the existence of 
these troubles, and while the attention of the people was directed to the 
suppression of disorders in Daviess, Mormon recruits, by land and by 
water, poured into the town of DeWitt, and their wagons and tents 
completely filled the grove of timber below the town. An attack on this 
encampment and settlement was fixed for the 21st of September, 1838, 
and on that day, about 150 armed men bivouacked near the town. 
A conflict between the forces ensued, during which several scattering 
volleys were fired, but no serious casualty occurred. Nevertheless, a 
laughable incident happened to a Mr. Williams, who was struck in the 
mouth by a passing ball. Williams was of the Gentile force and an 
inveterate tobacco chewer, who was in the habit of always keeping a 
large quid between his under lip and teeth, A ball from the gun of one 
of the Saints entered the right side of his lip, and coming out on the 
left, carried with it the huge quid of tobacco, without breaking the skin 
in front of the mouth. The Mormons finally evacuated their works and 
fled to some log houses, in which they were comparatively safe from 
attack. The Carroll County forces likewise returned to their camp to 
await re-inforcements. Troops from Ray, Howard and Clay Counties 
soon airived. Hiram Wilcoxson, who had been sent to Jackson County 
for a piece of artillery, arrived in due time with it on a wagon, and it 
was properly mounted ready for service. By this tihie the attacking 
force had increased to four or five hundred men. Ccmgreve Jackson, of 
Howard County, was chosen Brigadier-General ; Ebenezer Price, of 
Clay, Colonel; Singleton Vaughn, Lieutenant-Colonel, and Sarchel 
Woods, Major. Thus ofiicered, the brigade, after ten days' discipline, 
were preparing for an assault upon the Mormon force. 

Before the line of battle was formed and the onslaught made, however, 
Judge James Earickson and William F. Dunnica, two influential and 
reputable citizens of Howard County, reached General Jackson's camp 
and asked permission to intercede, with the view of adjusting the troubles 
without bloodshed. After a long parley, it was finally agreed that Judge 
Earickson might make the Mormons this proposition : That the citizens 
of Carroll County would purchase from the Mormons, at first cost, their 



246 HISTOEY OF MISSOUEI. 

lots in DeWitt, and one or two tracts of land joining the town ; that the 
Mormons should pay for all the cattle killed by them belonging to 
citizens ; that the Mormons should load their wagons dnrins: the nisfht 
and be ready to move by ten o'clock next morning, and that they agree 
to make no further attempt on their part at a settlement in Carroll 
County. Jndge Earickson very properly thought the terms of pacifi- 
cation rather stringent ; but as they were the best that could be obtained 
from the excited citizens, agreed to undertake the mission. He accord- 
ingly waited upon Colonel Hinkle and informed him of the object of his 
visit, and of the terms upon which a peaceful and bloodless settlement 
could be made. Colonel Hinkle was indignant, and expressed a 
determination to die on the hill rather than accede to such terms. Judffe 
Earickson expostulated. Hinkle protested, the interview resulting in 
Earickson agreeing to remain during the night and hear his final answer 
in the morning. 

A little after dark. Colonel Lyman Wight reached DeWitt with about 
a hundred Mormons. Their comino; strenojthened Hinkle's conviction 
that he could "hold the fort." Nevertheless, Judge Earickson called a 
council of the principal Mormons and informed them of the perils with 
which they were threatened. If one citizen of Carroll County should 
be killed, a hundred would fly to arms to avenge his blood. In the event 
of hostilities, so exasperated would be the people that he would not be 
responsible for the safety of the women and children. Colonel Hinkle 
becoming better informed of the dangers which threatened him, began 
to consider more dispassionately the force of the arguments, but Lyman 
Wight was opposed to any terms, and wanted to "tight it out on that 
line if it took all summer." 

The forces under Jackson were determined to carry the Mormon posi- 
tion at all hazards the next morning ; and before Judge Earickson re- 
turned next morning, Jackson's forces were in line and ready to advance. 
Despairing of peaceable settlement, a messenger was about to leave to 
notify Judge Earickson of the determination of the opposing force, and that 
all non-combatants must be moved by the Mormons to a place of safety. 
Just at this time. Judge Earickson made his appearance with the intelli- 
gence that Colonel Hinkle had accepted the terms, and that if commis- 
bioners should be sent to DeWitt to settle the manner in which the 
property would be paid for, they would be received in friendship. 
Commissioners were accordingly appointed — W. W. Austin, A. Hancock, 
A. C. Blackwell, Col. Vaughn, David Walker, and Benjamin Cooper 
on the part of the citizens ; and James Earickson, William D. Swinney, 
and W. F. Dunnica of Howard County, to represent the Mormons. 



MISSOURI MILITIA AKD THE MOEMOXS. 247 

In conformity to the agreement, the Mormons without delay loaded 
their property on wagons, and a long procession filed out of town for Far 
West, in Caldwell County — men, women, and children casting a sorrow- 
ful look behind them as they left forever the spot on which they hoped 
to build a large and prosperous city. 

In less than a week the commissioners met at Glasgow and were ready 
to make a final settlement of all questions pertaining to the property. 
They were about proceeding to business, when a messenger reached them 
from Messrs. Joseph Dickson, Hiram Wilcoxson and others of Carrollton, 
bearing a letter to the eiFect that on the arrival of Col. Hinkle at Far 
West, the Mormon leaders of that place set aside his agreement, and 
avowed a determination to maintain possession of their property in 
Carroll County. The commissioners at once left Glasgow and reached 
Carrollton at midnight, it having been reported — which, however, turned 
out to be untrue — that a Mormon force was moving from Far West 
southward ; and Carrollton, being unprotected, everything was in confusion 
there. Apprehending an attack upon the town, the merchants had 
packed their goods and books and sent them to places of safety. Many 
families were preparing to leave, and had moved their furniture and 
other household effects and concealed them in the adjacent woods. Col. 
William Claude Jones was endeavoring to organize two companies for 
home protection, but his efforts, in consequence of the demoralization 
which prevailed, were in vain. 

Peace was finally restored. Whether the commissioners ever carried 
out the object of their appointment and adjusted the property balances 
between the citizens and the Mormons at De Witt, is not recorded. ^ 

In 1838 the discord became so great, and the clamor for the expulsion 
of the Mormons from the State so imperative, that Governor Boggs 
issued a proclamation, ordering Major-General David R. Atchison to 
call out the militia of his division to put down the insurgents and enforce 
the laws. He called out a part of the 1st brigade of the Missouri State 
Militia, under command of General Alexander W. Doniphan, who 
proceeded at once to the seat of war. The militia were placed under 
the command of General John B. Clark, of How^ard County. The 
Mormon forces, numbering about 1,000 men, were led by G. W. Hinkle. 
The first skirmish took place at Crooked Eiver, in the south-western 
part of the county, where David Patten — "Captain Fear-not," as he 
called himself — the leader of the Danite Band or United Brothers of 

1 A. C. Black^vell's History of Carroll County, 1876. 



248 HISTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 

Gideon, -was killed. Bat the principal engagement was fought at 
Hanghn's Mills, five miles south of the present site of Breckenridge. 
The Mormons of the eastern portion of the county had concentrated 
there and entrenched themselves in the mill and in the blacksmith shop, 
where the militia, numbering about 125 men, attacked and captured 
them. One militia man was wounded and 18 of the Mormons killed — 
some of them after their surrender, — and their bodies were thrown into 
a neighboring well on a farm owned at that time by Haughn. This land 
is now the property of James C. McCrary, Esq., of Kingston, to whom 
it was sold for a St. Louis party, by Nathan Cope, Esq., of Kingston. 
It was about fifteen and a half miles east of Far West. This bloody 
and sepulchral well was filled up by Charles Ross, Esq., now a resident 
of Kingston, who arrived on the spot just ten dsiys after the tragic 
occurrence. 

When the militia appeared at Far West, October, 1838, where the 
principal Mormon forces were gathered, Joe Smith surrendered, agreeing 
to General Doniphan's conditions, viz. : That they should deliver up 
their arms, surrender their prominent leaders for trial, and the remainder 
of the Mormons should, with their families, leave the State. 

The leaders were taken before a court of inquiry at Richmond, Judge 
Austin A. King presiding. He remanded them to Daviess County, to 
await the action of the grand jury on a charge of treason against the 
State, and murder. The Daviess County jail being poor, they were 
confined at Liberty. Lidictments for various offenses — treason, murder, 
robbery, receiving stolen goods, arson, resisting legal process, etc., 
— were found against Joe Smith, Hyram Smith (Joe Smith's brother), 
Sidney Rigdon, Lyman Wight, G. W. Hinkle, Caleb Baldwin, Parley 
P. Pratt,! Luman Gibbs (the basket-maker), Maurice Phelps, King 
Follett, Wm. Osburn, Arthur Morrison, Elias Higbee, J. Worthington, 
W. Yoorheis, Jacob Gates and others. Sidney Rigdon was released on 
a writ of habeas corpus. The others requested a change of venue, and 
Judge King sent their cases to Boone County for trial. On their way to 
Columbia, under a military guard, Joe Smith efiected his escape. It is 
claimed, and generally believed, that the guard was bribed. 

On July 4th, 1839, P. P. Pratt and perhaps others, while the citizens 
of Columbia were attending some sort of an old-fashioned Fourth 
of July celebration on the opposite side of the town, knocked down 

1 Pratt was a Mormon Elder and a man of education. In 1856 lie met a tragic death, 
near Fort Gibson. For an account, of it see conclusion of this chapter. 



TKAGICAL DEATH OF JOE SMITH. 249 

John M. Kelly, tlie jailor, when he opened the door to serve them with 
dinner, and escaped. Gibbs and some others were tried before David 
Todd, Circuit Judge, and acquitted. Hon. J. S. Eollins of Boone, and 
General A. W. Doniphan of Clay, defended them. The indictments 
were dismissed against all the others, by Circuit Attorney James 
M. Gordon, at the August term of the Court, 1840. In connection 
with the removal of the remainder of the Mormons, and according to 
the terms of the surrender, there were many terrible scenes. Many of 
the Mormons were poor, and had invested their all in lands from which 
they were about to be driven. Vahiable farms were traded for an old 
wagon, a horse, a yoke of oxen, or anything offered that would fur- 
nish means of transportation. In many instances conveyances of lands 
were demanded and enforced at the mnzzle of the pistol or the rifle. At 
this time there were about 5,000 inhabitants in Caldwell County, nearly 
4,000 being Mormons, most of whom went to Nauvoo (meaning "The 
Beautiful"), in Illinois, where they afterwards built a magnificent temple. 
In July, 1843, Jo. Smith pretended to receive a "revelation" author- 
izing polygamy. When the " revelation " became public, considerable 
indignation was felt in Nauvoo, and serious disturbances occurred, the 
ultimate result of which was that the Prophet and his brother Hyram, 
William Richards and John Taylor, were arrested on a charge of treason 
against the State and lodged in the Carthage, Illinois, jail. A short 
time after, it began to be rumored that some of the State officials were 
really desirous the two Smiths should escape, whereupon an armed mob 
of about one hundred men was organized, and near sunset was seen ad- 
vancing stealthily, in single file, from the Nauvoo road, in the direction 
of the jail. Arriving at the jail, a conflict ensued with the guard during 
which several shots were fired. The guard was repulsed, and the vic- 
torious mob forced their way to the front door of the prison, and into the 
lower room. There was no hesitation ; the excited and determined crowd 
instantly poured in a dark and threatening mass up the stairway which 
led to the room Avhere the prisoners were confined. A volley was fired 
through the door, one shot of which inflicted a wound on Hyram Smith 
from which he instantly expired. The door was now forced, and the 
infuriated mob precipitated itself into the room, shouting and firing 
volley after volley. The contest was too fierce to continue long. Taylor 
was severely, and it was thought at the time, mortally wounded. The 
Prophet, Jo. Smith, was armed with a six-barreled pistol, with which he 
defended himself with a bravery inspired by desperation. Three times 
did he discharge his weapon, and every shot was effectual, wounding one 



250 HISTOEY OF MISSOUKL 

of his assailants mortally and two others slightly. A volley from the 
mob finally brought him lifeless to the floor. 

Thus fell (June 27th, 1844) a martyr to licentiousness and ambition, 
the most corrupt, successful and wicked impostor of modern times. 
After Jo. Smith's death the "Council of Twelve Apostles" unanimously 
elected Brigham Young as his successor. 

Parley P. Pratt, heretofore mentioned as escaping from the Columbia, 
IVIissouri, jail on July 4th, 1840, was a man of education, an author and a 
poet, and a Mormon elder of great influence among the "Saints." His 
violent death near Fort Gibson in 1856, was as tragic as Smith's, and 
under circumstances of thrilling interest. In the spring of 1856, Pratt 
seduced from her home the wife of Mr. H. H. McLean, a merchant of 
San Francisco, to make her his seventh wife. After her flight, the deserted 
husband sent his two children, a very interesting boy and girl, to his 
father-in-law in New Orleans. Some time afterward, the mother left 
Salt Lake, went to her parents in New Orleans, professed repentance and 
regret, and promised amendment, and by these means obtained possession 
of the children, and fled back to Utah with them. On discovering this, 
the doubly-injured father started in pursuit. He came to New York, 
heard of Pratt there and tracked him thence to St. Louis. There he 
lost him. Then he left for New Orleans, where he heard that his wife 
and children were going through Texas to Salt Lake : so he started 
to Texas. Li his search he learned that his wife had assumed the name 
of Mrs. H. P. Parker. While traveling through Texas he contrived to 
intercept some letters which he found bearing the superscription of Mrs. 
Parker. Although written in cipher, Mr. McLean succeeded in discover- 
ing the key, and found the letters were from Pratt, and contained a 
request that the caravan with which Mrs. McLean and her children were 
traveling should go to the neighborhood of Fort Gibson, in the Cherokee 
nation. McLean started for Fort Gibson, assuming the name of John- 
son. He made known his secret to the officers of the fort only. Here 
his vigilant and energetic pursuit of the fugitives was soon rewarded. 
Pie captured not only his wife and children, but the Mormon "Saint" 
who, in the name of religion, had enticed them from their home. The 
United States Marshal took them before Commissioner John B. Ogdeu 
for trial. The case awoke intense excitement at the time, and the 
populace clamored for vengeance on the wretch who had deliberately 
plotted the ruin of a prosperous and happy family. 

The cyphered letters were produced in court, and Mr. McLean told 
such a pathetic story of his wrongs that Pratt only escaped lynching by 



ATTEMPTED ASSASSra"ATION OF GOV. ifeOGGS. 251 

being concealed in the jail. Even the complainant himself became so 
enraged at one time during the trial, that, in the very court to which he 
had come for justice, he clutched his pistol to shoot Pratt then and there. 
Early next morning, the Mormon elder was dismissed, and left the place 
secretly, but McLean watched and pursued him, overtook bim on the 
road, and killed him in his tracks. With bis children McLean returned 
to New Orleans, and the wife having meanwhile become a raving maniac, 
was sent to an insane asylum. 

It was this event, combined with the apprebended appointment of new 
territorial officers by the Government, and a desire to possess the 
valuable property of the train, that is reported to have led to tbe 
horrible massacre of more than one hundred Arkansas immigrants at 
Mountain Meadow, Utah, on September 15th, 1857, and for participation 
in which crime John D. Lee was tried, and on March 23d, 1877, shot to 
death on the very spot of the bloody slaughter. He lived with the 
Mormons durins^ their residence at Far West. 

The conduct of Governor Boggs in taking measures forcibly to drive 
the Mormons from the State in 1839, greatly exasperated them, and 
some of the leaders determined upon his assassination. With this view, 
Porter Rockwell, one of their number, came to Independence, the place 
of Governor Boggs' residence, in 1841, and under a false name engaged 
himself to groom a horse for Mr. Ward, where he remained for sev- 
eral months reconnoitering the situation and waiting for an opportunity 
to accomplish his diabolical purpose. Finally it came. Rockwell, 
as it was alleged and believed at the time, armed himself with a pistol, 
and stealthily made his way after night to the residence of Governor 
Boggs in the suburbs of the town, and, while the Governor was sitting 
in his family room with his back to a window, fired through it at the 
head of his unsuspecting victim. Fortunately, the bullet did not pen- 
etrate the skull, and although it inflicted a stunning and dangerous 
wound, it did not prove fatal. 

Circumstances strongly pointing to Rockwell, alias Brown, as the 
would-be assassin, he was arrested on the charge, but the grand jury of 
Jackson County' failed to find an indictment against him for this offence, 
but did indict him on the charge of attempting to break jail while under 
arrest, and in prison awaiting the action of the grand jury. Under a 
change of venue to Clay County, he was afterwards tried and acquitted, 
and left for Nauvoo, and now lives in one of tbe Southern Counties of 
Utah. Geo. W. Dunn, of Richmond, then circuit attorney, now circuit 
judge, prosecuted Rockwell, and Col. A. W. Doniphan defended him. 



252 ' HISTOEY OF MISSOURI. 

Some years after this event Governor Boggs moved to Napa City, 
California, where he now resides. 

By the act of Congress of March 6th, 1820, to authorize the jDeople 
of Missouri Territory to form a Constitution and State Government, it 
was prcjvided that thirt^'-six sections or one entire township of land 
(46,080 acres), which should be designated by the President of the 
United States, shall be reserved for the use of a seminary of learning, 
and vested in the Legislature of said State to be appropriated solely to 
the use of such seminary by the Legislature. The President having 
designated the lands mentioned, in conformity to the act of Congress, 
the General Assembly, on December 31st, 1830, passed an act making 
provision for the sale of the seminary lands, after six months' previous 
notice in the several newspapers published in the State ; upon the 
condition, however, that the sam'e should not be sold for a less price than 
two dollars per acre. Land districts were established, and sales of the 
public and seminary lands were made at Independence, Palmyra and 
Benton, during the fall of 1831. By an act passed January 17th, 1831, 
80 acres of the seminary lands adjoining Independence, Jackson County, 
were laid off in lots and annexed to said town. And in December, 1832, 
said lots were offered for sale, to the highest bidder ; on the condition, 
however, that no lot of one acre or less should be sold for less than 
$10.00, nor any lot of more than one acre, for less than $5.00, per acre. 
Sales of the seminary lands in the various districts were also made in 
1833, and after May 1st, 1835, by private entry, in the same manner, at 
the same price, and under the same regulations as the United States 
lands were then disposed of, at private sales. The commissioners 
appointed to superintend the sales of the seminary lands were obligated 
by law to pay into the State Treasury all moneys received by them from 
said sales, the Treasurer to keep the same as a distinct fund for the 
purposes for which said lands were accepted by the State. 

The moneys arising from the sales of seminary lands, and on deposit 
in the State Treasury, having reached, independent of expenses, the 
sum of about $70,000, the Legislature of 1838-9 entered upon the 
responsible duty of providing by law for the location of a State 
University, or seminary of learning, and for its institution, government 
and support. Accordingly, by an act approved February 8th, 1839,^ 
five commissioners were appointed to select a site for the State 

^ Introduced by Hon. James S. Eollins, a member of the House from Boone County. 



STATE UNTVEKSITY. 253 

University, tlie said commissioners being Peter H. Burnett of Clay, 
Cliancey Durkee of Lewis, Archibald Gamble of St. Louis, John G. 
Bryan of Washington, and John S. Phelps of Greene. The act 
provided the site should contain at least fifty acres of land, in a compact 
form, within two miles of the county seat of the county of Cole, 
Cooper, Howard, Boone, Callaway or Saline. 

It was made the duty of the commissioners to meet in the city of 
Jefferson on the first Monday of June, 1839, and thereafter at such times 
as they might appoint at the county seat of each county mentioned, to 
receive conveyances of land and subscriptions of money, to be void if 
the University was not located at the county seat of the county in which 
they were made. 

After visiting all the county seats and receiving bids as aforesaid, the 
commissioners were to return to the seat of government and open the 
bids ; " and the place presenting most advantages to be derived to said 
University, keeping in view the amount subscribed and locality and 
general advantages, shall be entitled to its location." 

In three of the six counties mentioned, to-wit, Boone, Callaway and 
Howard, the contest for the location of the University was very spirited 
and exciting. With a view of arousing the people to the importance of 
the subject, frequent public meetings were held in each township, and 
addresses made by the most influential and popular orators. Subscrip- 
tions of land and money were freely and generally made, and on the 
24th of June, 1839, the commissioners met at Jefferson City, opened all 
the bids, and located the University of Missouri at Columbia, in the 
county of Boone, the bid of said county amounting to $117,921, or 
$18,767 larger than any other county. The following is a copy of the 
award : 

" The commissioners appointed by laAv to select a site for the State University have 
agreed unanimously in the choice of Boone County for its location. Given under our 
' hands at the City of Jefferson this 24th day of June, in the year 1839. 

John Gano Bryan, Ch. Durkee, 

Archibald Gamble, Peter H. Burnett, 

John S. Phelps. 

The corner stone of the University edifice at Columbia was laid on the 
4th of July, 1840, with imposing ceremonies, and an address by Hon. 
James L. Minor, then and now (1877) an honored citizen of Jefferson 
City. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

From ISiO to 1850,— The Elections from 1840 to 1850.— Characteristics and Enthusiasm 
OP THE Campaign of 1840.— Rocheport Convention.— Result of the Election.— 
Suicide of Governor Reynolds.— The Great Freshet of 1844.— Constitutional 
Convention of 1845.— The Mexican War.— " The St. Louis Legion." Colonel A. R. 
Easton.— Public Meeting.— " Army of the West," General S, W, Kearney,— First 
Regiment Missouri Volunteers Under Colonel A, W, Doniphan,— Battles op 
Brazito and Sacramento,— Triumphant Entrance Into CHiHrjAHUA,— Colonel 
Sterling Price's Regiment,— His March to Santa Fe,— Battles of Canada, 
ElEmbudo and Taos.— Colonel John Ralls' Regiment. — Battle of Santa Cruz De 
RoSALES, — Great St. Louis Fire of May 1849. — Twenty-three Steamers Burned and 
$3,000,000 OF Property Destroyed.—" The Jackson Resolutions " Pass the Legis- 
lature.— Vote ON them in Each House.— Colonel Benton's Appeal from and 
Canvass Against Them.— Excitement his Course Produced. 

For tlie sake of conciseness and convenience, we give in tabular form 
below a record of the various elections held in the State from 1840 to 
1850: 

Election of 1840 — For Governor — 

Thomas Reynolds, Democrat 29,623 

John B. Clark, Wliig 22,212 

Eeynolds' Majority over Clark 7,413 

M. M. Marmadiike elected Lieutenant-Governor. 

Whole number of votes cast 51,837 

Total population of the State in 1840 381,102 

Total population of St. Louis in 1840 16,469 

Election for President, 1840 — 

Martin Van Buren, Democrat 29,760 

Wm. H Harrison, Whig 22,972 

Van Buren's Majority 6,788 

Election of 1844 — For Governor — 

John C. Edwards, Democrat .• 36,978 

. Charles H. Allen, Independant 31,357 

Edwards' Majority over Allen 5,621 

James Young elected Lieutenant-Governor. 

Whole number of votes cast 78,335 

Election for President, 1844 — 

James K. Polk, Democrat 41,369 

Henry Clay, Whig 31,251 

Polk's Majority over Clay 10,118 




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PKESIDEISTTIAL CAMPAIGjST OF 1840. 255 

Election of 1848 — For Governor — 

Austin A. King, Democrat 48,921 

James S. Eollins, Whig 33,968 

King's Majority over Eollins 14,953 

Thomas L. Price, elected Lieutenant-Governor. 

Whole number of votes cast 82,889 

Election for Fresident, 1848 — 

Lewis Cass, Democrat 40,077 

Zachary Taylor, Whig 32,671 

Cass's Majority over Taylor 7.406 

The Presidential canvass of 1840, Martin Yan Buren of New York 
being the Democratic, and William Henry Harrison of Ohio the Whig 
€andidate, excited unexampled interest and enthusiasm in every State in 
the Union. In the closely contested States the people seemed to abandon 
all business, and devote their entire time and energies to the pending 
election. Mass conventions of unprecedented numbers were held, in 
some instances remaining in session for several days, which were addressed 
by distinguished speakers whose object seemed to be to influence the 
popular enthusiasm and carry the election by music, banners, proces- 
sions and stump oratory. Some of the Whig out-door meetings in the 
Ohio Valley numbered a hundred thousand and were addressed by 
General Harrison in person. At these monster assemblages miniature 
log cabins and veritable coons and hard cider were displayed, and cam- 
paign songs sung, exciting the wildest enthusiasm ; so that the contest 
took the name of the " Log Cabin, Coon Skin and Hard Cider Campaign." 

To counteract the influence of these meetings and the party para- 
phernalia employed to captivate the masses, the friends of Mr. Van Buren 
held their conventions also, and, invoking the name and influence of 
^'Old Hickory," who ardently supported him for the presidency, adopted 
hickory boughs and the chicken-cock as their party emblems, the former 
gracefully waving and the latter defiantly crowing everywhere. 

The Whigs and Democrats of Missouri caught the prevailing en- 
thusiasm and conducted the canvass with unusual spirit. Mass con- 
ventions, accompanied by the splendid pageantry of processions, brilliant 
banners and martial music, to say nothing of political discussions 
unexcelled in fervid eloquence, abounded everywhere. The State was 
wild with excitement, and many and interesting and graphic are the 
scenes which our older citizens are able to recall of the campaign of 
1840. 



256 HISTOKT OF MISSOUKI. 

The most memorable, because the largest and most ekborately 
prepared convention of the contest in Missouri, was the Whig conven- 
tion, held at Rocheport, in Boone County, in June of that year. Its 
])lace of meeting was on the hill east of the town, in a dense grove oi" 
sugar trees, Avhere three speakers' stands were erected, and where for 
three days and nights the friends of "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" held 
high carnival, and bid defiance to the absent hosts of VanBuren and 
Johnson. During its session, the assembled thousands w^ere addressed 
by Chilton Allen of Kentucky, Fletcher Webster ( a son of Daniel 
Webster), General A. W. Doniphan, James H. Birch, Abiel Leonard, 
James S. Rollins, Colonel John O'Fallon, James Winston, George C. 
Bingham and others. 

Nevertheless, the Democrats — as usual — carried the State, electing 
Thomas Reynolds Governor over John B. Clark, and the Van Buren 
over the Harrison Electors, by about 7,500 majority. John Miller and 
John C. Edwards were also elected to Cono-ress over E. M. Samuel and 
George C. Sibley. 

The xith General Assembly met November 16th, 1840, and organized 
by electing Sterling Price Speaker of the House, by a majority of 14. 

The xiith General Assembly met in November, 1842, M. M. Marm- 
aduke, Lieutenant-Governor, being President of the Senate, and Hampton 
L. Boone, Secretary. Sterling Price was re-elected Speaker. Lewis 
F. Linn was re-elected to the United States Senate, but did not Ions; 
survive the election, for on October 3d, 1843, he died suddenly at 
his residence in Ste. Genevieve, aged 48 years. Governor Reynolds 
appointed David R. Atchison to fill his place. 

In February, 1844, the State was startled by the intelligence that on 
Friday morning the 9th of that month, in his office in the Executive 
Mansion in Jefferson City, Governor Reynolds committed suicide by 
shooting himself through the head with a rifle. After breakfasting with 
his family as usual, except that for the first time in his life he asked a 
blessing at table, he went into his office in the northern wing of the 
Mansion, locked the door and closed the shutter, where he was discovered 
a few minutes afterwards, by one of the servants, lying on the floor dead 
and weltering in his own blood. A rifle, with a string tied to the trigger, 
was lying beside him, with the end of the string clenched in his right 
hand. The ball entered his forehead between the eyes, and he died almost 
instantly. For several months he had been in very poor health, but was 
much better within the previous week, yet his illness and domestic 
troubles had affected his mind to a considerable extent and seated a 



THE GEE AT FEESHET. 257 

deep melancholy upon him. The following note, addressed to Colonel 
W. G. Minor, in the Governor's own handwriting, was found on his table 
sealed with a wafer : 

, " In every situation in which I have been placed, I have labored to discharge my duty 
faithfully to the public, But this has not protected me for the last twelve mouths from 
the slanders and abuse of my enemies, which has rendered my life a burden to me. I 
pray God to forgive them and teach them more charity. 

" My will is in the hands of Jas. L. Minor, Esq. Farewell. 

" February 9, 1844. Th. Eeynolds." 

Governor Reynolds was a native of Kentucky, and previous to his 
removal to Fayette, Howard County, in 1828, resided in Illinois, where 
he was elevated to the Supreme bench. In Missouri he was successively 
a member of the Legislature, Speaker of the House, Circuit Judge and 
Governor, which offices he filled with marked ability, for he was a man 
of far more than ordinary talents. 

A most remarkable and disastrous rise in the Missouri, Mississippi 
and Illinois Rivers occurred in 1844. About the 8th or 10th of June, 
the river commenced to rise rapidly at St. Louis, while intelligence was 
received of the rising of the Illinois and Missouri rivers. The levee was 
soon covered, and by the 16th the curbstones of Front street were under 
water, and the danger to property and business became quite alarmino-. 
At first it was regarded as merely the usual " Jnne rise," but the continued 
expansion of the flood soon convinced the inhabitants of its unprecedented 
and alarming character. Illinoistown and Brooklyn (now known as 
East St. Louis) were nearly submerged, the occupants of the houses 
being driven to the upper stories. The American Bottom was a turbid 
sea. The town of Naples, Illinois, was inundated, boats plying in the 
streets ; and from all places on the rivers came intelligence of heavy 
losses of stock and property, and the surface of the Mississippi was 
nearly covered with immense masses of drift, trees and other substances 
torn from the shores. 

All the lowlands along the Missouri River were overflowed and many 
farms were ruined. Houses, barns and fences were swept away, and in 
many instances human lives were lost. In others, human beings clung 
to floating dwellings or immense piles of drift-wood, and some of them 
were rescued by passing boats or by aid improvised specially to save 
them. The front streets of many of the towns were completely 
submerged. As reports reached St. Louis that the inhabitants of the 
17 



258 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

towns and villages, and other places on the rivers, were in danger, active 
measures were taken for tlieir relief. Captain Saltmarsh, of the steamer 
Monona, particularly distinguished himself by offering the use of his 
boat gratis. Between four and five hundred persons in St. Louis and 
vicinity were driven from their homes, and great distress prevailed. To 
procure moans to alleviate this, a meeting of citizens was held in front 
of the Court-House, and several committees appointed to obtain sub- 
scriptions, and quite a large amount was collected. The river reached 
its o;reatest hei«ht in St. Louis on the 24th of June, when it was seven 
feet seven inches above the city directrix. A few days before this, the 
glad intelligence was received that the Upper Missouri and Illinois were 
falling, but the efii'ect was not immediately evident in St. Louis, and the 
water did not reach the city directrix in its abatement until the 14th of 
July. The rise of 1844 obtained a greater elevation than any previous 
similar event. The great flood of 1785, known as L'annee des Grandes 
Eaux, was surpassed, as were also the floods of 1811 and 1826. 

At the August election of 1845, sixty-six members were, chosen by 
the people to a convention to remodel the Constitution. Representation 
under the old Constitution, which allowed each county at least one 
representative, and limited the whole number to one hundred members 
in the lower branch of the General Assembly, had become very unequal. 
Chiefly to remedy this irregularity, but at the same time for other 
purposes, the convention was called. 

It convened at Jefferson City, on November 17th, 1845, and organized 
by the election of Robert W. Wells as President; Claiborne F. Jackson, 
Vice-President ; and R. Walker, Secretary. The following is a list of 
members of the Covention : 

1st District. — ^EdwinD. Bevitt and John D. Coalter. 

2d, — Ezra Hunt and James O, Broadhead. 

3d. — Joshua Gentry and Thomas L. Anderson. 

4th. — James S. Green and James L. Jones. 

5th. — John C. Griffin and Moses H, Simonds. 

6th. — Joseph B. Nickel and James M. Fulkerson. 

7th. — Jonathan M. Bassett and Kobert M. Stewart. 

8th. — John E. Pitt, Daniel Branstetter, Thompson Ward, and Roland Brown. 

9th, — ^William Y. Slack and Hiram Wilcoxson. 

10th. — Claiborne F. Jackson and Lisbon Applegate. 

11th, — Hancock Jackson and Elias Kincheloe. 

12th. — ^David M. Hickman and John F. Stone. 

13th. — ^Benjamin Young and A. 0. Forshey. 

14th.— Eobert W. Wells and James W. Morrow. 



THE MEXICAN WAH. 259 

15tli. — Charles Jones and Joseph B. "Wells. 

16th. — James Farquhar, Philip Pipkin, William B. Pannell, and "William M. Davis. 

17th. — Thomas M. Horine and Corbin Alexander. 

18th. — David Porter and Franklin Cannon. 

19th. — Abraham Hunter and Kobert Gibbony. 

20th.— John Bnford and Theodore F. Tong, 

21st, — Thomas B. ISTeaves and Burton A, James. 

22d. — ^William C. Jones and Benjamin F. Massey. 

23d. — Eobert E. Acock and Samuel E. Bunch. 

24th. — John McHenry and Aaron Finch. 

25th. — ^Duke W, Simpson, JSTathaniel C. Mitchell, Thompson M. Ewing, and Samuel 

H. "Woodson. 
26th. — M. M. Marmaduke and William Shields. 
27th. — F. W. G. Thomas and Charles M. Brooking. 
28th. — ^William M. Campbell, Frederic Hyatt, Trusten Polk, Miron Leslie, Joseph 

Foster and Uriel Wright. 

The convention, as will be readily seen by the above, "was composed 
of some of the most able and distinguished men of the State. 

It continued in session from November 17th, 1845, to January 14th, 
1846, during which time the Avhole organic law was reviewed and in 
many material respects remodeled. The convention adopted — ayes 49, 
nays 13 — a new constitntion, and submitted it to the people for their 
ratification or rejection. Duiing the canvass it was very generally dis- 
cussed by the newspapers and candidates ; and finally, at the August 
election, rejected by about 9,000 majority, the whole number of votes 
cast being about 60,000. 

The annexation of Texas was the alleged cause of the declaration of 
war by Mexico against the United States in April 1846 ; but the more 
immediate cause of it was the occupation by the American army of the 
disputed territory lying between the rivers Nueces and Rio Grande. 

The declaration of war by Mexico Avas soon followed by a counter- 
declaration by the American Congress, that " a state of war exists between 
Mexico and the United States." Soon after this counter-declaration, the 
Mexicans crossed the Rio Grande in strong force, headed by their famous 
Generals Arista and Ampudia, and on the 8th and 9th of May, at Palo Alto 
and Resaca de la Palma, were met and repulsed with great slaughter by 
General Taylor, of the " Army of Occupation." This fact created great 
excitement in St. Louis and the surrounding country. Volunteers 
flocked to the standard of the United States, and the " St. Louis Legion," 
a military organization under command of Colonel A. R. Easton, quickly 
prepared for the field of action. In the meantime supplies were being 
raised for them by liberal subscriptions all over the city. At a public 



260 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

meeting, Cfjlonel J. B. Brant subscribed $1,000, and James H. Lucas, 
Bryan Mullanphy, Benjamin Stickney and many others made generous 
additions to the amount ah-eady donated. In a few days the "Legion" 
departed for the seat of war, under the command of Colonel Easton. 
Prior, however, to the final farewells, they received a grand public 
ovation, which clearly demonstrated the deep interest of all the citizens 
in their welfare. 

About the middle of May, 1846, Governor Edwards of Missouri called 
for volunteers to join the " Army of the West," — an expedition to Santa 
Fe^ — under command of General Stephen W. Kearney. Corps of 
mounted volunteers were speedily organized, and early in June began to 
arrive at Fort Leavenworth, the appointed rendezvous. By the 18th of 
the mouth, the full tiomplement of companies to compose the first reg- 
iment having arrived from the counties of Jackson, Lafayette, Clay, 
Saline, Franklin, Cole, Howard and Callaway, an election was held, which, 
resulted in the choice of Alexander W. Doniphan, Colonel; C. F. Ruff, 
Lieutenant-Colonel; and William Gilpin, Major. 

The battalion of light artillery from St. Louis was commanded by 
Captains R. A. Weightman and A. W. Fischer, with Major M. L. Clark 
as its field officer ; battalions of infantry from Platte and Cole Counties 
commanded by Captains Murphy and W. Z. Augney, respectively ; 
"Laclede Rangers," from St. Louis, Captain Thomas B. Hudson — in all, 
1,658 men, 16 pieces of ordnance (12 six-pounders and 4 twelve-pound 
howitzers) , under the command of General Kearney. We cannot follow 
this command through the great solitudes between Fort Leavenworth and 
Santa Fe, which place it reached on August 18th ; nor in its heroic and 
successful descent upon Chihuahua under the command of Colonel Doni- 
phan, — General Kearney having left for the Pacific coast. Suffice to say 
that the battles of Brazito and Sacramento will ever be remembered in 
history for the valor displayed by the " Army of the West " from Mis- 
souri. 

The battle of Brazito, or "Little Arm" of the Rio Del Norte, 
December 25th, 1846, on a level prairie bordering on that stream, was 
very disastrous to the Mexicans. Colonel Doniphan commanded the 
Missouri troops in person, numbering only about 800 men. The 
Mexicans, under General Ponce de.Leon, mustered, cavalry and artillery, 
1,100 stronof. The Mexicans were defeated with a loss of 61 killed — • 
among whom was their General — five prisoners, and 150 wounded. The 
Americans had eight wounded, none killed. Two days after the battle 
of Brazito, that is, on Sunday, December 27th, 1846, the United States 



TEIUMPHAKT ENTKANCE INTO CHIHUAHUA. 261 

forces under command of Colonel Doniphan took possession of the city 
of El Paso, in the department of Chihuahua, 

On the 28th of February, 1847, Colonel Doniphan, with 924 men 
and ten ]3ieces of artillery, fought and vanquished in the pass of the 
Sacramento, 4,000 Mexicans under Major- General Jose A. Heredia, 
aided by General Garcia Conde, former Minister of War in Mexico. 
The battle lasted more than three hours, resulting in a Mexican loss of 
304 men killed on the field, 40 prisoners, (among whom was Brigadier- 
General Cuilta,) and about 500 wounded. Also, 10 pieces of artillery, 
$6,000 in specie, 50,000 head of sheep, 1,500 head of cattle, 100 mules, 
20 wagons, etc. The American loss was one killed — Major Samuel C. 
Owens of Independence — and 11 wounded; among the latter, severely, 
J. S. Fleming, of Columbia. 

Colonel Doniphan did not, like Hannibal after the battle of Cannae, loiter 
on the plains of Italy, when he might have entered Rome in triumph, 
but immediately followed up his success. Therefore, early on the 
next morning, (March 1st, 1847,) he dispatched Lieutenant -Colonel 
D. D. Mitchell with 150 men, under Captains Reid and Weightman, and 
a section of artillery, to take formal possession of the city of Chihuahua, 
the capital, and occupy it in the name of the Government. On the 
approach of this force the Mexicans fled from the city, leaving it 
undefended, and Colonel Mitchell entered it without the slightest 
resistance. On the morning of the next day. Colonel Doniphan, with 
all his military trains, the merchant caravan, and colors gaily glittering 
in the breeze, triumphantly entered the city to the tune of "Yankee 
Doodle" and "Hail Columbia," and fired in the public square a national 
salute of 28 guns.^ 

Early in the summer of 1846, Hon. Sterling Price, a member of Con- 
gress from Missouri, resigned, and was designated by President Polk to 
command another regiment of Volunteers from Missouri, to reinforce the 
"Army of the West." This force consisted of a full mounted regiment, 
one mounted extra battalion, and one extra battalion of Mormon infantry. 
The complement of men was soon raised, consisting of companies from 

the counties of Boone, ^ Benton, Carroll, Chariton, Linn, Livingston, 

t 

1 " Doniphan's Expedition," by John T. Hughes, p. 316. 

2 The number of troops ordered from Boone County, was seventy-four. Eighty-three, 
however, were raised. A few of the volunteers from Boone had previously gone with 
Doniphan's expedition, under Captain Kogers, fi'om Callaway. The following are the 
names of the officers of the Boone company: Captain, Samuel H. McMillin; First Lieu- 
tenantjWilliam B. Eoyall ; Second Lieutenant, Eobert B. Todd ; Third Lieutenant, George 



262 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

Monroe, Randolph, Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis; and about the first 
of August rendezvonsed at Fort Leavenworth. Notwithstandmg the 
President had named Sterling Price as a suitable commander of this (the 
2d) regiment, many of the volunteers thought, if he commanded at all, 
it ought to be by virtue of their free suffrages, choosing him as Colonel. 
An election was accordingly held. Sterling Price was elected Colonel, 
and D. D. Mitchell, Lieutenant-Colonel. 

With this force. Colonel Price took up the line of march for Santa Fe, 
over the same route pursued by Kearney and Douiphan, and on Septem- 
ber 28th, three days after General Kearney's departure for California, 
arrived in very feeble health. 

On January 24, 1847, Colonel Price encountered the enemy at Canada, 
numbering about 2,000 men, under Generals Tofaya, Chavez and 
Montaya, and repulsed them with a slight loss on both sides. The 
Mexicans retreated toward Taos, their stronghold. He again encountered 
them at El Embudo on the 29th, totally routing them. On February 
3d, he found the Mexicans and Indians strongly fortified at Taos, and 
on the following day engaged them with shot and shell, the battle 
raging from earl}'' morning until night, when the Mexicans struck their 
colors. The total loss of the enemy in the three engagements is 
estimated at 282 killed. Price's loss, 15 killed and 47 wounded — 
among the former Captain Burg win, of the dragoons, a gallant ofScer, 
whose remains were afterwards exhumed and interred at Fort Leaven- 
worth, September 22d, 1847. 

In August, 1847, Governor Edwards made another requisition for one 
thousand men, to consist of infantry, to be ready to inarch close in the 
rear of Colonel Price's command. It was raised in an incredibly short 
time, and chose Major John Dougherty, of Clay, for Colonel ; but before 
the receipt of marching orders, the President countermanded the order 
under which the force was mustered. 



E. Lackland, The company left Columbia on July 20th, 1846. On the day of their 
departure they were presented with an elegant flag by the ladies of Boone County, the 
presentation address being made by Colonel Samuel A.Young, and responded to by 
Lieutenant Kobert B. Todd, in the presence of a large concourse of citizens, 

Eeturning from the war, Captain McMillin's company arrived in Columbia on Septem- 
ber 22d, 1847, having been absent about fourteen months. They were appropriately and 
enthusiastically received. On October 9th, 1847, a public dinner was given them, when 
a procession was formed and a display of military made, and an address of welcome 
delivered by Dr. John J. Atkinson, which was replied to by Mr. James P. Fleming, 
one of the volunteers. 

W. B. Eoyall, Second Lieutenant, has been in the U. S. Ai-my ever since, and is now 
Lieutenant- Colonel of the 3d Cavalry, U. S. A. 



BATTLE OF SANTA CEUZ DE EOSALES. 263 

" Campbell's Gazetteer of Missouri," in its article on Ralls County, 
(p. 464) says that a company of mounted volunteers was raised in Ralls, 
by authority of Governor Edwards, to serve during the Mexican War. 
It was commanded by Captain Wm. T. Lafland, mustered into the United 
States service at Independence, Missouri, about May, 1847, and served 
during the entire war. They operated as tar into the Mexican States as 
El Paso, Chihuahua, and Santa Cruz De Rosales, at which latter place, 
March 16th, 1848, this and six other companies of the 3rd regiment of 
Missouri Mounted Volunteers, Colonel John Ralls ^ commanding, and 
two companies ot United States Dragoons under the command of Major 
Beal, also the Santa Fe Battalion under the command of Major Walker, 
constituting a force of about six hundred men, fought a battle with the 
Mexicans under General Freas, who were in the town and sheltered by 
breastworks. The engagement lasted from nine o'clock a. m. until about 
sundown, when the place was charged, and the Mexicans defeated with a 
loss of three hundred and thirty killed, many wounded, and a large 
quantity of arms and ammunition, wagons, teams, etc. The United 
States troops and volunteers then occupied the town, the Mexicans having 
surrendered a large number of prisoners, who were released the next 
day on parole. 

In a few days after this battle, all the American forces returned to 
Chihuahua, where they remained until the close of the war, except seven 
companies of the 3d Regiment, who were stationed at Santa Cruz de 
Rosales, and occupied that post until the end of the war. In July, 1848, 
these companies were ordered to Independence, Missouri, and mustered 
out in October, 1848. The other three companies of that regiment were 
stationed at Taos, in New Mexico, during their term, and never joined 
their regiment until they were mustered out with it at Independence, 
Missouri. These three companies had been under the command of Major 
Reynolds, who died on his return, in October, 1848, at Fort Mann, below 
the crossing of the Arkansas River. 

May, 1849, will long be remembered as the month of the great fire 
in the city of St. Louis. On the evening of the 19th of that month, a 
fire broke out on the steamer "White Cloud," lying on the wharf 
between Vine and Cherry streets, and set at defiance every effort to 
arrest its progress. The flames very soon communicated to four other 



1 Son of Daniel Kails, by whose vote on his death-bed, in the Legislature of 1820, 
Colonel Benton was first elected to the United States Senate. See page 168. 



264 HISTORY OF MISSOUEI. 

boats lying contiguous. By the action of the tire, the "White Cloud" 
became loosened from her fastenings, and drifted out into the stream 
and among the other steamers in port. In a short time the spectacle 
presented itself of twenty-three boats on fire. The immense conflagra- 
tion was a mile in length. The levee being covered with combustible 
materials — bales, barrels, boxes, etc., — the fire reached the city and 
whole blocks were swept away. The area of the burnt district will be 
understood by the statement that Front street, from Locust to Market, 
was entirely destroyed, with the exception of two or three houses on 
Commercial street. Between Commercial and the levee, there was not 
one left. In this immense confiagration there were twenty-three steam- 
boats, three barges and one canal boat destroyed, whose total value 
with their cargoes was estimated- at $439,000. The whole value of 
property destroyed amounted to over $3,000,000. 

The xvith General Assembly, which convened at the capitol Decem- 
ber 25, 1848, — Thomas L. Price, President of the Senate, Alexander M. 
Robinson, Speaker of the House — made a record which will not soon be 
forgotten. Not that there was anything unusual in the internal improve- 
ment, bank, educational, revenue or taxing policy it adopted, but that it 
was distinguished, and will only be remembered, for breaking up the 
great deep of public feeling in the State by the passage of the "Jackson 
Resolutions," a proceeding which professed to have been inspired by the 
introduction of the famous Wilmot-Anti-Slavery Proviso into the pre- 
ceding Congress. 

As the passage of these Resolutions occasioned a serious breach in the 
dominant political party in the State, and gave rise to the most exciting 
and acrimonious public discussions up to that time known in its history, 
it is proper the record should be preserved in this enduring form. 

"The Wilmot Proviso," so called because introduced into the previous 
Congress by Hon. David Wilmot, a member of the House from Pennsyl- 
vania, interdicted the introduction of slavery into the recently-acquired 
territories. The Proviso revived with much violence, in Congress and 
out of Congress, the shivery agitation. The people of the Southern 
States were much alarmed for the security of their "peculiar institution," 
and felt the keenest apprehensions that by the future admission of new 
States, devoted forever to free soil, they would lose their dominance in 
the National Legislature, and thus become an easy prey to the designs 
of the Abolitionists. It was quite natural that a large poi"tion of the 
people of Missouri, without regard to political party distinctions, should 



"THE JACKSON KESOLUTIONS." 265 

share these convictions with varying degrees of intensity. Some, it is 
true, were so wedded to the institution of slavery that rather than 
abandon it in Missouri, even through the process of gradual emancipation, 
or submit to an act of Congress prohibiting it in the territories, they 
seemed willing to abandon, and even to adopt measures to disrupt, the 
National Union itself. 

The agitation of the vexed question in the xvith General Assembly 
was inaugurated by the introduction, January 1, 1849, by Carty Wells, 
a Democratic Senator from Marion, of a series of resolutions, seven in 
number, on the subject of the power of Congress over slavery in the 
territories, the nature and object of the Federal Government, and the 
Wilmot Proviso ; which was referred to the Senate Committee on Federal 
Relations. 

On January 15th, Claiborne F. Jackson, Senator from Howard, 
reported from this committee to the Senate the following, being a modi- 
fication of the series introduced by Mr. Wells, namely : 

RESOLUTIONS ON THE STJBJECT OF SLAVERY. 

'•'•Besolved, hy the General Assembly of the State of Missouri : That the Federal Constitution 
was the result of a compromise between the conflicting interests of the States which 
formed it, and in no part of that instrument is to he found any delegation of power to 
Congress to legislate on the subject of Slaveiy, excepting some special provisions, having 
in view the prospective abolition of the African slave trade, made for the securing the . 
recovery of fugitive slaves; any attempt, therefore, on the part of Congress to legislate 
on the subject, so as to affect the institution of slavery in the States, in the District of 
Columbia, or in the Territories, is, to say the least, a violation of the principles upon 
which that instrument was founded. 

2. That the Territories, acquired by the blood and treasure of tlie whole nation, 
ought to be governed for the commoa benefit of the people of all the States, and any 
organization of the Territorial governments, excluding the citizens of any part of the 
Union from removing to such Territories with their property, would be an exercise of 
power, by Congress, inconsistent with the spirit upon which our federal compact was 
based, insulting to the sovereignty and dignity of the States thus affected, calculated to 
alienate one portion of the Union from another, and tending ultimately to disunion. 

3. That this General Assembly regard the condu^it of the Northern States on the 
subject of Slavery as releasing the slave-holding States from all further adherence to 
the basis of compromise fixed on by the act of Congress of March 6th, 1820 ; even if such 
act ever did impose any obligation upon the slave-holding States, and authorizes them 
to insist upon their rights under the Constitution; but for the sake of harmony and for 
the preservation of our Federal Union, they will still sanction the application of the 
principles of the Missouri Compromise to the recent territorial acquisitions, if by such 
concession future aggressions upon the equal rights of the States may be arrested and 
the spirit of anti-slavery fanaticism be extinguished. 

4. The right to prohibit slavery in any Territory, belongs exclusively to the people 
thereof, and can only be exercised by them in forming their Constitution for a State 
Government, or in their sovereign capacity as an independent State. 



266 HISTOEY OF MISSOUKI. 

5. That in the event of the passage of any act of Congress conflicting with the prin- 
ciples herein expressed, Missouri will be found in hearty co-operation with the slave- 
holding States, in such measures as may be deemed necessary for our mutual protection 
against the encroachments of JSTorthern fanaticism. 

6. That our Senators in Congress be instructed and our Eepresentatives be requested 
to act in conformity to the foregoing resolutions." 

On the 26th of January, the resolutions were taken up in the Senate, 
severally read, and acted upon separately. Resolution No. 1 was passed : • 
yeas 24, nays 6 ; the nays being, John H. Bean of Macon, William 
M. Campbell of St. Charles, Miron Leslie and Alton Long of 
St. Louis, Preston B. Eeed of Callaway, and James S. Rollins of 
Boone. No. 2 was passed — yeas 25, nays 5, Mr. Bean changing his vote 
to aye. No. 3 was passed — yeas 23, nays 7, Mr. James M. Gate wood 
of Henry, voting with nays as on No. 1. No. 4 was passed — yeas 23, 
nays 6 ; the nays being the same as on No. 1. Nos. 5 and 6 : the vote 
same as on No. 4, as follows :^ 

Ayes — ^Messrs. Abernathy, Bui'ns, Chiles, Edwards, Ellison, Flournoy, Hancock, 
Hudspeth, Jackson, Jones of Cooper, Jones of Franklin, Jones of Newton, Nickel, 
Norris, Owens, Polk, Price, Priest, Stewart, Wells, "Williams, Woolfolk and Wyatt — 23. 

Noes — Messrs. Bean, Campbell, Leslie, Long, Reed and Eollins — 6. 

Absent — ^Messrs, Gatewood and White — 2. 

Absent on Leave — Messrs. Bm'tis and Lowe — 2. 

The resolutions having passed the Senate Avere reported to the House 
for its concurrence, and referred to the Committee on Federal Relations. 
On the 26th of February, George C. Bingham,^ from a majority of said 
committee, namely : George C. Bingham of Saline, Isaac N. Jones of 
Andrew, Henry M. Woodyard of Lewis, and H. B. Duncan of Mercer, 
reported a substitute for the Senate resolutions, in which there was a 
reiteration of the patriotic sentiments of Washington as to the sacredness 
of the duty to cherish an immovable attachment to the National Union ; 
to watch for its preservation with jealous anxiet}'', to discountenance even 
the suggestion that it could in any event be abandoned, and indignantly 
to frown upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion 
of the country from the rest. The resolutions conceded the Constitu- 
tional authority of Congress to inhibit slavery in the Territories, but 
believed that in excercising such power they should have a due regard to 
the rights and interests of every section of the Union, and should be 

1 (See Senate Journal, 1848-9, pp. 175, 176.) 

^ Well known as the distinguished Missouri artist, and Adjutant- General during GovOT- 
nor Hardin's administration. 



"THE JACKSO]!^ BESOLUTIONS." 267 

governed by the same wise and patriotic spirit of compromise which 
actuated the framers of the Constitution. They denied the power of 
Congress to enact laws afi'ecting the institution of slavery as it exists in 
any of the States of the Union, and denounced all attempts by persons, 
factions or parties, to interfere with the internal policy or institutions of 
any of the States of which they are not citizens, as unwarrantable 
intermeddling with matters over which they had no legitimate control. 

Benjamin F. Eobinson of Polk, from a minority of the same com- 
mittee, made a report recommending the adoption of the Senate 
( Jackson ) resolutions. 

On March 5th, the House proceeded to consider the reports from the 
committee, whereupon Mr. Jones of Andrew offered, as a substitute 
for the Senate resolutions, those reported by Mr. Bingham from a 
majority of the committee. Eejected — ayes, 62, nays, 20; the nays 
being Messrs. W. H. Bailey of Callaway, D. W. Baker of Montgomery, 
George C. Bingham of Saline, Thomas E. Birch of Clinton, Joseph 
Bogy of St. Francois, J. P. Campbell of Lafayette, M. S. Cerre of 
St. Louis, H. B. Duncan of Mercer, John W. Fitzhugh of Henry, 
I. IST. Jones of Andrew, Robert H. Jordan of Cedar, William Newland 
of Ralls, David E. Ferryman of Washington, John C. Price of Dade, 
Walter Robinson of Monroe, S. T. Rhodes of Marion, Thomas G. 
Sweatnam of Clay, Wm. F. Switzler of Boone, Benjamin Thompkins of 
Cooper, H. M. Woodyard of Lewis — 20, all Whigs except Mr. Jones. 
Various other substitutes were offered and rejected. 

On the next day ( March 6th ) a vote was taken on the ad()i3tion of the 
Senate resolutions, each separately. No. 1 was adopted — ayes 59, 
nays 25. No. 2 — 63 to 21. No. 3 — 57 to 27. No. 4 — 62 to 20. 
No. 5 — 53 to 29. No. 6 — 52 to 27. Messrs. Bailey, Baker, Birch, 
Bogy, Cerre, Duncan, C. H. Gregory of Osage, I. N. Jones of Andrew, 
R. W. McNeil of Bates, Newland, P. T. Oliver of Randolph, Ferryman, 
Rhodes, Sweatnam, Switzler, Thompkins and Woodyard voted against 
all the resolutions from first to last. Messrs. Gregory and Jones, 
Democrats ; the balance Whigs. Mr. Bingham voted against the 1st, 2d, 
3d and 4th resolutions, and was absent Avhen the vote was taken on the 
5th and 6th. Messrs. Orson Bartlett of Stoddard and J. C. Price of 
Dade, voted for the 2d and against the balance. Messrs. Campbell and 
Fitzhugh voted for the 4th and against the balance. Mr. Isaac N. Lewis 
of Clark voted against the 1st, for the 2d and 3d, was absent when the 
vote was taken on the 4th, and voted against the 6th. Mr. G. W. Poage 
of Daviess was absent when the vote was taken on the 4th, and voted 



268 HISTOKY OF inSSOUEI. 

against the balance. Messrs. T. F. Risk of St. Louis (Democrat), 
Edwin French of Schuyler and James Walker of New Madrid (Whigs), 
voted for the 1st, 2d and 4th, and against the 3d, 5th and 6th. Mr. 
Robinson of Monroe voted for the 2d. and 4th, and against the rest. 
Messrs. Charles Simms of Van Buren (now Cass) and A. B. Tinsley 
of Audrain (Democrats), voted for the 1st, 2d, 3d and 4th, against 
the 5th, and were absent when the vote was taken on the 6th. Messrs. 
T. Bass of Taney, John Bretz of Buchanan, William T. Cole of 
Morgan, James C. Goode of Adair, M. C. Hawkins of Camden, 
C. B. Hinton of Franklin, Robert H. Jordan of Cedar, T. J. Kirk 
of Livingston, Samuel Melngin of Jasper, Joseph Sale of St. Louis, 
G. A. Shortridge of Macon, R. B. Taylor of Lawrence and W. L. 
Walton of Gasconade (Democrats), and Simeon Connelly of Knox, 
James Livingston of Grundy, and J. B. Greer of Johnson (Whigs), 
were absent on all the ballotings. 

On the final adoption of the resolutions as a whole, the vote stood — 
ayes 53, nays 27, as follows : ^ 

Ates — ^Messrs. Aull, Ballou, Bowles, Brockman, Caruthers, Chilton, Clardy, Cock, 
Compton, Crenshaw, Darnes, Dyer, Edmonston, Enloe, Ewing, Foster, Fristoe, Frost, 
Gibson, Grwinn, Halbert, Harbin, Harris, Henderson of Pike, Henderson of Pulaski, 
Henson, Heyer, Hicks, Higgins, Horner, Howell, Johnson, McAfee, Miller, Morelock, 
Montgomery, Neaves, Eichardson, Eoberts, Eobinson of Polk, Savers, Shelby, Smith of 
DeKalb, Smith of Howard, Smith of Jackson, Thompson, Vanderpool, Walton of St. 
Louis, "Welsh, Wilkerson, Wommack, Woodward, and Mr. Speaker Eobinson of 
Platte— 53. 

Noes — Messrs. Bailey, Baker, Bartlett, Birch, Bogy, Campbell, Cerre, Duncan, 
Fitzhugh, Gregory, Jones, Lewis, ]^ewland, Oliver, Ferryman, Poage, Price, Eisk, 
Eobinson of Monroe, Ehodes, Simms, Sweatnam, Switzler, Tinsley, Tompkins, Walker, 
and Woodyard — 27. 

Absent — ^Messrs. Bingham, French, Jordan, McNeil, Melugin, Sale, and Saunders — 7. 

Sick — ^Messrs. Bass, Cole, Hinton, Kirk, Shortridge, and Taylor — 6. 

All the nays were Whigs, except Messrs. Gregory, Jones, Risk, and 
Tinsley. Among the ayes may be mentioned the following gentlemen, 
who have attained distinction in the State : E. B. Ewing of Ray, John 
B. Henderson of Pike, Alexander M. Robinson of Phitte, Reuben 
Shelby of Perry, and others. Mr. EAving died a few years ago a much- 
esteemed citizen and Judge of the Supreme Court. Mr. Henderson was 
a prominent Union man during our civil war, and United States Senator 
of distinguished abilities. Mr. Robinson was Speaker of the House at 

1 See House Journal, 1848-9, p. 283. 



" THE JACKSON EESOLUTIONS." . 269 

the time the resolutions were adopted, and Mr. Shelby attained that 
distinction afterwards. 

So persistent and uncompromising was the opposition of the minority 
to the resolutions, that they resisted a supplementary one introduced by 
Mr. Ewing of Eay, instructing the Secretary of State to transmit copies 
of them to each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress and to 
the Executive of each of the several States, with the request that the 
same be laid before their respective Legislatures. This resolution was 
adopted — ayes 59, nays 20. 

The discussion in the Legislature and in the public prints which pre- 
ceded the passage of these resolutions, and which immediately followed 
among the people of the State, occasioned very great excitement, 
threatening not only the accustomed repose and fellowship of the people, 
but the disruption of political parties. 

The popular ferment was much increased by the subsequent course of 
Colonel Benton. He opposed the resolutions, appealed from the Legis- 
lature to the people, and on the 26th of May, 1849, in the hall of the 
House at Jefferson City, opened a canvass against them which set the 
State ablaze. He maintained that the spirit of nullification and disunion, 
of insubordination to law, and of treason, lurked in the Jackson Resolu- 
tions, especially in the fifth; that they were a mere copy of the Calhoun 
Resolutions oflfered in the United States Senate February 19th, 1847, 
and denounced by him at the time as fire brands and intended for disunion 
and electioneering purposes. He could see no diflference between them 
but in the time contemplated for dissolving the Union, Mr. Calhoun's 
tending "directly" and the Jackson-Missouri Resolutions "ultimately" 
to that point. He maintained they were in conflict with the Missouri 
Compromise of 1820, and with the resolutions passed by the Missouri 
Legislature February 15th, 1847, wherein it was declared that "the 
peace, permanency and welfare of our National Union depend upon a 
strict adherence to the letter and spirit" of that compromise; also 
instructing our Senators and Representatives in Congress on all questions 
which may come before them in relation to the organization of new 
Territories or States, to vote in accordance with its provisions. He 
denounced them as entertaining the covert purpose of ultimately dis- 
rupting the National Union, and of misleading the people of Missouri 
into co-operation with the slave holding States for that purpose. 

In prosecuting his appeal from the Legislature to the people, 
Colonel Benton made an extensive canvass during the spring and summer 
in 1849, during which he delivered some of the ablest and most exhaust- 



270 HISTORY OF MISSOUHI. 

ive speeches of his long public life ; and if they were at times embittered 
by personal invective and denunciation, it will not now be denied by his 
most inveterate enemies, or the opponents of his views, that they were 
relieved by an ardent patriotism and a far-reaching statesmanship. 

It is not to be inferred, however, that Col. Benton prosecuted this 
canvass, able and distinguished as he was, without strong opposition and 
resistance, for all over the State there were gentlemen of great ability 
and influence who controverted his positions and denounced his course. 
Amono- the most distinguished and talented of his opponents, gentlemen 
who ably addressed the people in various places in condemnation of his 
views of public duty and policy, and of his refusal to obey the instructions 
of the Leo-islature, we may mention James S. Grreen, David R. Atchison, 
James H. Birch, Louis V. Bogy, John B. Clark, Sr., Trusten Polk, 
Claiborne F. Jackson, Robert M. Stewart, Carty Wells, Robert E. 
Acock, William Claude Jones, and others — men whom it must be 
admitted had a strong hold upon the public confidence and wielded im- 
mense power in the State. 

The next, chapter will more definitely disclose the progress of the 
campaign — for it extended into the next decade — and the results of it. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Fkom 1850 TO I860.— Gubernatorial Election Returns for 1852, 1856, and 1857.— The 
xviTH General Assembly.— Election of United States Senator.— Colonel Benton 

BEATEN FOR UNITED STATES SENATOR BY HeNRY S. GeYER, A WHIG.— EXPLOSIONS OP 

THE Steamers '-Glencoe" and " Saluda." — Meeting op the xviith General 
Assembly in Extra Session.- War op the Factions over the Speakership.— 
Free-Soil and Slave-Soil.— The Regular Session.— Another Battle over the 
Speakership.— Sterling Price Inaugurated Governor.— The xviiith General 
Assembly.— Election of United States Senator to succeed David R. Atchison. — 
The Slavery Question and the Kansas and Nebraska Bills.— Appalling Disaster 
AT THE Gasconade Bridge.— The Kansas-Nebraska Agitation of 1856.— Missourians 
Cross the Border.— Bloody Collisions between the "Pro-" and "Anti-Slavery" 
Parties.— The xixth General Assembly. — James S. Green and Trusten Polk 
ELECTED United States Senators.— Goverxor Polk resigns.— Robt. M. Stewart 
ELECTED Governor. 

Election of 1852 — For Governor — 

Sterling Price, Democrat 46,245 

James Winston. Whig ,32,784 

Price's majority over Winston 13,461 

Wilson Brown elected Lieutenant-Governor, 

WTiole nmnber of votes cast 79,029 

Total population of the State in 1850 682,044 

Election for President^ 1852 

Franklin Pierce, Democrat 38,353 

Winfleld Scott, Whig 29,984 

Pierce's majority over Scott 8,369 

Election of 1856 — For Governor — ■ *" 

Trusten Polk, Democrat 46,993 

Kobert C. Ewing, American 40,589 

Thomas H. Benton, Independent 27,618 

Polk's majority over Ewing 6,404 

Hancock Jackson elected Lieutenant-Governor. 

Whole number of votes cast 115,200 

Election for President, 1856— 

James Buchanan, Democrat 58,164 

Millard Fillmore, American 48,524 

Buchanan's majority over Fillmore 9,640 

Special Election, 1857 — For Governor — 

Eobert M. Stewart, Democrat 47,975 

James S. KoUins, Whig 47,641 

Stewart's majority over EoUins 334 



272 HISTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 

In a former chapter we recorded Colonel Benton's entrance into the 
United States Senate, In this we shall record his exit from that body, 
after a service of thirty consecutive years. 

On December 30th, 1.850, the xvith General Assembly met at the 
Capitol: Thomas L. Price (Democrat;, Lieutenant-Governor, President 
of the Senate; R. R. Rees, Secretary; Nathaniel W. Watkins (Whig), 
Speaker ot" the House ; George W. Houston, Clerk. Austin A. King, 
Governor. 

Receipts into the State Treasury for the two years ending September 
30th, 1850, $787,088.71 : Expenditures, $532,585.82. Amount of State 
debt, exclusive of surplus revenue deposited with the State, $922.26 — the 
exact amount of the State bonds then outstanding. 

As an outgrowth of " Benton's Appeal " from the Jackson Resolutions, 
noticed in the last chapter, and of the agitation which followed on the 
subject of slavery, nullification and secession, unexampled interest was 
awakened at this session of the General Assembly in regard to the 
election of United States Senator. Colonel Benton's term was soon to 
expire, and he was a candidate for re-election. His speeches to the peo- 
ple in justification of his "Appeal," while marked by signal ability and 
power, were at the same time characterized by the bitterest denunciation 
and the most caustic invective — elements of oratory in which he was a 
master, and which under the circumstances were well calculated to stir 
popular feeling from its profoundest depths. 

Hence, during the Legislative canvass of 1850, which was to result in 
a judgQient upon the issues he presented, the whole State flamed with 
intense excitement. 

One of the immediate consequences of his "Appeal" and remarkable 
canvass to expound and defend it, was a division of the political party to 
which Colonel Benton belonged, and which for thirty years had adhered 
to his fortunes with a loyalty seldom exhibited in the career of any pub- 
lic man. 

The Whigs, at all times in a minority in the State, claimed to occupy 
a position of "armed neutrality" touching the distracting questions 
which threatened the unity and power, if not the very existence of their 
Democratic opponents. It is not to be denied, hoAvever, that, quite 
naturally, they sought to foment the prevailing discord, and, in reference 
to the Jackson Resolutions themselves, sj/mpathized with Colonel Benton. 
Their representatives in both branches of the General Assembly, as we 
have seen, had opposed them by speech and vote at the time of their 
adoption, and for similar reasons to those afterwards presented by Colonel 
Benton in his warfare upon them. 



ELECTION OF UNITED STATES SENATOR. 273 

The interest culminated in the election of United States Senator; and 
its cuhnination found the Legislature divided into three political parties — 
Anti-Benton Democrats (or "Hards"), Benton Democrats (or "Softs"), 
and Whigs. And the Whigs themselves were to some extent divided 
into Benton and Anti-Benton Whigs, designations which attached to the 
one segment or the other according to the intensity of its pro-slavery 
or anti-slavery sentiments. 

The joint convention to choose a United States Senator met on, 
January 10, 1851, and from day to day till the 22d. Its deliberations, 
and the debates of which they were fruitful, were not well calculated to 
allay the excitement of the previous State canvass, or to harmonize the 
discordant elements which for the first time in thirty years had disturbed 
the serenity of the Democratic sky. In these discussions the Anti-Bentoii 
members: — fierce, aggressive and unyielding — were led by such men as 
Claiborne F. Jackson, Robert M. Stewart, John F. Benjamin, Ferdinand 
Kennett and Lewis W. Robinson ; while the friends of Benton — sharing 
the spirit of their great leader, were defiant, heroic and immovable — - 
rallied to the onset with such chieftains as John D. Stevenson, Miron 
Leslie, Thomas A. King, Charles Jones, George W. Miller and Charles 
Sims. The Whigs, the wily Whigs, — reinforced by increased numbers 
over any former Legislature, self-poised, and on the alert for opportunity 
— occasionally emerged from ambuscade headed by James O. Broadhead, 
Joseph B. Crockett, William Newland, James Winston, N. W. Watkins, 
Robert A. Hatcher, John P. Campbell, Benjamin Tompkins and others. 

The war of the factions raged furiously, each "wing" of the Demo- 
cratic party preferring the success of the Whigs to the success of the 
opposing division in their own party. Finall}' — exhausted by the labors 
and excitement of the conflict, weary of the long and frequent and 
stormy caucuses at night and ballotings by day, and the fruitless efforts at 
conciliation and compromise — a portion of the line of each of the 
opposing forces gave way, and victory perched upon the banner of the 
Whigs. The ballotings reached the fortieth, and on that ballot Henry 
S. Geyer, of St. Louis, Whig, and an eminent lawyer of pronounced 
abilities, was elected United States Senator for six years from March 4, 
1851 ; the vote being H. S. Geyer, 80 ; i Thomas H. Benton, 55 ; B. F. 
String-fellow, 18 ; scattering, 4. 

This defeat terminated the career of Colonel Benton as a Senator from 
Missouri — a career embracing a period of six Roman lustrums, and 

1 Mr. Geyer died at Ms residence in St. Louis, of disease of the heart, on Saturday, 
March 5, 1859. 
18 



574 HISTORY OF MISSOUKI. 

one which, whatever faults lie had, was dislingiiished by great and 
important services to the country, and by a patriotism and statesmanship 
which render his 

'One of the few, the immortal names, 
That were not born to die.'" 

During the year 1851, forty-five miles of the St. Louis and Pacific 
railroad — from St. Louis to Washington — were put under contract, and 
about one thousand laborers placed upon the track. 

Two steamboat explosions occurred during the spring of 1852, which 
are worthy of record, — the first at St. Louis, on Saturday, April 3d, and 
the second at Lexington, on Friday, April 9th. The first, the Glencoe, 
having on board a large number of passengers, had just arrived from 
New Orleans, and at eight o'clock in the evening was eifecting a landing 
at the foot of Chestnut Street. Before she had entirely succeeded in 
landing, and while the deck hands were hauling in the boat with the 
hawser at the capstan, two of the boilers exploded with terrific force, 
tearing the boat almost into fragments. The whole front of the cabin, 
as far back as the wheels, was literally torn to pieces and fell with a crash 
on the deck below. The steamer Cataract, which was lying alongside, 
suffered severely, her upper works and a portion of the ladies' cabin 
being demolished. A portion of the flue of one of the boilers of the 
Glencoe was thrown with great velocity, and penetrated the "texas" of 
the Western World. A short time after the explosion, the Glencoe was 
discovered to be on fire ; when the hawser which held her to the levee 
became detached and the boat floated down the stream, her decks reveal- 
ing, amid the glare of the flames, the horrible sight of human beings 
eagerly looldng for safety, and the still more horrible sight of the scalded 
and injured, with outstretched arms imploring for help. Many were 
rescued and many more were lost. 

On Friday, April 9th, an appalling disaster occurred at Lexington 
landing, to the steamer Saluda, laden with Mormon emigrants destined 
for Utah. The river was swollen from spring rains, and the current 
thickly studded with floating ice. For two or three days the steamer had 
fruitlessly attempted to stem the flood and round the point at Lexington. 
About nine o'clock in the morning, the captain of the Saluda, Francis T. 
Belt, impatient of the delay, ordered on an extra pressure of steam for a 
final effort. The furnaces were filled with glowing inflammables ; the 
guards crowded with passengers eagerly watching the result. The signa. 
was given for starting the engine ; when, at the second revolution of the- 



SEVENTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 275 

wheels, both boilers exploded shmiltaneouslj, with fearful effect, tearing 
away all the boat forward of the wheels, causing her to sink immediately. 
Captain Belt and Jonathan F. Blackburn, the second clerk, were standing 
between the chimneys on the hurricane roof, and were blown over the 
warehouses on the shore and half way up the bluff. Both Avere killed 
outright. The iron safe, weighing 500 or 600 pounds, and with a dog 
chained to it, was blown from the office over the Marehouses, and fell near 
the body of (Japtain Belt. Josiah Chancy, second engineer, was also 
blown ashore and died. Charles Labarge and Lewis Garrett, pilots, were 
blown in an opposite direction into the river and killed or drowned. 
Heavy fragments of machinery fell at incredible di^ances from the boat. 
It was never known how many lives were' lost by the explosion, but eighty 
three persons were buried from the wreck at Lexington. Among the lost, 
was James N. McAlister, aged eighteen, a son of Brightberry McAlister 
of Columbia, en route from that place to Liberty, Missouri, with the 
household goods and carpenter's tools of his father, who had contracted 
to aid in the erection of William Jewell College. 

On August 30th, 1852, in pursuance of a proclamation by Governor 
King, the xviith General Assembly met in special session, for the purpose 
of considering the subject of internal improvements, and of passing such 
measures as would make available, speedily and economically, the grant 
of lands made by Congress to aid in the construction of the Pacific and 
of the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroads. 

Deeply exciting as was the subject of internal improvements generally, 
and great as was the particular interest everywhere felt in the early 
completion of our railroads, nothing could obscure the light of the camp- 
fires of the political factions, or smooth the ragged edge of their conflicts. 
Fresh from the turbulence of the State canvass, which had closed on the 
first Monday of the month, the Senators and Representatives of the 
people, supplemented by a large and active lobby, assembled at the 
<iapital, and at the very threshhold confronted the questions of Benton 
and anti-Benton, Free-soil and Slave-soil, Whig and Democrat, Hard 
and Soft. Therefore, a most bitter and protracted struggle ensued in the 
organization of the House, during which the special objects for which the 
session had been called were entirely forgotten. Political caucuses were 
held nightly by the three parties into which the members were divided, 
each plotting and counter-plotting to gain the mastery over the others. 
The bone of contention was the Speakership of the House, and, subor- 
dinately, the various clerkships. 



276 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

Robert E. Acock of Polk, was the nominee of the Anti-Bentons for 
Speaker; Chailes Sims, of Cass, of the Bentons, and Samuel H. 
Woodson, of Jackson, of the Whiiis. After two days' ballotting and 
nineteen ballots, Colonel Acock was withdrawn and C. F. Jackson, Anti- 
Benton, of Howard, was put in his place. On the 26th ballot the vote 
stood: Sims 44, Woodson 39, Jackson 37, scattering 6 ; after which 
Jackson was withdrawn and Acock again placed in front of the Anti- 
Benton column. Four more ballots disclosed a similar result, when an 
adjournment was carried till the next day — Thursday. On re-assembling, 
Joseph A. Hay, Whig, of Lewis, oft'ered the following resolution, which 
the chairman decided out of order : 

Eesolvecl, That a veil be hung ovei- the portrait of Colonel Benton, now hanging in the 
Representative Hall; that Claib Jackson he requested to absent himself from the 
House, and that the members drink no more grog tiU a Speaker is elected. 

And thus the conflict raged, the "Jackson Resolutions" being the 
real element of discord : the Benton Democrats avowing the purpose to- 
expunoe them from the Journal; the Anties to keep them there; the 
Whigs securely poised on the pedestal of "armed neutrality." 

Oil the 31st ballot, Mr. Sims was withdrawn and A. C. Marvin, Benton 
Democrat, of Henry substituted, but still no choice was made. Francis 
P. Blair, Jr., of St. Louis was then offered b}^ the Benton men as "an 
olive branch of peace." The result was war, a fierce renewal of hostil- 
ities between the belligerent factions, and the substitution of J. W. 
Kelly, of Holt, for Mr. Blair, and of Abram flunter, of Scott, for Colonel 
Acock. Still no choice. Finally, on Saturday afternoon, by resolution 
offered by William O. Maupin of Saline, a Whig, Dr. Eeuben Shelby, 
of Perry, a Benton Democrat, was made Speaker for the extra session 
only — thus for the time tiding over the shoals and quicksands of the 
intestine feud. The clerkships were divided between the three parties. 

After passing resolutions accepting the grant of lauds from Congress 
to aid in the construction of the Hannibal and St. Joseph and other 
railroads in the State, and bills to expedite the building of the North 
Missouri railroad, the Legislature adjourned on the 25th of December, 
only two days before the time fixed by law for the meeting of the regular 
session. 

The regular session of the xviith General Assembly met on Monday, 
December 27th, 1852. The struggle for the Speakership was again 
renewed with increased violence. The Anti-Benton leaders — C. F. 
Jackson, R M. Stewart, J. F. Benjamin, Ferdinand Kennett and others 



STEELING PEICE rNTAUailRATED GOVEEI^OE. 277 

— threw themselves into the breach ; while Frank P. Blair, B. Gratz 
Brown, John D. Stevenson, Walter B. Morris and others directed the 
miction of the friends of Benton. The old Whig leaders, — James O. 
Bi-oadhead, Thomas Allen, Jsoph B. Crockett, Samuel H. Woodson, 
Charles H. Hardin. and others — marshaled the Whig forces. 

For Speaker, the Auti-Bentons nominated James H, Britton, *of 
Lincoln ; the Bentons, J. W. Kelly of Holt ; the Whigs, William Newland 
of Ralls. Aftei: various ballotings,and many changes of candidates, and 
bitter debate, Reuben Shelby, of Perry, the Speaker of the extra session, 
was re-elected. 

Governor King, in his farewell message, congratulated the State on our 
^■growing prospects," assuring the General Assembly that "our march is 
onward and upward to that high destiny which we believe awaits our 
noble State in the future." The taxable wealth of the State was placed 
at $112,465,653.75. It is now (1877), in round numbers, six hundred 
millions ! 

Sterling Price and Wilson Brown, the newly-elected Governor and 
Lieutenant-Governor for four years, were duly inaugurated, and the 
business of legislation commenced. After a stormv session — storms in 
both Houses over the Jackson Resolutions, and the questions of slavery, 
secession and disunion — a final adjournment was voted on the 24th of 
February. 

The xviiith General Assembly met December 25th, 1854. On the 
5th ballot, William Newland, of Ralls (Whig), was elected Speaker, and 
Samuel A. Lowe, of Benton, Chief Clerk. The irrepressible "Jackson 
Resolutions," the powers of Congress over slavery in the territories, and 
the Kansas and Nebraska bills, claimed much attention during this 
session, the animus of the discussion foreshadowing to many the terrible 
catastrophe in which our national troubles culminated in 1*86 1. 

On the 5tli of January, 1855, the two Houses met in joint session for 
tlie purpose of electing a United States Senator to succeed David R. 
Atchison, Avhose term expired March 4th, 1855 ; and the following 
nominations were made: D. R. Atchison (auti-Benton), Thomas H. 
Benton, and A. W. Doniphan (Whig). The ballottings generally were 
about as follows : Atchison 56, Benton 40, Doniphan 59. On the 
twenty-fiftb ballot Atchison was withdrawn and William Scott, of the 
Supreme Court, nominated ; but the voting was the same. Finally, 
Scott was displaced by Sterling Price, then Governor of the State, with 
the same result ; whereupon Atchison was again placed upon the tapis. 



278 



HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 



After forty-one unsuccessful ballots, the joint session, 88 to 63, adjourned 
until again convened by concurrent resolution of the two Houses. On 
March 5th, the Legislature adjourned to meet on the first Monday of the 
ensuing November. It met on that day and adjourned sine die on 
December 13th, but without holding a joint session. Hence no United 
States Senator was elected. Duruig the joint sessions above mentioned, 
long and angry debates arose on the slavery question in all its political 
phases, which were distinguished by great ability and at times by great 
violence. When it is recalled that these discussions were chiefly con- 
ducted on behalf of the Anti-Benton Democrats by Messrs. Eobert M. 
Stewart, Lewis V. Bogy, George C. Medley, A. L. Gilstrap, William C. 
Price and John W. Reid ; on behalf of the Benton Democrats by F. P. 
Blair, B. Gratz Brown and John D. Stevenson ; and for the Whigs by 
James S. Rollins, A. W. Doniphan, Albert Todd, S. M. Breckinridge, 
Joseph Davis, Henry T. Blow, George W. Goode, C. H. Hardin, C. C. 
Zeigler and Robert Wilson — it cannot be questioned that legislative bodies 
rarely exhibit more genuine statesmanship and true oratory. 

On November 1st, 1855, one of the most appalling disasters occurred 
at the new railroad bridge across the Gasconade River, resulting in the 
instant death of a large number of well-known citizens and the serious 
wounding of many others. The Pacific Railroad having been completed 
fi-om St. Louis to the State Capital, a distance of 125 miles, a celebration 
of the great event was resolved upon, by an excursion over the road, 
and a grand public dinner in the State House. At nine o'clock, 
therefore, of the day named, a train of ten passenger cars, crowded with 
guests specially invited to participate in the commemorative festivities 
of the occasion, left the depot at St. Louis, and at twelve o'clock reached 
the Gasconade River, twelve miles above Hermann and forty miles below 
Jefierson City. The bridge across the Gasconade was in six spans, two 
of 120 feet each, two of 140 and two of 92 — the abutment spans being 
each 130 feet. The abutments were of stone, 32 feet high, and the five 
piers were also of stone. The piers and abutments were completed, 
but the superstructure of the bridge was not finished. In order, however, 
to serve the purpose of commemorating the opening of the road, tlie 
contractors for the superstructure had undertaken to build the scafiblding 
on which to rear it, of such strength as to pass the excursion train in 
safety. This was sought to be accomplished by the erection of trestle- 
work on piles and mud-sills, in the line of the intended structure, the 
piles being about 14 feet apart and stay-braced longitudinally and 



GASCONADE BEIDGE DISASTER. 



279 



traversely. The embankment on the east side not being complete, 
trestle-work some 80 feet in length was built, between the finished bank 
and the finished abutment. The approach to the bridge from the east 
(from St. Louis) was on a curve of near 1,500 feet radius, which 
terminated at the end of the bank, there being some 80 feet of tangent 
line before coming to the bridge. The excursion train, some 600 feet 
long, came to the bridge by this approach. When the engine reached 
the first pier, the forward part of the train covering the first span of 
130 feet, the span gave way, thns precipitating the engine, baggage car 
and several passenger cars to the watery abyss below, some 30 feet, 
causing an immense loss of life and the utter wreck of the cars. The 
President of the road, the late Hudson E. Bridge of St. Lonis, and 
Thomas S. O'SulUvan, Chief-Engineer, together with a number of 
employes of the road, were on the locomotive at the time of the 
catastrophe, and all were killed except Mr. Bridge, who miraculously 
escaped unhurt. Among the well-known citizens who were also killed 
and whose unexpected and deplorable death spread a pall of gloom and 
lamentation over the city of St. Louis, were Reverend Dr. Bullard, of 
the Second Presbyterian Church ; Reverend John Teasdale of the Third 
Baptist Church; E. Church Blackburn, a well-known lawyer, and chair- 
man of the City Council ; Mann Butler, author of a History of 
Kentucky ; Henry Chouteau, of the firm of Chouteau & Valle ; Calvin 
Case, owner of a line of omnibusses, E. C. Yosti, of the firm of Shields & 
Yosti J E. B. Jeflries, member of the Legislature from Franklin Count}', 
and many others. So frightful and appalling was this disaster, that no 
train, even at this distance of time, crosses the Gasconade without its 
horrors being recalled. 

The people of Missouri took unusual interest, in 1854-5-6, in the 
organization of the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, and were moved 
by the most intense excitement. The region of country embraced in 
these Territories formed a part of the Louisiana purchase, and extended 
westward from Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota, to the summit of the 
Rocky Mountains, and from the parallel of thirty-six degrees thirty 
minutes north latitude to British America. Very little was known of 
this vast domain, except that it was a region of great fertility ; yet, even 
previous to 1854, the tide of emigration was pouring into it, and it 
became necessary to provide organized governments for the security and 
protection of the people. 

In December, 1852, Hon. Williard P. Hall, of Missouri, introduced a 
bill into the United States House of Representatives, to organize the 



280 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

Territoiy of Phitte, which was designed to eml)race the country above 
mentioned. Having been referred to the Committee on Territories, that 
committee, in February, 1853, reported a bill to establish a Territorial 
Government in the Territory of Nebraska. As this bill did not contem- 
plate a repeal of the Missouri Compromise of 1820, whereby slavery was 
inhibited in all the country north of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes, it 
was opposed in the House by the entire Southern delegations ; and the 
only Senators from the South who voted for it were those from Missouri.^ 
On January 16th, 1854, the subject again came before the Senate, when 
Senator Dixon, of Kentucky, gave notice that whenever the Nebraska 
bill should be called up, he would move an amendment to the effect that 
the Missouri com[)romise line of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north 
latitude, forever prohibiting slavery or involuntary servitude north of said 
line, should not be so construed as to apply to the Territory contemplated 
by the act, or to any other Territory of the United States ; but that the 
citizens of the several States or Territories should be at liberty to take and 
hold their slaves within any of the Territories or States to be formed 
therefrom. That is to say, in plain and terse language, that the Missouri 
Compromise should be repealed. The announcement of this amendment 
in Cono-ress was immediately followed by the most intense excitement 
throughout the country. Indeed, the introduction, in 1848, of the Wilmot 
Proviso did nut startle or stir up the people in a greater degree. 

On January 23d, 1854, Senator Douglas, of Illinois, reported from 
the Committee on Territories a bill which provided for the organization 
of the region of country embraced by Mr. Hall's bill — known as the 
Platte countr}^ from the Phitte River, which flows through it — into two 
Territories, namely, Kansas and Nebraska. Senator Douglas' bill con- 
tained the following, among other provisions : 

" Section 21. And be it further enacted, That, in order to avoid misconstruction, it is 
hereby declared to be the true intent and meaning of this act, so far as the question of 
slavery is concei'ned, to carry into practical operation the following propositions and 
principles, established by the compromise measures of 1850, to-wit: 

'■'■ Fii-st. — That all questions pertaining to slavery in the Territories, and in the new 
States to be formed therefrom, are to be left to the decision of the people residing therein, 
through their appropriate representatives. 

'■'Second. — That all cases involving title to slaves and questions of personal freedom, 
are referred to the adjudication of the local tribunals, with the right of appeal to the 
Supreme Court of the United States. 

" Third. — That the provisions of the Constitution and laws of the United States, in 
respect to fugitives from service, are to be carried into faithful execution in all the 
' organized Territories,' the same as in the States." 

1 David E. Atchison and Henry S. Geyer. 



THE SLAVEEY QUESTION. 281 

The section of the bill which prescribed the qualifications and 
mode of election of a delegate to Congress from each of the Territories 
was as follows : 

"The Constitution and alllaws of the United States, which are not locally inapplicable, 
shall have the same force and effect within the said Territory as elsewhere in the United 
States, except the section of the act preparatory to the admission of Missom-i into the 
Union, approved March 6th, 1820, which was superseded by the principles of the legislation 
of 1850, commonly called the Compromise Measures, and is declared inoperative." 

On the next day after the introdiicticm of this billj the discussion of it 
opened in the Senate and continued with great ability through several 
weeks ; those engaged in the discussion being divided by the designa- 
tions pro-slavery and anti-slavery. On February 6th, Hon. S. P. Chase, 
a Senator from Ohio, moved to strike out so much of the bill as declared 
the Missouri Compromise of 1820,^ "superseded" by the compromise of 
1850, but the motion was defeated. On February 15th, Mr. Douglas 
moved to strike out the clause objected to by Mr. Chase, and insert the 
followiug : 

" Which being inconsistent with the principle of non-intervention by Congress with 
slavery in the States and Territories, as recognized by the legislation of 1850 (commonly 
called the Compromise Measures,) is hereby declared inoperative and void ; it being the 
true intent and meaning of this act not to legislate slavery into any Territory or State 
nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form and 
regulate their domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to the Constitution 
of the United States." 

This amendment embodied what was afterwards called, in Congress 
and the country, the doctrine of squatter sovereignity. It was at once 
adopted by the Senate ; but Mr. Chase and others, not having full faith 
in the fidelity of the declaration that it was not the true intent and mean- 
ing of the act to legislate slavery into any Territory or State, nor to 
exclude it therefrom, moved to add, after the words " United States," the 
following : 

" Under which the people of the Territories, through their appropriate representatives, 
may, if they see fit, prohibit the existence of slavery therein." 

Mr. Chase's amendment was voted down, and the bill passed — ayes 37, 
nays 14 ; — and being reported to the House, after a fierce debate in that 
body it also passed — ayes 113, nays 100; and on May 31st, 1854, 
received the approval of President Pierce and became a law. 

The Territory of Kansas now became the theater of a bitter war 
between the contending parties ; one side strenuously maintaining that 



282 HISTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 

slaveiy should be prohibited by ber organic law, the other as stoutly that 
it should be established and protected. 

The people of Missouri shared in the general excitement, and during 
the State canvass of 1854, and especially during the Presidential election 
of 1856, evidenced the wildest excitement. Whether the new State should 
admit shivery or prohibit it now depended upon the vote of the people. 
Wherefore both parties, free-soil and slave-soil, from the States north 
and south, rushed into the Territory in order to secure a majority. Angry 
controversy succeeded in Missouri. Antagonisms of opinion everywhere 
prevailed. At times these approached scenes of violence and bloodshed ; 
and good men of all parties stood in awe of the consequences, not only ■ 
as they might affect the peace and prosperity of the commonwealth, but 
the repose and perpetuity of the republic itself. The triangular contest 
for the presidency, a legitimate outgrowth of the repudiation of the 
Missouri Compromise by the Territorial act of May 31st, 1854, precip- 
itated upon the country, and upon the people of Missouri in a perilous 
degree, the bitter waters of the shivery agitation — agitation of the 
powers of Congress over the institution in the Territories, of the question 
of squatter sovereignity, and the kindred issues of nullification and 
secession. Apprehensive that Kansas would become a free State, and 
that Missouri, a slave State, would in the future occupy the position of a 
slave peninsula jutting out into a sea of free soil, with Illinois and Iowa 
on the one side and Kansas and Nebraska on the other, many of our 
citizens, especially on the Kansas border, became seriously alarmed for 
the safety of their slaves, and in the excitement of the conflict were 
induced, without authority of law, to cross over into Kansas with arms 
and with ballots to coerce the new State into the Union with a pro-slavery 
constitution. Meanwhile the friends of free soil in the north and emi- 
gration societies in the New England States, projected active measures 
to fill the new State with anti-slavery settlers. Violent collisions of 
course followed, and bloodshed was often imminent. The struiro;le between 
the hostile parties in Kansas and on the Missouri border resulted in a 
series of desultory but bloody encounters, some of which assumed the 
proportions of battles. Large and fiercely -excited public meetings were 
held in Missouri, and at times, in some localities, a reign of intolerance 
and proscription prevailed. This was intensified in that portion of the 
State bordering on Kansas; and in one instance resulted, April 14th, 
1855, at Parkville, Missouri, in the destruction of the Industrial 
Luminary newspaper, owned and published by George S. Park and 
W. J. Patterson, whom a public meeting threatened to throw into the 



THE SLAVERY QUESTION". . 283 

Missouri River if found in that town three weeks from that day, anci 
to hang if they went to Kansas to reside. 

In November, 1854, an election was held in Kansas, which resulted in 
the choice of a pro-shivery delegate to Congress ; and in the general 
Territorial election of the following year the pro-slavery party also 
triumphed, and their delegates thus chosen assembled at Lecompton and 
formed a constitution permitting slavery. Whereupon the anti-slavery 
or free-soil party, declaring the election to have been carried by fraud- 
ulent votes, assembled at Topeka, to form a constitution excluding 
slavery, and organized a rival government. Civil war broke out between 
the factions ; and from the autumn of 1855 until the final settlement of 
the question, during the military governorship of John W. Geary, of 
Pennsylvania, the Territory was the scene of constant turmoil and vio- 
lence. Not to attempt a recital of these scenes, or a statement in detail 
of all that occurred, suffice it to say that the anti-slavery party finally 
triumphed, and Kansas, and Nebraska also, came into the Union as a free 
State; and on that basis peace was permanently established. 

It is due to the truth of history to say, that in the final adjustment of 
these questions in Congress, Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, and James 
S. Green, who was elected in January 1857, to succeed Cohmel Benton 
in the United States Senate, played a prominent part. Senator Green 
antagonized the views of Mr. Douglas in that body, and, as the 
acknowledged leader of the pro-slavery party, maintained his ground 
with an ability and eloquence rarely, if ever, excelled in the American 
Senate. Coming into that body during the pendency of the question of 
the admission of Kansas with the Lecompton Constitution, he supported 
the policy of Mr. Buchanan's administration in speeches distinguished not 
only by great perspicuity of style, but power of argument, which called 
forth the commendations of even those who did not share his convictions. 

The xixth General Assembly met December 29th, 185G. Robert C. 
Harrison, Speaker, James H. Britton, chief clerk. On January 12th, 
1857, the two houses met in joint convention to elect two United States 
Senators. James S. Green, (Anti-Benton) received 89 votes ; Thomas 
H. Benton, 33; Luther M. Kennett, (American) 32. Mr. Green was 
elected for the short term. To succeed Senator Gej'er, Trusten Polk, 
(Governor elect) received 101 ; T. H. Benton, 23 ; Ha:milton R. Gamble, 
(American) 34. Polk was elected for the long term, ending March 4th, 
1863. Governor Polk resigned the executive chair to accept the United 
States Senatorship ; and, until the special election in August, 1857, to 



284 



HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 



fill the vacancy, Hancock Jackson, Lieutenant-Governor, discharged the 
duties of Governor. One of the most brilliant and notable gubernational 
canvasses ever made in the State occurred in 1857, between James 
S. Rollins, of Boone, Whig, and Robert M. Stewart of Buchanan, 
Democrat. Stewart was successful by a majority of only 334 votes. 




J^^ ^Ifetx 




CHAPTER XXIV. 

I860.— Eeview of Forty Years' Progress.— Tide op Population and Settlement in 
Southeast and Southern Missouri, Along the Upper Mississippi, and the Mis- 
souri Valley.— Manufactures.— Improved Lands and Their Cash Value. — 
Eevelations of the Census of 1860.- Live Stock.— Farm Products.— Domestic 
Manufactures.— Railroad Enterprises.— Government and State Aid.— The first 
"Whistle of the Locomotive.— Telegraph Lines.— St. Louis as a Railroad 
Center.— Progress op Education.— Our Public School System.— St. Louis in 1821 
AND I860.— Great Achievements and Destiny of the State. 

1860 — Ten and thirty years have elapsed since Missouri was admitted 
into the Union ; and at the period at which we now pause to contem- 
plate the State, we are on the eve of the bloody and fratricidal civil war 
into which, during the following year, our country was unhappily 
plunged. Of the war itself — its causes, events and consequences — we 
shall speak in subsequent chapters. But before invoking the pen of 
history to record the prominent events of the war, as they more directly 
concern the commonwealth of Missouri, we diverge at this point to mark 
the progress we have made in population and wealth, and to chronicle 
what we have accomplished during the preceding forty years in the varied 
interests and industries which distinguish the civilization of our time. 

Radiating from the earlier centers of settlement — St. Louis being the 
chief or pivotal point from which emigration spread out like a great fan 
— the tide of population and colonization flowed along the valleys of our 
larger rivers, and thence inland until it covered the whole State. And it 
is worthy of record and remembrance as something remarkable, and yet 
as a fact which can be accounted for on well known laws of pioneer life, 
that after the settlements on the western bank of the Mississippi, below 
St. Louis, no considerable settlements in Southeast or Southern Mis- 
souri were made for a number of years ; and these for the most part 
were projected to discover and develop mines of silver and lead. Per- 
manent settlements for agricultural purposes were not contemplated ; 
whereas the settlements on the west bank of the Mississippi above St. 
Louis, and on both sides of the Missouri, made many years after, were 
chiefly inspired by a purpose to cultivate the soil. Some of them, it is 
true, were made in the interest of the fur trade, which in the earlier 
history of the State was an important and lucrative industry. 

Marking the tide of colonization as we see it disclosed in our early 
history, it is found that more than half a century elapsed, after the settle- 
ment of Ste. Genevieve, before the country now embraced bj^ the second 



^^^ HISTOEY OF MISSOURI. 

tier of counties in Southeast Missouri was settled. For examples: 
AVhat is now known as Bollinger Count}^ near as it is to Ste. Genevieve 
unci the first settlements on the Mississippi, and Stoddard, Butler, 
Wayne, Madison, Crawford, etc., were not even partially reclaimed from 
the dominion of the Indian and buffalo nntil the year 1800, and some of 
them at a much later period. Stoddard was not settled until after the 
admission of the State into the Union in 1821, and was not organized as 
a county until 1835. Its population as late as 1840 was only about 
3,000; 1860 about 8,000, and in 1876, 10,883. What is now Butler 
County was a favorite hunting ground for the Indians, and it was not 
until about the year 1800 that a few white men, as hunters rather than 
settlers, built cabins there to prolong their visits to the territory. The 
region of country known as Wayne contained very few Avhite settlers at 
the time of the declaration of war in 1812, and was not organized as a 
county until 1818, and then Avas called, from her vast territory, "the 
State of Wayne," and now "the Mother of Counties." Population in 
1820 only about 1,500; in 1876, 7,006. As early as 1722 or '23 there 
was a small settlement in what is now Madison County, at Mine La 
Motte lead mines, which were discovered a few years previous by a 
Frenchman whose name they bear. The Indians and Spaniards worked 
these mines as early as 1765-70. To aid in the development of the 
mines and the colonization of the country, in the year 1800 the Spanisb 
government granted 5,000 arpents of laud to fifteen French families 
"for settlement and cultivation". About this time a few American fam- 
ilies, from Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia, settled 
about the mines, but the Indians were so numerous and troublesome 
that they could not till the soil to any extent. In 1818, Madison County 
was formed of portions of Ste. Genevieve and Cape Girardeau, and in 
1820 contained only about 2,000 inhabitants; in 1876, 8,750. It is a 
county of mines, and quite a number of iron banks are found in it. St. 
Francois County was almost unknown to the white man previous to 
1800; was not organized until 1821, and in 1830 did not contain 3,000 
inhabitants; in 1876, 11,621. Miners of lead first settled Washington 
County; and although organized in 1813 it did not contain more than 
3,000 inhabitants seven years afterwards ; in 1876,13,100. Jefferson 
and Franklin, from their proximity to St. Louis, were settled at an early 
13eriod. 

The fertile lands in the region of country bordering on the Mississippi, 
above St. Louis— now embraced by the counties of Lincoln, Pike, Ealls, 
Marion, Lewis and Clark — attracted an agricultural population, and 



EEVIEW OF FOETY YEAES' PEOGEESS. 287 

were settled with a view to permauency of location, and for the develop- 
ment of the arts and industries of the husbandman. With the exception 
of Lincoln county, all the settlements were made after the close of the 
war of 1812. In order that some idea may be formed of the progress 
since made in this region of the State, it is proper to note that in 1821 
its aggregate population was only about 8,000, whereas in 1860 the six 
counties named, greatly reduced as they had been in area by that time, 
contained about 84,000 souls. 

Eeturning to the mouth of the Missouri river, and traversing 
that stream to the western boundary of the State, we find that 
with the exception of the settlements in St. Louis, St. Charles, 
Howard, Cooper and Boone counties, and a small settlement at Loutre 
Island, the entire region was under the bloody sway of the Indians 
until after the peace of 1815. Colonization then rapidly followed, 
and the star of empire took its course inland to various portions of the 
State ; so that years anterior to 1860 the tide of conquest and coloniza- 
tion overspread the commonwealth from the Kansas border to the 
Mississippi, and from Iowa to Arkansas. 

This statement is verified b}" the fact that at the time of the 
admission of Missouri into the Union in 1821, the State contained only 25 
organized counties, with a total population of 70,647 ; whereas nine 
years afterwards the population was twice as great, being 140,304, and in 
1860 had reached the o;rand ao;o;reo;ate of one million one hundred and 
eighty-two thousand and twelve C 1,182,012) souls, and 113 counties. 
As the territorial area of the State is 65,350 square miles, each of the 25 
counties in 1821 contained an average of 2,614 square miles; the 113 in 
1860 an average of only 578.46 square miles. 

We come now to contemplate the progress and condition of the State 
from another and more interesting point of view. 

If in 1821 there was a manufactory of any considerable size in the 
State, or capital to any respectable amount invested in the production 
of any of the fabrics of utility or ornament worn, or the implements or 
machinery used by man, the writer is uninformed of the fact. But in 
1860, according to the returns of the Federal census, the number of 
manufactories in the State was 2,800, with a capital of $20,500,000, 
consuming annually fuel and raw material worth $24,000,000, and 
employing more than 2,000 hands — the annual product reaching the 
large sum of $43,500,000. 

We have no available means at hand of ascertaining either the 
number of acres of improved hmd in the State or the cash value of the 



288 



HISTOKY OF MISSOTJKI. 



farms in 1821 ; but in 1860, although the State had only been organized 
ten and thirty years, it contained 6,246,871 acres of land reduced to the 
uses of the husbandman and 13,737,938 acres unimproved, the aggregate 
value of which was $230,632,126, to which for value of farming 
implements $8,711,508 must be added. Not to weary the reader with 
statistics, which after all convey information embodied in no other, 
forms of speech, it will be profitable to study the remarkable and valuable 
disclosures of the following table of the animals and productions of the 
State in 1860 : 

Al^IMALS— 1860. 



Horses 361,874 

Working oxen 166,588 

Mules and asses 80,941 



Sheep 937,445 

Milk cows ., 345,243 

Swine 2,354,445 



Total value of live stock |53,693,673 



AGKICULTUHAL PKODUCTS— 1860. 



BUSHELS. 

Wheat 427,586 

Oats 3,680,870 

Barley 228,502 

Grass seed 55,713 

Eye 44,263 

Irish potatoes 1,990,850 

Buckwheat 182,292 

Peas and Beans 107,999 

Indian Corn 72,892,157 

Sweet potatoes 355,102 

Clover seed 2,216 

POUNDS. 

Wool 2,069,778 

Hops 2,265 

Silk cocoons 127 

Beeswax and honey 1,665,173 



POUNDS. 

Butter 12,704,837 

Flax 109,237 

Maple sugar 142,430 

Eice 9,766 

Cheese 259,635 

Flax seed 4,656 

Tobacco 25,086,196 

Cotton 100 bales. 

Hay 401,070 tons. 

Hemp 19,268 tons. 

GALLONS. 

Wine 27,827 

Cane molasses 22,305 

Sorghum molasses 776,101 

Maple molasses 18,289 



EECAPITULATION. 

Capital invested in manufactures '. $ 20,500,000 

Value of fuel and raw material used 24,000,000 

Annual product of manufactures 43,500,000 

Value of land — improved and unimproved 230,632,126 

Value of farming implements 8,711,508 

Value of live stock 53,693,673 

Value of orchard products 810,975 

Value of garden products 346,405 

Value of home made manufactures 1,984,262 

Value of animals slaughtered 9,844,449 

Total cost of railroads ( about ) 42,500,000 

Number of newspapers and periodicals 173 

Total annual circulation ( copies ) 30,000,000 



EAILKOAD ENTEEPKISES. 289 

Wonderful activity was developed in 1835-6-7, in the older States 
north and east, in the projection and building of lines of railroad. It 
seemed, indeed, to be a mania; and it attacked our people with no 
inconsiderable force, awaking public attention to their want of improved 
means of intercommunication and their value as agencies of development.. 
The railroad convention held in St. Louis in April, 1836, elsewhere 
noted as the first ever held in the State, and the incorporation of 
numerous railroad companies by the legislature of 18.36-7, were out- 
growths of the popular feeling on the subject. 

It will not be unprofitable to note in this place the several railroad 
lines, if, indeed, some of them can be truthfully called lines, projected 
at this session and seriously urged upon the attention of the people and 
tax-payers of the various localities : (1) Bailey's Landing Kailroad, 
beginning at Troy, in Lincoln county, thence to Bailey's Landing on the 
Missouri river ; capital stock $50,000. (2) Carondelet and St. Lonis 
Eailroad, for horse or locomotive engines; capital $100,000. (3) 
Florida and Paris Eailroad, from Florida, in Monroe County, to Paris, 
in the same county ; capital, $100,000. (4) Hannibal, Paris, and Grand 
River Railroad from Hannibal to the mouth of Grand River, in Chariton 
County, via Florida and Paris in Monroe and Huntsville and Keytesville, in 
Randolph and Chariton. (5) Liberty Railroad, from Liberty, in Clay 
County, to the Missouri river; capital $25,000. (6) Livingston and 
Independence Railroad, from Livingston, on the Missouri river in Jackson 
County, to Independence, in the same county ; capital $100,000. (T) 
Louisiana and Columbia Railroad, from Louisiana in Pike County to 
Columbia, in Boone, thence to Rocheport; capital $1,000,000.^ (8) 
Marion City and Missouri River Railroad, from Marion City, on the Mis- 
sissippi river in Marion County, toBoonville, on the Missouri river, via 
Palmyra, Marion College, New York (in Shelby county), and New 
Franklin in Howard county ; capital $600,000. (9) Mine a LaMotte 
and Mississippi Railroad, from Mine a LaMotte, in Madison County, to 
a point on the Mississippi river not lower down than Pratte's 
Landing; capital $300,000. (10) Monticello and LaGrange Railroad, 



^ The track of this road was surveyed, Hon. J. S. Eollins of Columbia assisting in the 
field work and being one of the managers of a ball given in Gentry' s Hotel in Columbia 
to commemorate the completion of the survey. Col. A. B. Chambers, at that time 
editor of the Salt Eiver Journal, published at Bowling Green, and subsequently of the 
St. Louis Bepublican; and Edwin Draper, Phineas Block, and John S. McClune, of Pike 
County, and J. S. EoUin?, Kichard Gentry, Sinclair Kirtley, Wm. Cornelius and David 
M. Hickman, of Boone, were great friends of the enterprise. 

19 



290 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

from LaGrang-e to Monticello in Lewis County ; capital $100,000. (11) 
Paynesville and Mississippi Railroad, from Paynesville, in Pil^e County, 
to the Mississippi at Jaclison's Landing; capital $50,000. (12) Roche- 
port Railroad, from Rocheport to Columbia, in Boone County ; capital 
$150,000. (13) Mineral Railroad, from St. Louis to Caledonia, in 
Washington Country, via Potosi ; capital $2,000,000. (14) St. Charles 
Railroad, from St. Charles to a point on the Mississippi nearly opposite 
Grafton; capital $100,000. (15) Southeastern Railroad, from New 
Madrid to Commerce, in Scott County; capital $200,000. (16) St. 
Louis Railroad, from St. Louis to the Missouri river ; capital $500,000. 
(17) Southern Railroad, from Caledonia, in Washington County, to Cape 
Girardeau on the Mississippi, via Iron Mountain, Mine a LaMotte and 
Jackson; capital $1,000,000. (18) Washington and Ste. Genevieve 
Railroad, from Washington to Ste. Genevieve ; capital $ . 

Such was the formidable array of railway enterprises projected at the 
session of the General Assembly of 1836-7. All of them were railroads 
on paper, and really had no other existence than in the acts incorporating 
them. The companies possessed neither credit, money, bonds nor. lands, 
all of o-reat utility in the construction and equipment of lines of rail- 
way, and some of them of indispensible value. Nevertheless the several 
charters, although then and now dead letters on the statute books, were 
not without wholesome influence on the people and future legislatures. 
The Louisiana and Columbia and the St. Louis and Bellevue charters 
were almost literally copied, in 1848-9. and in 1850-51 in the acts incor- 
porating the Hannibal and St. Joseph and the St. Louis and Iron Moun- 
tain railways. The same pen drafted both of the former, the Columbia 
and Louisiana charter in 1836-7, and the Hannibal and St. Joseph in 
1848-9 — namely, that of Hon. J. S. Rollins, of Columbia, who prepared 
the latter charter at the request of Hon. Robert M. Stewart, who is 
reo-arded as the father of the road, and was its first president. 

Sixteen years elapsed after the St. Louis Railroad Convention of 1836, 
before the "iron horse" and the steam whistle were heard west of the 
Mississippi on a Missouri railroad. Meanwhile, however, not being able, 
owino- to their great cost, to construct any part of the numerous lines of 
railroads chartered, and intelligently alive to the value and importance 
of improved methods of intercommunication, the people of many of the 
counties constructed rock, gravel, or plank roads. Indeed, the plank 
road mania in Missouri succeeded the railway mania, and, largely proving 
a fiiilure, intensified the feeling in favor of more enduring and rapid 
means of transportation, although more costly. 



EAILKOAD ENTEEPKISES. 291 

The Pacific Railroad Charter was approved March 12, 1849 ; and in 
May following, surveys commenced ; and on July 4, 1850, the ground 
was broken as initatory to the work of construction, on which occasion 
Hon. Luther M. Kennett, then Mayor of the city of St. Louis, cast the 
first shovel of earth on the new track. In December, 1852, the road 
was opened to Cheltenham for passengers, five miles; in 1853, to 
Franklin (now called "Pacific"), in 1855, to Jefferson City, and in 
1865, to Kansas City, 283 miles distant from St. Louis. 

The starting of the Pacific road was closely followed by the Hannibal 
and St. Joseph, North Missouri, Iron Mountain, and the Southwest 
Branch of the Pacific, now known as the St. Louis & San Francisco. All 
these roads received a large amount of aid from the State, and the Han- 
nibal & St. Joseph, Pacific, and Southwest Branch, large grants of 
land from the general government, namely, to the Pacific road, 127,000 
acres ; to the Southwest Branch, 1,040,000 acres ; and to the Hannibal 
& St. Joseph, 600,000 acres. And State aid — bonds of the railroad 
companies guarranteed by the State — as follows : 



Pacific Railroad - - $7,000,000 
Iron Mountain - - - 3,600,000 



Southwest Branch - $4,500,000 
North Missouri - - 4,350,000 



Hannibal & St. Joseph - - $3,000,000.1 

Lines of telegraph are built along the track of each of these roads, and 
of all others in the State. The first line of telegraph which connected 
St. Louis with the East, reached East St. Louis on Dec. 20, 1847. 

No system of railroads in the world embraces a larger and richer ter- 
ritory than that which has a common and natural center in St. Louis. 
Probably no city in the world now (1877) sends through freight and 
passenger trains over a greater extent of railway mileage than St. Louis. 
This is mainly due to the fact that St. Louis is nearer the geographical 
center of the United States than any other large commercial city, a 
point from which radiating lines extend one to two thousand miles east, 
west and south, and five hundred miles north. These roads carry pas- 
sengers without change of cars, or freight without breaking bulk, from 
five hundred to two thousand miles. 

As a significant fact bearing upon this subject, it may be mentioned 
that a late examination of the yards and depots, in and about the city, 

^For many of the facts in regard to railroads, see Chapter 11, Annual Keport of the 
State Board of Agriculture for 1875, by Geo. C. Pratt, of Columbia, Secretary of the 
"Board of Kailroad Commissionees. 



292 



HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 



showed the presence of cars from one hundred and sixty-two railroads 
and twenty-three States. The trunk-lines centering in St. Louis as a 
terminal point, send daily trains of cars over routes aggregating 25,640 
miles in length, or more than the circumference of the globe. No city 
in America or Europe has a wider field of railroad connection than 
this. 

The fifteen trunk-lines radiating from St. Louis send over their roads 
daily (counting both ways) not less than three hundred passenger and 
freight trains, containing in the aggregate more than four thousand cars. 
A careful but approximate estimate gives to this service for 1876 the 
transportation of 8,000,000 tons of freight, and more than 3,000,000 
passengers.^ 

But productions of the field, pasture, garden and orchard; progress 
in manufactures ; in railroad and telegraph lines ; in the development of 
mineral deposits unexcelled in quantity and richness in the world, nor 
yet increased population and taxable wealth, are not all we have accom- 
plished during the last ten and thirty years now passing under review. 

No less rapid and gratifying than the growth of the State has been that 
of the system of public education. The first utterance of the people on 
the subject, in the constitution of 1820, and in each of the constitutions 
adopted since that period, was unmistakably in favor of a system of 
public instruction that shall afibrd the blessings of knowledge to all the 
children of the State, the poor as well as the rich. And if the systems 
enacted from time to time by our legislators, and the policy of some who 
were high in official authority, have not at all times reached the greatest 
measure of attainable good in this direction, it has certainly not been for 
the lack of the most emphatic injunction by the people in the organic 
laws of the State. 

More than thirty years elapsed after the organization of the State 
government, although each Legislature was biennially confronted with 
the constitutional provision that " schools and the means of education 
shall forever be encouraged in this State," before a law was passed ap- 
propriating any portion of the taxes paid by the people to educational 
purJDOses. During the whole of this period our public school system 
rested for its maintenance solely on the small revenues annually accruing 
from the interest on the State and township school funds, and the volun- 
tary sums paid teachers by parents or guardians. From this and 
other causes incident to a new and sparsely settled State, the system of 

^Hand-Book of the Missouri Pacific Kailway, 1877, by J. L. Tracy. 



PEOGEESS OF EDUCATION. 293 

popular education languished. School-houses were often nothing more 
than log huts, unplastered and unceiled, with chimneys constructed of 
sticks, mud and straw, and without school furniture, unless long, back- 
less benches, made of inverted puncheons, and a wide plank fastened to 
the wall for a writing desk, can be called " furniture." 

Happily, however, a few years before the war, and during the session 
of the General Assembly of 1852-3, '■ a law was passed against tremen- 
dous opposition appropriating 25 per cent, annually of the State revenue 
to common-school purposes, which being added to the annually accruing 
interest from the other school funds before mentioned, was distributed 
to the several counties according to the number of children of the school 
age, to be faithfully applied to the maintenance of the free public 
schools. This law imparted a new impulse to the cause of education in 
the State; so that, as the official statistics show, while in 1853, at the 
twelfth apportionment, the amount distributed for the support of common 
schools was only about $65,000, the next year it reached in round num- 
bers, $172,000 ; and at the nineteenth apportionment, in 1860, the sum of 
$262,000. Also that— while in 1856 there were only about $33,000 raised 
(partly by self-imposed tax) to build and repair school houses, $380,000 
paid teachers ; 302,126 children reported and 98,000 taught — in 1859 
more than $192,000 were raised for school houses, $691,000 paid teachers, 
385,639 children reported and 171,000 taught during the year. 

The summary of the school apportionments, from the first in 1842 to 
the thirty-first in 1877, inclusive, and for which we are indebted to the 
last report of Hon. R. D. Shannon, State Superintendent of Common 
Schools, will be read with interest and can be studied with profit, as 
follows : 

First, in 1842 f 1,999 60 Eleventh, in 1852 $ 58,411 08 

Second, in 1843 6,043 80 Twelfth, in 1853 65,425 83 

Third, in 1844 11,892 42 Thirteenth, in 1854 172,565 32 

Fourth, in 1845 16,481 70 Fourteenth, in 1855 178,089 60 

Fifth, in 1846 23,720 02 Fifteenth, in 1856 217,674 40 

Sixth, in 1847 48,770 74 Sixteenth, in 1857 240,287 74 

Seventh, in 1848 56,959 20 Seventeenth, in 1858 245,280 64 

Eighth, in 1849 59,456 01 Eighteenth, in 1 859. .... 254,951 12 

Ninth, in 1850 27,751 52 Nineteenth, in 1860 262,234 52 

Tenth, in 1851 69,895 20 1861 Nothing. 

^ See section 1, article 11, of school law, approved February 24th, 1853, Session Acts 
1852-3, p. 151, said section being the following: " Hereafter twenty-five per centum of 
the State revenue shall be annually set apart and become State school moneys, and 
should be distributed annually for the support of organized school townships," 



294 



HISTOEY OF MISSOUEI. 



1862 Nothing. Twenty-fourth, in 1870 $517,159 99 

1863 Nothing. Twenty-fifth, in 1871 339,567 82 

Twentieth, in 1864 f 169,685 56 Twenty-sixth, in 1872 355,681 80 

1865 Nothing. Twenty-seventh, in 1873 351,876 41 

Twenty-first, in 1866 42,698 81 Twenty-eighth, in 1874 410,269 28 

1867 Nothing. Twenty-ninth, in 1875 466,305 52 

Twenty-second, in 1868 263,726 54 Thirtieth, in 1876 470,120 61 

Twenty-third, in 1869 308,369 43 Thirty-fii'st, in 1877 539,697 71 

The appropriations from the revenue fund were first made in 1854, 
being one-fourth of the State revenue collected from November 1st, 
1853, to January 31st, 1854, and afterward, by another act of the Leg- 
islature, 25 per cent, of the revenue collections, proper, as follows : 

First, in 1854 f 74,178 57 1866 Nothing. 

Second, in 1855 108,962 01 1867 Nothing. 

Third, in 1856 119,353 33 Eighth, in 1868 $217,011 10 

Fourth, in 1857 143,488 38 Ninth, in 1869 218,740 64 

Fifth, in 1858 165,626 75 Tenth, in 1870 228,629 64 

Sixth, in 1859 194,026 88 Eleventh, ia 1871 243,197 33 

Seventh, in 1860 203,732 82 Twelfth, in 1872 255,475 11 

1861 Nothing. Thirteenth, in 1873 215,669 90 

1862 Nothing. Fourteenth, in 1874 254,770 55 

1863 Nothing. Fifteenth, in 1875 310,809 49 

1864... Nothing. Sixteenth, in 1876 311,552 25 

1865 Nothing. Seventeenth, in 1877 365,51580 

In 1821, St. Louis, compared to what it now is, was a straggling 
village without commerce, without manufactures, without regular 
steamboat communication, without rail or rock roads, without telegraphs, 
without street cars or gas, without schools, and with the common wooden 
flat for ferry crossing, instead of the magnificent tubular bridge which 
now spans the Mississippi. In 1821, her total population was about 
12,000; in 1860, nearly 200,000; and in 1876, more than 500,000. 
In 1821, there were only 429 tax-payers in the city of St. Louis, the 
taxable wealth of no one of whom was larger than $20,000, very few of 
them as high as $10,000, and a large majority of them under $5,000. 
The total taxes levied for that year in the city was $3,823.80. For the 
fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1860, the city of St. Louis paid into the 
State Treasury taxes and licenses to the amount of $932,027.33, In 
1872, the tax-rolls exhibit the names of 400 tax-payers, only 29 short of 
the list of 1821, no one of whom pays on assessed valuations of less 
than $50,000, several of them over a million, and all of them together 
more than sixty millions. 



DESTINY OF THE STATE. 



295 



■ From these meagre beginnings, behold the colossal proportions we 
have attained as a State, our wonderful achievements in the arts, in 
commerce, in wealth and population, and in all the varied industries 
which distinguish the civilization of our eventful era. Mark the potential 
influences which have opened the rich fountains of individual and incor- 
porated enterprise ; which have vivified and expanded the fields of 
knowledge ; which have quickened the spirit, by enlarging the means, 
of State and international commerce. 

Neither at the time of the settlement at Ste. Genevieve, nor for 
several years after the acquisition of Louisiana by Mr. Jefiersou, was the 
steamboat known ; and therefore no steam vessel of any kind navigated 
any of the waters of the world. Even as late as the war of 1812, 
railroads for the transportation of freight and passengers had not been 
invented; and the electric telegraph, as a means of communicating 
intelligence, did not occur to the wildest fancy for a generation afterward. 
Now the telegraph encircles the globe, scaling the highest mountains 
and spanning the deepest and broadest seas, annihilating intervening 
space and bringing continents together, and making next-door neighbors 
every kindred and tongue, nation and tribe on the face of the earth. 
Missouri then had not a mile of railway. Now it has more than three 
thousand miles ; and the shrill whistle of the locomotive is heard on its 
mountain tops and reverberating with mellowed music along its richest 
valleys. 

In 1821, Missouri was a frontier State, unknown even by name to a 
large majority of the people of our own seaboard. Now it contains a 
population of two millions of people, owning a taxable wealth of nearly 
six hundred millions of dollars ; is entitled to fifteen votes in the electoral 
college, and in the number of its inhabitants proudly ranks as the fifth 
State in a sisterhood of thirty-eight States. 

Who, then, can doubt or deny that Missouri has achieved, and is 
achieving, a distinguished destiny? 

It can now be truthfully said of it, there is no speech nor language 
where its voice is not heard. Its line is gone out through all the earth, 
and its words to the end of the world. It possesses more of the elements 
of wealth and prosperity than any other State, old or new, inland or 
seaboard ; and, blessed with a wise administration of its government and 
the smiles of a gracious Providence, will become one of the cherished 
spots of earth, consecrated as the home of religion and liberty, and the 
keystone of the arch of an indestructible Union. 



296 HISTORY OF MISSOUEI. 

We cannot more befittingly portray the influence which Missouri is 
destined to exert in the moral and political regeneration of our country 
than by quoting the glowing lines of Bryant : 

"Who shall place 
A limit to the giant's unchained strength, 
Or curb his swiftness in the forward race? 
Far, like the comet's way through infinite space, 
Stretches the long, untraveled path of light, 
Into the depths of ages ; we may trace 
Afar, the brightening glory of its flight, 
'Till the receding rays are lost to human sight. 




{H^>yy7 




CHAPTER XXV. 

I860,— Eeturns op Elections from 1S60 to 1870.— Presidential Election op I860.— 
Unexampled Excitement attending it — National Conventions to Nominate, 
Candidates.— Four candidates, Douglas, Breckenridge, Bell and Lincoln, 
nominated— A Quadrangular Contest. — Abraham Lincoln elected President. — 
Gubernatorial Canvass in Missouri.— Claiborne F. Jackson, Hancock Jackson, 
James B. Gardenhire and Sample Orr candidates por Governor.— An Exciting 
and Bitter Contest over the Slavery Issues.— C. F. Jackson elected Governor. 



Election of 1860— For Governor— 

Claiborne F Jackson, Douglas 
Democrat 74,446 

Sample Orr, American 64,583 

Hancock Jackson, Brecken- 
ridge Democrat 11,415 

James B. Gardenhire, Eepub- 

lican 6,135 

Jackson's majority over Orr, 9,863 

Thomas C. Eeynolds elected 
Lieutenant Governor. 

Whole number of votes cast for 

Governor 158,579 

Total population of State in 
1860 1,182,012 

Election for President — 1860 — 
Stephen A. Douglas, Demo- 
crat 58,801 

John Bell, Union 58,372 

John C. Breckenridge, Demo- 
crat 81,317 

Abraham Lincoln, Eepublicau 17,028 
Douglas' majority over Bell... 429 
Douglas' majority over Breck- 
enridge 27,484 

Whole number of votes cast for 
President 165,518 



Election of 1864 — for Governor — 
Thomas C. Fletcher, Kepubli- 

can 71,531 

Thomas L. Price, Democrat 30,406 

Fletcher's majority over Price 41,125 

Whole number of votes cast.. 101,937 

Election for President — 1864 — 

Abraham Lincoln, Eepublican 71,676 

Geo. B. McClellan, Democrat 81,626 

Lincoln's maj ority over McClel- 
lan 40,050 



For constitutional convention 89,215 
Against constitutional conven- 
tion 51,422 



Majority for convention 37,793 



Election of 1865 — on ISTew 
Constitution — 

For new constitution 43,670 

Against new constitution 41,808 



Majority for new constitution 1,862 



Election of 1866— State Superin- 
tendent OF Public Schools — 

T. A. Parker, Eepublican 62,187 

John F. Williams, Democrat 40,958 



Parker's majority over Williams 20,859 
Total number of votes cast 104,775 



Election of 1868 — For Governor — 
Joseph W. McClurg, Eepublican 82,107 
John S . Phelps, Democrat .... 62,780 



McClurg's majority over Phelps 19,327 
Whole number of votes cast 144,887 

Suffrage Amendment to the Con- 
stitution — 
Against striking out the word 

"white" 74.053 

For striking out the word 

"white" 55,236 



Majority against negro suffrage 18,817 

Election for President — 1868 — 

U. S. Grant Eepublican 85,671 

Horatio Seymour, Democrat. . . 59,788 



Grant's majority over Seymour 25,883 



298 niSTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 

In some respects the Presidential election of 1860 was the most 
remarkable in the history of the Republic ; remarkable for the events 
which preceded and attended, as well as those that followed it. It is 
destined, therefore, long to live in our public annals with the freshness 
and vigor of a new event. 

It had been immediately preceded by the most notable and exciting, 
if not the most important political proceedings in Congress, and among 
the people, which up to that period had occurred since the adoption of 
the Constitution. Among these may be mentioned, as of the greatest 
significance, the renewal with unexampled violence of the slavery agitation, 
the repeal of the Missouri compromise of 1820, the Kansas-Nebraska 
controversy, the passage of the Personal Liberty bills by several of the 
northern States, the John Brown raid at Harper's Ferry in Virginia, 
and the belligerent and disunion utterances of various distinguished and 
trusted leaders of the South. 

While the popular excitement occasioned by these events was at its 
height, the Presidential canvass of 1860 was opened. In the number of 
the parties to it, and the character of the gentlemen composing the 
tickets presented for the support of the American people, the canvass 
was a faithful reflex of popular sentiment ; for while it is true the slavery 
question was the chief issue in the struggle, it assumed a multiplicity of 
forms, and separated the people of the United States into four grand 
divisions, each represented by its national convention and nominees for 
President and Vice President. It was, therefore, a quadrangular contest ; 
and could not fail, on account of the inflammable nature of the questions 
discussed and the highly respectable character of the tickets presented, 
to excite the profoundest interest in every State in the Union. 

As this contest greatly influenced the course of political events in 
Missouri, it is proper that a summary of the proceedings of the several 
National Conventions should be given at this point. 

The Democratic party was the first to march from its tents to the 
open field, and to organize for the struggle. As early as April 
23d, its National Convention met in the great hall of South Carolina 
Institute, in the city of Charleston. About six hundred delegates, 
representing thirt3'-two States, assembled. On the second day, Caleb 
Cushing, of Massachusetts, was chosen iDcrmanent president — a selection 
which was very befitting and significant under the circumstances, and 
one that gave universal satisfaction to the violently -discordant elements 
which were now brought face to face in close cojitact. 

All through the immediately preceding years, in Congress, in the 



DEMOCEATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. 299 

public press and in the primary assemblies of the people, and notably 
in many of the conventions to elect delegates, there had been premon- 
itions of the coming storm which threatened the unity and success of the 
Democratic organization, a venerable political fabric whose foundations, 
it was claimed, were laid by Jefferson sixty 3'ears before. 

Mr. Gushing made an able, a powerful address to the convention, and 
as conciliatory in spirit as the rugged character of the issues it was called 
upon to confront would justify. Yet he was bold and uncompromising 
in his hostility to the policy, as he understood it, of the Republicans, the 
most formidable enemy of the party in whose name his uttera^nces were 
delivered. He declared it to be the mission of the Democratic party 
to "reconcile popular freedom with constituted order," and to maintain 
"the sacred reserved rights of the sovereign States ;" that the Republi- 
cans were "laboring to overthrow the Constitution," and "to produce in 
this country a permament sectional conspiracy — a traitorous sectional 
conspiracy of one-half of the States of the Union against the other 
half;" and that, " impelled by the stupid and half insane spirit of faction 
and fanaticism, they would hurry our land on to revolution and to civil 
war." He declared it to be the " high and noble part of the Democratic 
party of the Union to withstand — to strike down and conquer" these 
"banded enemies of the Constitution." 

To these utterances there was an universal response of approval in the 
convention. Nevertheless, when that body came to construct its plat- 
form of principles, serious bickerings arose on the subject of slavery ; and 
on the evening of the fourth day of its session, three reports were pre- 
sented from the committee on resolutions : the majority report by Wil- 
liam W. Avery, of North Carolina ; the minority report by H. B. Payne, 
of Ohio, and a resolution endorsing the Cincinnati platform of 1856, 
without alteration, by Ben. F. Butler, of Massachusetts. These reports 
were debated amidst a tempest of excitement for several days. The 
vote being finally taken, Mr. Butler's resolution was rejected by an 
emphatic majority, and the minority report — the Douglas platform — 
adopted. This result disrupted the convention. Most of the southern 
or ultra pro-slavery delegates withdrew, organized in Military Hall 
by choosing James A. Bayard, of Delaware, as president, and proceeded 
to adopt the resolutions presented by Mr. Avery from the majority of 
the committee— the anti-Douglas platform. Without nominating a Pres- 
idential ticket, they adjourned to meet in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday, 
June 11th. Assembling at that place on that day, they adjourned 
to Baltimore, with the view of re-entering the convention, which had 



300 HISTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 

adjoiirnecl to meet in that city on June 18th, find defeating, if possible, 
the nomination of Mr. Dons-las. 

No sooner had the convention re-assembled in Baltimore, Mr, Gushing 
again in the chair, than bitter controversy arose as to the admission of 
the " seceders," as they were called, to seats. This question greatly 
disturbed the harmony and good feeling of the body, and threatened 
(let it be settled as it might) to rend the convention in pieces. 

On the fourth day of the session, the committee to whom the subject 
had been referred made two reports : the majority recommending the 
admission of the Douglas delegates, in place of the " seceders," from 
Louisiana and Alabama, and parts of delegations from other States. The 
minority report was against the admission of any new delegates. 

On Friday, June 22, the majority report was adopted, and this occa- 
sioned another explosion. The whole or parts of the delegates from 
Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, California, Delaware, 
and Missouri withdrew, and on the following morning a majority of the 
Massachusetts delegates, headed by Mr. Cushing himself, the president, 
also withdrew. On the retirement of Mr. Cushing, David Tod of Ohio, 
one of the vice-presidents, was called to preside, whereupon the con- 
vention proceeded to the nomination of a Presidential ticket. On the 
second ballot, of the 194^ votes cast, Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, 
received 181^, and was declared the nominee for President ; James 
Pitzpatrick of Alabama was nominated for Vice-President ; but declining, 
the national committee tilled the vacancy with Herschel V. Johnson of 
Georgia. 

At noon on Saturday, June 23, the " seceders," new and old, met in 
the hall of Maryland Institute, and permanently organized by the elec- 
tion of Mr. Cushing as president — he thus having the honor of presiding 
over both conventions. A platform having been previously adopted, and 
nothing remaining except the nomination of a Presidential ticket, the 
business of the convention proceeded with the utmost harmony. For 
candidate for President, the ballot stood : John C. Breckenridge of 
Kentucky, 81 ; Daniel S. Dickinson of New York, 24. Joseph Lane, of 
Oregon, was nominated for Vice-President. Then the convention ad- 
journed. 

And thus ended the two national nominating conventions of the 
Democratic party in 1860. From these focal centers of political 
excitement there went out with electric speed, to all parts of the Union, 
a wave of bitterness, which threatened to engulf the entire party in 
disaster, and to involve the country in the throes of civil revolution. 



n;ationai. conyentions. 301 

The week succeeding the adjournment of the Democratic conventions 
at Charleston, a National Convention of the Constitutional Union party, 
composed almost entirely of the old Whig and American parties, met in 
the First Presbyterian Church in Baltimore. Although this convention 
was highly respectable for its numbers and talents, and very enthusiastic 
in its deliberations, there were ten of the States not represented, 
namely : California, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, 
Rhode Island, Oregon, South Carolina and Wisconsin. John J. 
Crittenden of Kentucky, chairman of the National Constitutional Union 
committee, called the convention to order, and on his motion Washington 
Hunt, of New York, was made permanent president. The proceedings 
of this body were very harmonious. After adopting with great 
unaminity and enthusiasm, as its platform, " The Constitution or the 
Country, the Union of the States, and the Enforcement of the 
Laws," the convention proceeded to ballot for candidates for President 
and Vice-President. Two hundred and fifty-four votes were cast. John 
Bell, of Tennessee, and Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, were nominated 
for President and Vice-President. The convention adjourned on the 
second day, and the night succeeding a grand ratification meeting was 
held in Monument Square, in Baltimore, which was addressed by some of 
the most distinguished orators of the country. 

During the following week the representatives of the Republican party 
met in the Wigwam in Chicago. George Ashmun, of Massachusetts, 
was made permanent president. A platform composed of seventeen 
resolutions was adopted, which sought to make explicit declarations upon 
the subject of slavery, at that time largely occupying public attention. 
This platform declared each State had the absolute right of the control 
and management of its own domestic concerns ; that the new dogma that 
the Constitution of its own force carries slavery into the territories of 
the United States was a dangerous political heresy, revolutionary in its 
tendency, and subversive of the peace and harmony of the country ; that 
the normal condition of all the territory of the United States is that of 
freedom, and that neither Congress, nor a territorial legislature, nor any 
individuals, have authority to give legal existence to slavery in any terri- 
tory of the United States ; and that the re-opening of the African slave 
trade, under cover of our national flag, aided by perversions of judicial 
power, was a crime against humanity and a burning shame to our country 
and age. Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, and Hannibal Hamlin, of 
Maine, were made the nominees for President and Vice-President, and 
the convention adjourned with nine cheers for the ticket. 



302 HISTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 

This quadrangular contest for the Presidencj^ — substantially only trian- 
gular in Missouri— deeply moved our people, and engendered a bitter- 
ness of party spirit and a popular turbulence unknown to former 
elections. On account of their comparative numerical weakness, the 
Republicans of the State did not play a very prominent part in the 
passing drama. But the war between the Douglas and Breckenridge 
"wings" of the Democratic party was fierce beyond measure, and 
exceedingly personal. Taking advantage of these intestine feuds in the 
dominant party in the State, the friends of Bell and Everett hoped not 
only to carry their State ticket in August, but their Presidential electors 
in November ; and to this end directed the best powers of their organiz- 
ation. Their policy was to foment the prevailing discord and thus 
achieve a triumph over both "wings" of their opponents. Before the 
August election, however, the Douglas and Breckenridge Democrats, 
notwithstanding each had a candidate for Governor in the field, 
aojreeino; to disagree in regard the Presidential nominees, united in the 
support of a common State ticket, and elected C. F. Jackson governor 
over Sample Orr by nearly ten thousand majority. Still the Presidential 
canvass was prosecuted with great vigor and enthusiasm, resulting in 
November in the choice of the Douglas over the Bell electors by only 
429 votes. 

It was quite natural that Missouri, being the only border slave-holding 
State west of the Mississippi river, and lying contiguous to Kansas, 
should be deeply involved in the agitation and interested in the settle- 
ment of the territorial complications connected with the subject of 
slavery. Her people were very largely emigrants from, or descendants 
of, Kentucky, Virginia, and other southern States, and therefore very 
naturally sympathized with the people of those States in the mainten- 
ance of their peculiar institution. Nevertheless much of the leaven of 
an intelligent conservatism pervaded the popular mind, and as a people 
they were not, in the language of Governor Stewart's last message, "to be 
frightened from their propriety by the past unfriendly legislation of the 
North, or dragooned into secession by the restrictive legislation of the 
extreme South." Yet they were fearfully agitated by the slavery issues 
of the times, and quite a large number of their public men were appar- 
ently ready for the adoption of extreme if not revolutionary measures. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

1861.— XXIST Genkual Assembly.— C. F. Jackson Inatjgurated Governor.— Synopsis of 
HIS Inaugural.— The Legislature Environed With Embarrassing Questions.— It 
Calls a State Convention.— Important Preliminary Proceedings.— The Problem 
OF Secession.— The Functions of Conventions Discussed.— Daniel R. Eussell, 
Commissioner of Mississippi, Addresses the General Assembly.— His Mission a 
Failure.— " The Peace Congress" at Washington City.— Resolution of John 
Hyer, of Dent, Against Coercion.- Contest for United States Senator to Suc- 
ceed James S. Green.— A Triangular Struggle.— Waldo P. Johnson Elected.— 
Senators Johnson and Polk Expelled from the Senate.— A •' Relief Law" Passed 
BY THE Legislature and Declared Unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.— An 
Extra Session of the Legislature Called May 2, 1861.— Extraordinary " War 
Measures" Adopted.— Panic Caused by the Capture op Camp Jackson.— Before- 
day Session of the Legislature. — Burning of the Osage Railroad Bridge. — 
Sterling Price Appointed Majok-General of the State Forces.— Flight of Gov- 
ernor Jackson from the Capital.— He Calls the Legislature to Meet at Neosho. 
— A Fragment of it Assembles. — Proceedings of the Senate.— Secession Ordi- 
nance Passed.— Isaac N. Shambaugh's Circular.— Governor Jackson's Message 
Appointing Officers of '• The State Guard."— The Neosho-Cassville Legislature 
Adjourns to Meet at New Madrid.— The Session Never Held There. 

The Twenty-first General Assembly met in Jefferson City on December 
31st, 1860, under peculiarl}^ embarrassing circumstances. Ten clays 
before it convened. South Carolina had passed an ordinance of secession, 
and before the 20th of January four other southern States — Mississippi, 
Florida, Alabama and Georgia — added to the complications and difficulties 
of the situation by following South Carolina's example. But these were 
not all of the embarrassments which environed the Legislature. The 
preceding national and state canvass, discussed more at length in the last 
chapter, resulted in returning to the Legislature representatives of the 
four political parties or fragments of parties into which the people were 
divided. Three of these were of nearly equal strength in the General 
Assembly, and neither of them singly had controlling power in either 
branch. The Senate consistecl of 33 members, divided as follows : 
Breckenridge Democrats, 15 ; Douglas Democrats, 10 ; Union or Bell- 
Everett men, 7; Republicans, 1. The House, containing 132 members, 
was divided as follows : Breckenridge Democrats, 47 ; Union or Bell- 
Everett men, 37 ; Douglas Democrats, 36 ; Republicans, 12. 

The exciting character of the public questions which divided and dis- 
tracted the people, and the fearful imminence of a bloody civil war, 
were well calculated to agitate the currents of legislation, and so deeply 
to disturb them as to render their outflow historical. No one need 
marvel, therefore, that the proceedings of the xxist General Assembly 



304 



HISTOEY OF MISSOUKI. 



were of the most turbulent cliaracter, and withal of unusual importance 
to the people. The outgrowth of a revolutionary period, they left their 
impress upon tlie State, and were of such significance and import as to 
justify a brief historical summary in this place. 

The Legislature was organized by the election of John McAfee, of 
Shielby, as Speaker of the House, the vote bein^ : John McAfee, 77 ; 
Marcus Boyd, of Greene, 43 ; Thomas L. Price, of Cole, 4 ; Samuel Hyer, 
Jr., of Dent, 1. Mr. McAfee was a representative of the extreme 
pro-slavery wing of the Democratic party. Thomas H. Murray, 
(Douglas Democrat), of Benton, was elected Chief Clerk. Warwick 
Hough, of Cole — now one of Supreme Court Judges — was chosen 
Secretary of the Senate. 

On January 4th, 1861, Claiborne F. Jackson, of Howard, who had 
been elected, as a Douglas Democrat, Governor Stewart's successor, was 
inausfurated as Governor. While Governor Stewart's farewell messao-e 
concluded with a thrilling appeal for the maintenance of the Union, in 
which he depicted the horrors of secession, revolution and war. Governor 
Jackson's inaugural insisted ( as did his celebrated resolutions of 1849 ) 
that the destiny of the slave-holding States in this Union is one and the 
same ; that it will be impossible to separate Missouri's fate from that of 
her sister States who have the same social organization ; that in the event 
of a failure to reconcile the conflictino; interests which now threaten the 
disruption of the existing Union, interest and sympathy alike combine 
to unite the fortunes of all the slave-holding States ; that Missouri 
will not shrink from the duty which her position upon the border 
imposes, but determine her "to stand by the South" ; that the State was 
in favor of remaining in the Union so long as there was any hope of 
maintaining the guarantees of the Constitution ; and that he was utterly 
opposed to the doctrine of coercion, in any event, as leading to consolid- 
ation and despotism. Believing that Missouri was entitled to a voice in 
the settlement of the questions then pending in the country, he recom- 
mended the immediate call of a State convention "that the will of the 
people may be ascertained and effectuated" — adding, "it may soon 
become necessary to send delegates to a convention of the southern 
States, or of all the States." 

No time was lost by the Legislature in entering upon the consider- 
ation of Goyernor Jackson's recommendation in regard to calling 
a State convention ; for on January 6th, on motion of Samuel 
B. Churchill, a Senator from St. Louis, the committee on Federal 
Eelations was instructed to report a bill for that purpose. Three days 



THE QUESTION OF SECESSION. 305 

thereafter a bill was reported to both Houses, as the joint work 
of the committee of both Houses ; and, after debate and amendments in 
each House, it finally passed — in the House (yeas 105, nays 18,) on 
January 17th; in the Senate (yeas 30, nays 2,) on the following day. 

During the pendency of the bill some proceedings were had of sufficient 
importance to merit special mention, that they may be reclaimed, im- 
perfectly and partially it may be, from the great sea of forgetfalness in 
which too many of the transactions of our public bodies are engulfed. 

In the House, on January 14th, Mr. Virginius Randolph, of St. 
Charles, (Union-Bell-Everett), proposed so to amend the bill as to 
provide, for taking the sense of the people at the time of electing dele- 
gates, whether any action of the Convention relative to a separation of 
the State from the Federal Union should be finally submitted to them at 
the polls for their ratification or rejection. 

This was one form, but not the most direct, of circumventing the efforts 
of those who would hastily and inconsiderately sever the ligament which 
bound the State to the Union, and thus plunge it into the bloody vortex 
of secession and civil war. Yet it was a tender to the extreme men in 
the Legislature, of "the rugged issue," and they so accepted and 
opposed it. „ 

Not satisfied with the comparative indirectness of the method proposed 
by Mr. Randolph, and inspired by the discussion which supervened to a 
bolder step, Mr. Alfred T. Lacey, of Cape Girardeau, (also Union-Bell- 
Everett), on the 16th of January, oflfered the following substitute for 
Mr. Randolph's amendment: 

Sec. 10. But said Convention, when so assembled, shall have no power to alter or 
change the existing relations of the State of Missouri with the Government of the United 
States or any State thereof, until the act, ordinance or resolution making such change 
be submitted to the people of this State and approved by a majority of the qualified voters 
voting at said election. 

This brought the House directly to confront two important questions : 
1. — The consideration of the two theories, each widely differing from 
the other, of the nature and functions of conventions, and of the authority 
of the General Assembly, in the act creating them, to restrict or in any 
manner to control their action ; 2. — The policy of the State seceding 
at that time from the Union. 

The general conception of a convention is, that it is a body of dele- 
gates, chosen by the voters of a State, to perform certain legislative 
duties connected with the enactment of the fundamental law — ^that is, 
20 



30() 



HISTOEY OF MISSOUKI. 



to amend, remodel, or form anew a constitution for the government 
of the constituency it repressents. In the general definition of a conven- 
tion here given, the term "delegates" is employed in its legal sense, as 
distinguished from the term "representatives," which is defined by Lord 
Brougham to be a body of persons, chosen by the people, to whom the 
power of the people is parted with, and who perform the part in the 
government which, l>ut for this transfer, would have been performed by 
the people themselves. ^ But the convention proposed to be authorized 
by the act before the Missouri Legislature was not intended to frame, 
amend, or put in operation what is popularly known as a constitution, 
but "to consider the then existing relations between the government of 
the United States, the people and governments of the different States, and 
the government and people of the State of Missouri ; and to adopt such 
measures for vindicating the sovereignty of the State and the protection 
of its institutions, as shall appear to them to " be demanded." (See 
section 5 of the Act.) Nevertheless the two general theories of conven- 
tions were discussed ; First, that the convention called would be a 
strictly representative body, acting for and in the name of the sovereign 
people, and would be possessed, by actual or constructive transfer, of all 
the powers inherent in the people; and therefore its action could not be 
restricted by the law calling it together : Secondly, that the convention 
would be a collection of delegates appointed by the people, through the 
agency and by the adoption of an act of the General Assembly, to 
perform cert:un determinate functions and duties, which are defined in 
the commission under which it convenes. 

Mr. Lacey's substitute propounded the latter theory, and hence immedi- 
ate steps were taken to dispose of it unfavorably ; and with this view 
-Mr. John C. Watkins (Breckenridge Democrat), of Ste. Genevieve, 
moved to lay it on the table, which was disagreed to — ^j'^eas 47, nays 68. 
After which it was adopted — yeas 81, nays 40 — the vote politically 
classitied being: Yeas — Union-Bell-Everett, 27; Douglas Democrats, 
23; Breckenridge Democrats, 18 ; Republicans, 12. N'ays — Union-Bell- 
Everett, 3; Douglas Democrats, 12; Breckenridge Democrats, 25; 
Republicans, none. 

On January 16th, Mr. John D. Stevenson (Republican), of St. Louis, 
introduced a substitute for the entire bill, entitled an act making 
application to Congress for the call of a convention to propose amend- 
ments to the Federal Constitution. It was preceded by a preamble which 

* Jameson's "Constitutional Convention," p. 290. 



PASSAGE OF THE CONVENTIOIsr BILL. 307 

recited, amon.g other things, that the appliciition of the Legislatures of 
two-thirds of the States to Congress for the call of a convention for the 
purposes mentioned, is a means provided in the fifth article of the Con- 
stitntion for the redress of all grievances within the Union ; and, having the 
fullest confidence in this peaceful mode of settling national difficulties, 
therefore it was proposed to enact, (1) that the General Assembly make 
application to Congress for the call of said convention; and, (2) npon 
the passage of this act the Governor of the State should transmit copies 
of the same to the governors of the several States, to be laid before their 
respective Legislatures, and a like copy to each of our Senators and 
Representatives in Congress, to be presented to their respective Houses. 

Mr. Stevenson addressed the house at great length in explanation and 
defense of the bill, and in vindication of the principles of the party that 
elected Mr. Lincoln to the presidency ; predicting that Mr. Lincoln 
would adminster the o-overnment according to the Constitution and in a 
manner that would maintain the rights of the South. 

The vote being taken, the substitute was rejected — ^yeas 12, nays 105 ; 
those voting for the substitute being Messrs. John C. Cavender, Felix 
Coste, Randolph Doehn, John Doyle, Meyer Friede, R. M. Hanna, 
Madison Miller, George M. Moore, N. G. Murphy, James W. Owens, 
Georsje Partrido;e and John D. Stevenson — all from St. Louis, and 
Republicans, except Mr. Murphy, Douglas-Democrat, of Dunklin, and 
Mr. Owens, Union-Bell-Everett, of Franklin. 

The original bill, as reported from the Committee on Federal Relations 
and as afterwards amended by the House, was then adopted — yeas 105, 
nays 18; the nays being Messrs. Stephen C. Allen, of Harrison; John 
C. Cavender, of St. Louis; Felix Coste, of St. Louis; Wm. J. Devol, 
of Crawford ; Randolph Doehn, of St. Louis ; John Doyle, of St. Louis ; 
W. C. Duvall, of McDonald; Meyer Friede, of St. Louis; James M. 
Gordon, of Boone ; R, M. Hanna, of St. Louis ; W. K. Harman, of 
Newton ; Madison Miller, of St. Louis ; George M. Moore, of St. Louis ; 
James W. Owens, of Franklin; George Partridge, of St. Louis ; James 
Peckam, of St. Louis ; Wm. S. Pollard, of Caldwell ; and John D. 
Stevenson, of St. Louis. Republicans — Cavender, Coste, Doehn, 
Doyle, Friede, Hanna, Miller, Moore, Partridge, Peckam and Stevenson 
— 11. Douglas Democrats — Allen and Duvall — 2. Breckenridge 
Democrats — Harman — 1. Union-Bell- Everett — Devol, Gordon, Owens 
and Pollard — 4. 

The bill was immediately reported to the Senate, where Mr. C. H. 
Hardin (Union-Bell-Everett) , from the Boone and Callaway district, and 



308 HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 

Governor of the State in 1874-76, introduced an amendment to strike 
out the 10th section, inserted in the Honse bill on motion of Mr. Lacy, 
and insert the followins: : 

"Sec. 10. No act, ordinance or resolution of said Convention shall be deemed to be valid 
to change or dissolve the political relations of this State to the Government of the United 
States or to any other State, until a majority of the qualified voters of this State, voting 
upon the question, shall ratify the same." 

Mr. Hardin, in explanation of his amendment, maintained that the 
section, as it stood in the House bill, was a very awkward affair. He 
desired a plainer provision on the subject; one which could not be 
misunderstood or misinterpreted. He was quite anxious to make it sure 
that any action of the convention changing the relations between 
Missouri and the Government of the United States should be submitted 
to the people and receive their sanction before becoming valid. And if 
the House shared his desires and convictions on the subject, (and from 
its action he supposed it did,) there would be no delay in concurring in 
the amendment if the Senate adopted it. 

Considerable debate ensued, participated in by M. M. Parsons, of 
Cole; M. C. Goodlett, of Johnson; Charles Jones, of Franklin; Jolm 
Scott, of Buchanan ; Samuel B. Churchill, of St. Louis ; Eobert Wilson, 
of Andrew, and others, during which the authority of a legislature to 
limit the powers of a Convention was denied and affirmed, and the policy 
of a more explicit declaration on the subject than the House bill pro- 
vided, was discussed. Mr. Churchill was prominent in the maintenance 
of the doctrine that the General Assembly had no power over the act* 
of the convention ; that that body when it assembled could do as it 
pleased, and that all the enactments of the Legislature could at best be 
but advisory. The vote being taken on Mr. Hardin's amendment, it 
was adopted by a very close vote — yeas, 17 ; nays, 15 — as follows : 

Teas — B. J. Brown, of Ray; Joshua Chilton, of Shannon; Robert G. Coleman, of 
St. Louis ; F. T. Frazier, of Greene ; John Gullett. of Lawrence ; Westley Halliburton,, 
of Sullivan; Charles H. Hardin, of Callaway ; John Hyer, of Dent; Thomas C. Johnson, 

of St. Louis; H. W. Lyday, of ; W. B. Morris, of St. Louis; M. M. Parsons, of 

Cole ; R. L. Y. Peyton, of Cass ; James S. Rains, of Cedar ; Preston P. Raid, of Audrain ; 
J. T. V. Thompson, of Clay; and Miles Vernon, of Laclede — 17. 

Nmjs. — Thornton P. Bell, of Saline ; Luke Byrne, of New Madrid ; Samuel S. Churchill, 

of St. Louis; Thomas B. English, of Cape Girardeau; Wm. S. Fox, of ; M. C. 

Goodlett, of Johnson; Major Horner, of Randolph; Charles Jones, of Franklin; J. H. 
Mcllvaine, of Washington; Thomas Monroe, of Morgan; William Newland, of Ralls; 

Joseph O'lSTeil, of St. Louis; John Scott, of Buchanan; Samuel H. Stewart, of ; 

and John Wilson, of Andrew. — 15. 

Absent on leave. — H. C. Wright, of Warren. 



A SECESSIONIST ENVOY FROM MISSISSIPPI. 309 

The bill as amended then passed the Senate — yeas, 30 ; nays, 2 ; 
Messrs. Gullett and Morris. ^ It was, without delay, reported to the 
House, where the same evemiig, on motion of Mr. George G. Vest, of 
Cooper, the Senate amendment was taken up and concurred in nem. con. 

During the afternoon sessions of the Senate and House — January 18th, 
1861 — a communication was received from Governor Jackson, informing 
each body that Hon. Daniel R. Russell, who had been appointed a 
Commissioner from the State of Mississippi, was then in Jefferson City, 
desirous of executing the trust with which he had been charged by that 
commonwealth; to-wit : to inform the people of Missouri "that the 
Legislature of Mississippi had passed an act calling a convention of 
the people of that State to consider the present threatening relations of 
the northern and southern sections of the United States, aggravated 
by the recent election of a President upon principles of hostility to the 
States of the South, and to express the earnest hope of Mississippi that 
Missouri would co-operate with her in the adoption of efficient measures , 
for the common defense and safety of the slave-holding States." Gov- 
ernor Jackson concluded his communication with the assurance that Mr. 
Russell would embrace "the earliest opportunity" to confer with the 
General Assembly in regard to the important objects of his mission ; 
whereupon Mr. Churchill offered a concurrent resolution, which passed 
both Houses without delay, the same evening, appointing committees of 
each House to wait upon the Commissioner and inform him that he was 
invited to address the members of the General Assembly that evening in 
the hall of the House of Representatives. The following committee was 
appointed under the resolution ; Senate — Samuel S. Churchill, of St. 
Louis, R. L. Y. Peyton, of Cass, and Robert Wilson, of Andrew. 
House — George G. Yest, of Cooper ; Alfred T. Lace j, of Cape Girardeau ; 
J. P. Ament, of Marion; DeWitt C. Ballou, of Benton, and A. H. 
Conrow, of Ray. 

A very large audience assembled in the hall of the House to hear Mr. 
Russell. As Mississippi had formally seceded from the Union some ten 
days previously, there could be no mistaking the object of Mr. Russell's 
mission, nor what was meant when he in the name of his State expressed 
the hope, in various and artful forms of speech, that Missouri would 
co-operate with her in the adoption of efficient measures for the common 
defense and safety of the slave-holding States. "Efficient measures" 
were but milder words for secession and war ; and to prepare the General 

^See Senate Journal, p. 96. 



310 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

Assembly ;iik1 peo[)lG of Missouri for both events, and to take such 
action as to [)reci[)it:ite them, were evidently the objects of Mr. Russell's 
mission. 

But the adoption ny both branches of the Legislature, only a few 
hours previous to the delivery of his address, of the act calling a State 
Convention, with an explicit provision that no ordinance of secession 
could be valid unless submitted to a vote of the people of the State and 
ratified by them at the polls, did not to any remarkable extent brighten 
the prospects of such a consummation, how devoutly soever some may 
have desired it. In short, Mr. Russell's "mission" was a failure, and, 
to a large extent, his address also. 

''The Peace Congress," as it was called, which was proposed to be 
held in Washington Citj^, on February 4th, 1861, attracted much 
attention and elicited much favorable comment in Missouri ; its object 
being to agree, if possible, upon some plan of adjustment of existing 
, difficulties, so as to preserve the honor and equal rights of the slave- 
holding States, and avert the threatened storm of secession and war. 

On January 29th, Mr. Thomas C. Johnson, of St. Louis, introduced 
into the Missouri Senate a joint resolution appointing as Commissioners 
to said Convention or '"Congress" the fwllowing distinguished citizens: 
Waldo P. Johnson, of St. Clair; A. W. Doniphan, of Clay; John D. 
Coalter, of St. Charles, and Aylett H. Buckner, of Pike. Said Com- 
missioners "always to be under the control of the Genei-al Assembly, 
except when the Convention shall be in session, during which time they 
shall be under the control of the Convention ;" a very unique provision, 
and one which at the time of its introduction caused people to put on 
their studjnng-caps. Amendments were at once proposed to the sub- 
stance, but not to the phraseology of the resolution. Mr. Parsons, of 
Cole, moved to add the name of David R. Atchison, and Mr. Johnson 
that of Ferdinand Kennett ; Avhereupon Mr. Scott moved to strike out 
Ferdinand Kennett and insert N. W. Walkins. Mr. Scott's motion 
failed — ^yeas, 11 ; iv,iys, 16. Mr. Parsons' passed, 17 to 10, and the 
resolution as amended was agreed to. Being reported to the House for 
its concurrence, Mr. Aikman Welch, of Johnson, moved to strike out 
the Commissioners named by the Senate and insert the following, viz : 
Willard P. Hall, of Buchanan ; John F. Ryland, of Lafayette ; Sterling 
Price, of Chariton; John B. Henderson, of Pike; John D. Coalter, of 
St. Charles, Hamilton R. Gamble, of St. Louis, and Ferdinand Kennett, 
of St. Louis. After discussion, Mr. Welch's amendment, together with 
the original resolution from the Senate, was (on motion of Mr. McAfee, 



ANTI- COERCION EESOLUTIONS. 311 

the Speaker), to the surprise of evei-ybodj, laid on the table — yeas, 57 ; 
nays, 50. On the following day, however, on motion of Mr. Ament, of 
Marion, the vote was reconsidered, 75 to 30, and the substitute of Mr. 
Welch disagreed to, 49 to 61 ; after which the original resolution, having 
been amended iu phraseology, was again laid on the table. On the 
following day, on motion of Mr. Nat. C. Claiborne, of Jackson (now of 
St. Louis), Messrs. Waldo P. Johnson, John D. Coalter, A. W. Don- 
iphan, Harrison Hough, and A. H. Buckner, were appointed Commis- 
sioners, and *the Senate concurred. The gentlemen appointed left 
without delay for Washington City, and met "The Peace Congress," of 
which Ex-President John T34er, of Virginia, was elected President. 

As a part of the legislative war-history of the State, the following 
resolutions, introduced into the Senate, March 9th, 1861, by John 
Hyer, of Dent, are inserted here, together with the vote on each : 

1. Besolved by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows : That om* 
Senators in Congress be instructed, and our Eepresentatives be requested, to oppose the 
passage of all bills or acts granting supplies of men or money to coerce the seceded 
States into submission or subjugation. 

2. Besolved, That should anj^ such acts or bills be passed by the Congress of the United 
States, our Senators are instructed, and our Eepresentatives requested, to retire from 
the halls of Congress. 

3. Besolved, That the Governor of this State is hereby requested to transmit to our 
Senators and Eepresentatives in Congress, respectively, a copy of these resolutions. 

The question being on the passage of the resolutions, Mr. Englisb 
called for a division of the question, and the first resolution was agreed 
to by the following vote, the ayes and noes having been demanded by 
Mr. Halliburton : 

Ayes. — ^Messrs. Bell, Byrne, Chilton, Chvirchill, English, Goodlett, Gullett, Halli- 
burton, Hardin, Horner, Hyer, Lj^day, Monroe, O'Niel, Stuart, and Vernon — 16. 

Ifoes. — Messrs. Morris and JSTewland— 2. 

Absent on leave. — Messrs. Coleman, Fox, Johnson, Jones, Mcllvaine, Parsons, Peyton, 
Eains, Eead, Scott, Thompson, Wilson and Wright — 13. 

Sick. — Mr. Frazier — 1. 

The question then being on agreeing to the second resolution, it was 
agreed to by the following vote, the ayes and noes having again been 
demanded by Mr. Halliburton : 

Ayes — ^Messrs. Brown, Byrne, Chilton, Churchill, English, Goodlett, Halliburton, 
Hardin, Horner, Hyer, Lyday, Monroe, O'JSTeil, Stuart and Vernon — 15 

Noes. — Messrs. Bell, Morris and Newland — 3. 

Absent.— Mr. Gullett. 
. Absent on leave and sick — ^As before. 



312 HISTOEY OF MISSOUEI. 

The question then being on agreeing to the third resolution, it was 
agreed to. No action was ever had upon the resolutions in the House. 

The contest for United States Senator during this session of the Leg- 
islature was attended with unusual interest and excitement, a condition 
largely due to the embarrassments and perplexities of the national situ- 
ation and the triangular nature of the contest itself. There were, as we 
have already seen, three political parties represented by an almost equal 
number of members in the Legislature, neither of the divisions, unaided 
by one of the others, possessing the numerical strength to electa Senator 
or control legislation. 

The joint session met on Wednesday, March 13, 1861, and, with vary- 
ing fortunes, the several aspirants and their friends waged fierce battle 
till the Monday following; at which time, on the 15th ballot, Waldo P. 
Johnson, a Breckenridge Democrat, was declared elected for the term of 
six years from March 4, 1861, the time at which James S. Green's term 
expired. 

During the ballotings a large number of distinguished citizens, repre- 
senting the diiferent subdivisions into which the people of the State were 
politically divided, were voted for without success. Prominent among 
these were James S. Green, of Lewis, Breckenridge Democrat and 
incumbent of the office ; A. W. Doniphan, Union-Bell-Everett, of Clay; 
John S. Phelps, Douglas Democrat, of Greene; Thomas B.English, 
Douglas Democrat, of Cape Girardeau ; Robert Wilson, Unicm-Bell- 
Everett, of Andrew; with scattering votes for Willard P. Hall, John B. 
Henderson, William Scott of the Supreme Court, Sterling Price, Robert 
M. Stewart and others. The whole number of votes cast vibrated 
between 145 and 156, and the vote for Mr. Green from 68 on the first 
ballot to 76 on the eiohth, which was the hio^hest vote he received. The 
suc&essfnl candidate, Mr. Johnson, was not voted for till the 14th ballot, 
the first cast on Monday morning. A. W. Doniphan's smallest vote was 
25. His largest (on the 11th ballot) was 43. The final ballot, the 15th, 
stood : Johnson 87, Doniphan 36, English 28. Whole number of votes 
cast 146. Necessary to a choice 74.^ 



^ On December 10th, 1861, Solomon Foote, of Vermont, oflfered a resolution to the U. 
S. Senate, expelling Mr. Johnson from that bodj^ for sympathy with and participation 
in the rebellion against the Government of the United States, which was referred to the 
Judiciary Committee. On January 10th. 1862, Lyman Trumbull, of Illinois, chairman, 
made a report from the committee in favor of the resolution of expulsion, and it was 
adopted— yeas 35, nays none. (See Congressional Globe, p. 263.) On December 18th, 
1861, Charles Sumner, of Massachusetts, introduced a resolution expelling Trusten Polk, 



A "BELIEF LAW." 



313 



Much angry debate preceded the election of United States Senator, as 
angry debate and sectional rancor at all periods of our history, and in 
every place, attended the discussion of the slavery question. While the 
debate was pending in the State Senate, Mr. Churchill, of St. Louis, re- 
called the fact that he had heard Hon. James S. Green charged with being 
a secessionist, and believing him misrepresented, he had telegraphed to 
him at Washington, and the following was his reply : 

"Washington, Jan. 29, 1861. 
Dear Sir: You are right ; my remarks in tlie Globe prove it. I am for every effort, even 
that of Crittenden, but when we fail to get justice and security, I am for separation. 
Let us now have permanent adjustment or pacific division. 

James S. Geeen. 

The financial stringency of the times, added to the fact that the country 
was rapidly approaching the perilous verge of civil war, induced the 
Legislature — March 7, 1861, — to pass a "Relief Law," which provided 
(1) that all executions issued upon any judgment by a court of record 
should be returnable to the second term of said court after the date of the 
execution; (2) all executions already issued from any court of record 
should be returnable to the second term after the date of writ ; (3) all 
executions issued by justices of the peace should be returnable twelve 
months after dale, and (4) no property should be sold by virtue of any 
execution until within fifteen days of the return day therefor ; the law 
to remain in force until January 1, ]863. The bill passed the House — 
ayes 89, nays 26 ; the Senate — ayes 17, nays 9. Notwithstanding these 
large majorities in both Houses in favor of it, the "Relief Law" was 
very short-lived, for on the 26th of the same month the Supreme Court, 
in the case of Wm. S. Boxley vs. Richard H. Stephens, decided it 
unconstitutional and void. 

After a much disturbed and stormy sitting, the first session of the 
Twenty-first General Assembly adjourned sine die on March 28, 1861. 

It was not long, however, before it was reconvened in extra session by 
proclamation of Gov. Jackson, dated April 22, "for the pnr]3ose of 
enacting such laws and adopting such measures as may be deemed 
necessary and proper for the more perfect organization and equipment 



also a Senator from Missouri, for the same reasons given in the case of Mr. Johnson. It 
was referred to the Judiciary Committee, and on January 10th, 1862, Lyman Trumbull, 
of Illinois, chairman, reported in favor of it to the Senate, and it was adopted — ^yeas 36, 
nays none. (See Congressional Globe, -p. 264:.) The vacancies thus occurring were filled 
by Lieut. Governor Willard P. Hall, in the absence of Gov. Gamble, by the appointment 
if Kobert Wilson, of Andrew, and John B. Henderson, of Pike. 



314 HISTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 

of the militia of the Stiite, and to raise money and such other means as 
may be required to pUice the State in a proper attitude of defence." 
Pursuant to this proclamation the Legislature convened in extra session 
at the Capital on May 2, 1861, and adjourned on the 15th, to the third 
Monday in September following. 

Gov. Jackson's message was a brief, but serious and momentous paper. 
It recited the fact that since the adjournment in March, events affecting 
the peace and safety of the country had transpired almost with the 
rapidity of thought, and of a nature well calculated to awaken, in the 
bosom of every pati'iot, the most gloomy apprehension. That these 
events indicated but too plainly that our whole country, its constitution 
and laws, were in imminent danger of disorder and destruction. He 
dwelt upon the nature and object of the Federal Constitution and the 
Union of the States of which it was the bond ; on "the progress of 
the fanaticism, sectionalism and cupidity of the Northern States, culmin- 
ating in the triumph of a purely sectional faction;" on the dangerous 
and monstrous perversions of authority by President Lincoln, and of 
the fidelity to the Constitution and the Union preserved by the people 
of Missouri, and the many and great injuries to which, for the sake of 
peace, they had submitted. He concluded by reciting that the interests 
and sympathies of Missouri are identical with those of the slave-holding 
States, "and necessarily unite our destiny with theirs." Therefore 
he recommended the policy of "arming our people and placing the 
State in an attitude for defense ;" of revising and rendering more efficient 
the militia law, and the adoption of a good system of drill and discipline^ 
"for the protection of our people against the aggression of all assailants." 

The session of the Legislature, although brief, and from its commence- 
ment to conclusion seriously embarrassed by extraordinary excitement,^ 
and apprehensions for the personal safety of its members, was not 
unfruitful of very important proceedings. In the midst of fearful wraug- 
lings, wide-spread terror on account of the capture of Camp Jackson, and 
a turbulence illy fitted to promote deliberation or harmony, the Legis- 
lature passed an act suspending the aj)portionment of the State school 
money for 1861 ; one to authorize counties to loan money, not exceeding 
$30,000 each, to the State ; to authorize the banks of Missouri to issue 
one, two and three dollar notes to the amount of one million five 
hundred thousand dollars in lieu of the same amount of larger notes ; 
to authorize the Governor to purchase or lease David Ballentine's foundry 
at Boonville for the manufacture of arms and munitions of war; to 
authorize the Governor to appoint one major-general, who in time of 



\ 



EXTKAORDINAilY WAR MEASURES. 



315 



insurrection, invasion or war should command the entire military force in 
the field ; to authorize the Guvernoi", whenever in his opinion the security 
and welfare of the State may require it, to take possession of the railroad 
and telegraph lines within the State ; to place twenty thousand dollars at 
the dis[)osal of the Governor to maintaiu the peace and safety of the 
State, and — having just heard of the capture of Camp Jackson — a shoi-t 
act with a long preamble, the preamble reciting that information had 
been received "that the Cit}- of St. Louis had been invaded by the 
citizens of other States, and a portion of the people of said city were 
in a state of rebellion against the laws of the State," etc., therefore 
enactina: that the Governor be authorized "to take such measures as 
in his judgment he might deem necessary or proper to repel such invasion 
or put down such rebellicm." Certainly a very short, but sweeping 
delegation of authority. Also an act of more than two hundred sections, 
supplemented by about fifty "Articles of War," to provide for the 
organization, government, and support of the military forces (called in the 
act the " Missouri State Guard") of the State. Also an act author- 
izing the Governor to borrow one million of dollars to arm and equip 
the militia of the State to repel invasion and protect the lives and 
property of the people. i The act also created a "Military Fund," to 
consist of all the mone}^ then in the treasury or that might thereafter be 
received from the one-tenth of one per cent, on the hundred dollars 
levied by the act of November 19, 1857, to complete certain railroads; 
also the proceeds of a tax of fifteen cents on the hundred dollars of the 
assessed value of the taxable property of the several counties in the 
State, and the proceeds of the two mill tax heretofore appropriated for 
educational purposes. All these various funds were diverted from their 
original uses and made to contribute to the "Military Fund." 

The "Missouri State Guard" bill was before the Legislature, and 
encountering serious resistance, at the time news was received of 
the attack on Camp Jackson l)y Capt. Lyon, and of its surrender to his 
command. The intelligence so excited that body, — if indeed "excitement" 
be not too tame a word to t^'pify the panic and convulsion which ensued 
— that in less than fifteen minutes the act had passed, and was in the 
hands of the Governor for his approval. This commotion had scarcely 
been allayed before a new and greater cause of excitement arose. About 
11 o'clock on the night of May 10th (the night succeeding the capture of 
Camp Jackson) the whole city of Jefferson was aroused by the ringing of 

iPassedtheHouseMay 10th, 1861— Yeas 96, Nays 9. (Page 52.) 



316 



HISTORY OF MISSOUEI. 



bells and sh(iuts of men summoning the Legislature to the Capitol. They 
hurriedly assembled there, went into secret session to consider the 
demands and perils of the crisis, and thus continued until past 3 o'clock 
in the morning. 

The immediate cause of this panic, and of the extraordinary session 
of the Legishiture after midnight, was the reception late that night of a 
telegram, asserted afterwards to be bogus, stating that 2,000 Federal 
troops would leave St. Louis that night for Jefi'erson Cit}^ to capture the 
Governor, State officers, and members of the Legislature.^ To prevent 
the anticipated raid upon the State Capital, the railroad bridge across the 
Osage river, some forty miles distant, was burned, by order of Gov. 
Jackson, as is supposed. The next da}^ 12,000 kegs of powder were 
sent oif in wagons to safe places in the neighboring country, and secreted, 
and the money in the State Treasury was moved out of town to prevent 
its capture. 

The condition of aifairs being better known the next day, because the 
truth was better understood, comparative quiet was restored. 

By virtue of the power vested in him by one of the acts of the 
Legislature, above named, Gov. Jackson appointed Sterling Price Major 
General of the "State Guard." 

On the day before the final adjournment, Mr. George G. Yest, of 
Cooper — now a well-known lawyer and politician of Sedalia, Mo, — made 
the following report to the House of Representatives, from the Committee 
on Federal Relations (House Journal, pp. 73, 74 and 75) : 

Wliereas, We have learned with astonishment and indignation, that troops in the 
service of the Federal Government have surrounded and taken prisoners of war, the 
encampment of State militia lately assembled near the city of St. Louis, in pursuance 
of law, and by command of the Governor, for the purpose alone of military instruction; 
and whereas, the United States troops aforesaid, assisted by a mob armed under Federal 
authority, have also murdered with unparallelled atrocitj^, defenseless men, women and 
children, citizens of Missouri, lawfullj^ and peacefully assembled : ISTow, therefore, 

Besolved by the House of Bepresentatives, the Senate concurring therein: That we, the 
representatives of the people of Missouri, in General Assembty convened, do hereby 
protest to the civilized world, and especially our sister States against this illegal, 



iBoth Houses met in "extraordinary session" at 11 : 30 o'clock p. M. on May 10th, 1861, 
— 67 Representatives answering to their names. Number of Senators not stated. The 
following communication from Gov. Jackson was read to each House (House Journal, 
p. 55; Senate Journal, p. 77) : 
To the Senate and House of Bepresentatives . 

I have received information that two regiments of Mr. Blair's troops are now on the 
way to the Capital. C. F. Jackson. 



MIDNIGHT SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE. 



317 



unchristian and inhuman violation of our rights by the capture of our militia, 
assembled under the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this State, 
and the murder of our defenseless people. 

Besolved, 2nd. That whilst Missouri has been loyal to the Government, struggling for 
its reconstruction, and is now sincerely desirous of an honorable adjustment of existing 
difficulties, she has received as reward for her fidelitj^, from persons assuming to act under 
Federal authority, unparalleled insult and wrong. An armed despotism, under infuri- 
ated partizan leaders, has been inaugurated in our midst, controlled by no law butpassion, 
and actuated by the deepest hate against the people of Missouri and their institutions. 
Our raih-oads are now under military occupation. The steamboat C. E. Hilman, 
engaged in transporting goods from the City of St. Louis to the city of Nashville, has 
been seized by Government troops within the jurisdiction of this State, and the cargo 
taken out. The Capital of the State is openly threatened with capture, and our session 
is now being held in the midst of armed citizens hastily assembled for defense. 

Besolved, 3rd. That it is the unquestioned constitutional right of the State to arm, equip 
and organize her militia for defense against aggression from any quarter ; and the 
attempt by Capt. Lyon, acting, as he says, under authority from Washington, to use the 
exercise of this right as an excuse for his conduct, evinces but too clearly a disposition 
upon the part of the authorities at "Washington to disregard and trample upon the sacred 
rights of the people of Missoml. 

Hesolved, 4th. That the charge of Capt. Lyon, in his letter to Gen. Frost, that the 
proceedings of the State authorities or of this General Assembly, at any time, furnished 
a pretext for the course pursued by him is entirely gratuitous and false . 

JResolved, 5th. Tliat the Governor of the State be hereby directed to make demand of 
the President of the United States, whetlier these outrages have been authorized by the 
Government, and for the immediate return of the arms, camp equipage and other 
property belonging to this State, lately taken from our military near St. Louis, and for 
the unconditional release of our State troops . 

Eesolved, 6th . That the Governor be requested to take instant action by calling forth 
the militia of the State, for the purpose of defense ; and that the people of Missouri 
should rally as one man to perish, if necessary, in defending their constitutional rights. 

Besolved, That the Governor be requested to furnish a copy of the foregoing preamble 
and resolutions to the President of the United States, and to the Governor of each of 
the States. 

The resolutions were read a first and second time, and unanimously 
adopted by the following vote, Mr. Randolph, of St. Charles, demanding 
the ayes and noes • 

Ayes — Messrs. Abernethy, Abington, Allen, Ashbaugh, Austin, Ballon, Blount, 
Bohannon, Boyd, Brown, Buford, Byrd, Campbell, Cloud, Conrow, Cunningham, 
Daugherty, Deatherage, Duvall, Eads, Fetters, Freeman, Gordon of Boone, Gordon of 
Lafayette, Graves, Green, Hagan, Hale, Hall, Hand, Hardin, Harman, Harris of Marion, 
Headlee, Hyer, Jennings, Johnson, Jones, Lacey, Lawson of Platte, Lipscomb, Maughs, 
McConnell, Mcllhany, Meriwetlier, Moore of Chariton, Moore of Laclede, Murphy, 
Neill, Parcels, Porter, Powell, Price, Eandolph, Kathbun, Ehodes, Eichardsonof Linn, 
Eichardson of Miller, Eiley, Eoberts of Schuyler, Eussell, Shambaugh, Shultz, Steele, 
Swink, Vance, Vest, Walker of Cedar, Walker of Cooper, Waltman, Watkins, Weatherford, 
Welch of Lincoln, White, Williams of Daviess, Williams of Hickory, Williams of Phelps, 
Wyatt, and Mr. Speaker— 79. 
■ Noes — None. 



318 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

Absent — ^Messrs. Ai-nold, Bailey, Banghman, Beall, Breck, Briscoe, Burris, Caldwell 
of Peny, Caldwell of Ralls, Cavender, Dale, Devol, Doehn, Dorris, Doyle, Ellis, 
Freide, Gatewood, Giddiags, Graham, Hauna, Harris of Boone, Harris of Montgomery, 
Hiekox, Kennedy, Latliini, Magnire, Miller, Moore of St. Louis, Morgan, Owens, Part- 
ridge, Peckham, Pollard, Robinson, Sclioll, Sexton, Sheffield, Spedden, Stevenson, 
Taylor, Tiitt, Welch of Johnson, and Woodside — i4. 

The unanimity with which these resolutions passed the House — yeas 
79, nays none — leaves on record not only a testiuKmy to the prevailing 
feeling of the hour, but to the extraordinary excitement by which the 
Legislature and the people were stirred. 

The Legislature having adjourned to Monday, September 16th, Gov. 
Jackson and a majority of the State officers abandoned the State Capital, 
believing that if they remained there longer they would be arrested as 
prisoners of war by the militia forces of the United States. 

On September 26th, 1861, at Lexington, Gov. Jackson issued a 
proclamation convening the General Assembly in extra session at the 
Masonic Hall in Neosho, Newton County, on the 21st of October 
foUowinsi;. This official act was performed notwithstanding he was 
then a fugitive from the Capital of the State, and the State Convention, 
on the 31st of July, had declared his seat vacant, together with those of 
the members of the Legislature, and on the same day had invested 
Hamilton R. Gamble with all the powers and duties of Governor of 
Missouri. 

Gov. Jackson's proclamation recited that the Federal authorities had 
for months previous, 

" — in violation of the Constitution of the United States, waged a ruthless war upon 
the people of the State of Missouri, murdering our citizens, destroying our property, 
and as far as in their power lay, desolating our land. I have in vain endeavored to 
secure your constitutional rights by peaceable means, and have only resorted to war when 
it became necessary to repel the most cruel and long-continued aggressions. War now 
exists between the State of Missouri and the Federal Government, and a state of wai: • 
is incompatible with the continuance of our Union with that government. Therefore, • 
for the purpose of giving to the representatives of the people of Missomi an oppor- 
tunity of determining whether it be proper now to dissolve the constitutional bond which 
binds us to the Government of the United States, when all other bonds between us are 
broken, I, Claiborne F. Jackson," &c. 

How many members of the Legislature, or which of them, responded 
to the proclamation, will perhaps never be fully known, because (1) the 
roll of the Senate, on assembling, was not called, and (2) the proceedings 
of the House have not been found, and of course have not been published. 

On January 21st, 1862, Isaac N. Shambaugh, a Eepresentative in the. 



ISAAC N. SHAMBAUGH-S CIECULAH. 319 

Legislature from Dekalb County who responded to Gov. Jackson's 
call, published au address to his constituents in which he said r^ 

" It is doubtless known to most of you that the House of Eepresentatives of our 
State consists of 133 members, and that in order to constitute a quorum constitutionally 
competent to the transaction of any business, there must be present at least 67 members 
of the House and 17 members of the Senate. Instead of this there were present at the 
October Session (at ISTeosho) but 39 members of the House of Eepresentatives and 10 
members of the Senate. A few days afterward, when we had adjourned to Cassville, 
one additional Senator and five additional Eepresentatives made their appearance ; and 
these being- all that were at any time present, it need scarcely be added that all the 
pretended legislation at either place was a fraud, and not only upon the State, but 
upon the Government of the Confederate States, as well as the United States." 

Mr. Shambaugh also says in his address that the Journal of neither 
House gives the names or the number of the members present, nor the 
names of the members who voted upon the passage of any bill, but 
simply states that the bill was passed, &c. In the House, Mr. Sham- 
baugh was the only member who voted against the secession ordinance 
and the other measures which followed its train. 

The proceedings of the Senate, which were captured in Alabama by 
the 49th Missouri Infantry Volunteers, and which were printed by order 
of the 23d General Assembly, confirm Mr. Shambaugh' s statement. 
According to this publication "the Senate" met on October 21st, 1861, 
and on motion^f Mr. Goodlett, Mr. Yernon was called to the chair 
The body adjourned from day to day without attempting to do anything 
until the 28th except (on motion of Charles H. Hardin, of Callaway,) 
to request the President of the Senate to appoint messengers to bring to 
the Senate absent members, and (on motion of M. M. Parsons, of Cole,) 
to request Maj. Gen. Sterling Price to furnish the messengers with "the 
necessary outfit." 

On Monday, October 28, on motion of James S. Eains, JohnT. Crisp, 
of Johnson County, was elected Secretary, and John T. Tracy, of Cole, 
Assistant Secretary: James McCoun, of Johnson, Enrolling Clerk, and 
M. R. Johnson, Sergeant-at-arms. 

A short message from Gov. Jackson was read, in which are briefly 
recounted "a series of outrageous acts" committed by "a brutal soldiery 
with the connivance of government officers " — concluding with the state- 
ment that " it is idle to speak of preserving the mere paper bonds of 
union with a government whose licentious rulers have cut into shreds 
all other bonds between us." In view of these considerations, and of 

^ See " The Eebellion Eecord," Supplement, by Frank Moore, p. 54. 



320 



HISTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 



the sympathy manifested towards lis by the Confederate States, he 
recommended the passage of an ordinance of secession and an act of 
provisional union with the Confederate States. Also the passage of a 
law authorizing an election to be held for Senators and Representatives to 
the Confederate Congress ; and an act authorizing the Governor to have 
engraved, and from time to time issued, bonds of the State of Missouri, 

not exceeding dollars. 

The message being read, on leave, Mr. Goodlett introduced a bill 
entitled "An act to dissolve the political connection between the State 
of Missouri with the United States of America," which was read a 
first time, rule suspended, read a second and third time and passed, 
all the Senators voting in the afiirmative except Mr. Hardin, the Sena- 
tor from Callaway. Adjourned until 2 o'clock p. m. On re-assembling 
at 2 o'clock, Mr. Peyton moved that the House be requested to return 
the above bill. Passed : very soon after which the bill was returned by the 
House, by the hands of Mr. Murray, chief clerk, who at the same time 
reported the passage by the House of "An act declaring the ties heretofore 
existing between the State of Missouri and the United States of America 
dissolved," which was at once taken up, amended, adopted, and reported 
to the House for its concurrence. The House at once concurred ; and 
therefore, so far as this body could effect it, the ligament which bound 
Missouri to the Federal Union was severed and the Statg floated out into 
the turbulent sea of the Confederate States Government. After the 
passage of an act notifying the Provisional Government of the Confeder- 
ate States of America, the Senate adjourned to meet at Cassville, Barry 
County, on Thursday October 31st, 1861. A session was held there 
accordingly, meeting from day to day till the Thursday evening following, 
(November 7th,) when it adjourned. Quite a number of bills and resolu- 
tions were passed, copies of which appear in full in the "Appendix" to the 
published Journal. They need not be transcribed here, nor epitomized. 
It is, however, worthy of record in this place that on November 2d, by 
consent of the Senate, Mr. Goodlett offered the following resolution : 

Besolved by the Senate, the House of Eepresentatives concurring therein, That 
Senators and members of the House be requested to sign a copy of the rolls of the Acts 
of Secession and of Annexation, and the same be filed by the Secretary of the Senate in 
the office of the Secretary of State, 

— which was agreed to. Also that on Monday morning, November 4th, 
the President of the Senate laid before that body the following communi- 
cation from the Governor : 



OFFICEES OF "THE STATE GUAED." 321 

Cassville, Mo., November 4, 1861. 
To the President of the Senate: 

Sir: Since your last session, I have appointed Sterling Price Major General 
of Missouri State G-uards, and have also appointed the following named gentlemen 
brigadier generals of the same, viz.: IST. W. Watkins, iu the first division; Thomas A. 
Harris, in the second division; John B. Clark, in the third division; W. Y. Slack, in the 
fourth division ; A. E. Steen, in the fifth division; M.M. Parsons, in the sixth division; 
J. H. McBride, in the seventh division; James S. Eains, in the eighth division; and very 
respectfully ask the advice and consent of the Senate to the same. 

Eespectfully, C. F. Jackson.^ 

All of the appointments were confirmed in secret session. After the 
transaction of many matters of legishition, touching the organization, 
government and support of the militia forces of the State, to encourao-e 
enlistments, &c., the Senate adjourned, November 7th, 1861, tomeetat 
New Madrid on the first Monday in March, 1862. 

That session was never held. 



^Gov. Jackson died at a farm house on the Arkansas river, opposite Little Eock, Dec. 
6, 1862, of cancer of the stomach. After the close of the war his remains were 
exhumed and brought to Saline County, and reinterred there in the family burying 
ground of Dr. Wm. B. Sappington, his father-in-law. 

21 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

ISGl.— The "Gamble" State Conventiox.— It meets on Feb. 28, 1861.— Names of 
Members Elected.— Sterling Price Elected President.- The Convention holds 
frequent Sessions at the State Capitol and in St. Louis. — Finally adjourns 
SINE DIE, ON July 1, 1863.— Luther J. Glenn, Commissioner from the State op 
Georgia, attends the Convention. — His Eeception and Address. — Address 

REFERRED TO A COMMITTEE. — TWO EEPORTS PRESENTED. — NEITHER EVER DISPOSED 

OF. — Committee on Federal Relations. — Their Reports. — Action Thereon.— 
Committee appointed to Re-convene the Convention when Necessary. — Dele- 
gates Elected to the Border State Convention. — Robert "Wilson Elected 
President of the Convention, vice Sterling Price, expelled for Disloyalty. 
— Ordinance Declaring the Offices of Governor, Lieut. Governor and Secreta:^y 
OP State vacant Adopted. — Hamilton R. Gamble Elected Governor; Willard 
P. Hall, Lieut. Governor, and Mordecai Oliver. Secretary of State.— Ordinances 
passed Changing Gubernatorial Election from August to November; also 
Abolishing Certain Civil Offices, and Prescribing an Oath of Loyalty for 
Civil Officers, and for issuing Union Defence Bonds.— Resolution adopted ex- 
pelling S 1 ERLiNG Price and Others from the Convention.— Mr. Breckinridge's 
Emancipation Ordinance Laid on the Table. — Congressional Districts 
Remodeled.— Oath of Loyalty for Voters, Officials, Jurymen and Attorneys 
Adopted. — The Yeas and Nays.— Committee on Emancipation Elected. — They 
Report an Ordinance for the Emancipation of Slaves, which is Adopted. — The 
Yeas and Nays.— Convention Adjourns Sine Die, 

The bill which passed the General Assembl}^ early in January, 1861, 
calling a State Convention, provided for the election, on Monday, Feb- 
ruary 18th, 1861, from each Senatorial district, of three times as many 
delegates as said district was entitled to members in the State Senate 
and that the delegates thus chosen should meet in Convention in 
Jefferson City on the 28th of the same month — 

" — to consider the then existing relations between the government of the United 
States, the people and the governments of the different States, and the government and 
people of the State of Missouri; and to adopt such measures for vindicating the 
sovereignty of the State and the protection of its institutions as shall appear to them 
to be demanded." 

The 10th Section of the bill, under tlie circumstances of its adoption, 
was one of more than ordinary import and significance, and is in the 
followino; words : 

"No act, ordinance, or resolution of said Convention shall be deemed to be valid to 
change or dissolve the political relations of this State to the Government of the United 
States, or any other State, until a majority of the qualified voters of this State, voting 
upon the question, shall ratify the same." 

This section was introduced as an amendment to the original bill by 
Charles H. Hardin, then a Senator from the Boone and Callaway district. 



. THE GAMBLE STATE CONTENTION. 323 

and in 1874-'76, Governor of the State. It was adopted in the Senate 
by a very close vote — yeas 17, naj's 15. 

The bill having become a law. Governor Jackson, in conformity with 
its requirements, directed the sheriifs of the several counties to give 
notice of the election of delegates on Monday, Febrnary 18th, 1861. A 
very active, and in some locslities a very exciting canvass ensued, wherein 
the issue was made for and against the passage by the Convention of an 
ordinance declaring in favor of the immediate secession of Missouri from 
the Union — said ordinance, of course, to be submitted to the qualified 
voters for their ratification or rejection. During this canvass the then 
existing relations between Missouri and the government of the United 
States ; the question of slavery and secession ; the rights of the States, 
the authority of the Federal government to coerce a State, and the duty 
of INtissouri in the existing crisis, were very exhaustively discussed by the 
candidates for the Convention and by the public press. The election 
resulted in the choice of a large majority of delegates opposed to 
secession, and in disclosing a j)opular preponderance of some eighty 
thousand votes in favor of the Union. It cannot be denied that this 
result greatly disappointed many of the most prominent advocates of 
the Convention. They hoped and expected that the people of the State 
would respond to their extreme views by electing to the Convention a 
majority of delegates who would declare it the duty of the State to 
co-operate with South Carolina by following her out of the Union. 

On Thursday, February 28th, 1861, the Convention assembled in the 
court bouse in Jefferson City, and the following gentlemen presented 
certificates of election : 

1st District. — St. Charles, etc. — ^E. B. Frayser, J. G. "Waller, and Dr. G. Y. Bast. 
2d DistHct. — Pike, etc. — Jno. B. Henderson, G. W. Zimmerman, and Eobt. Calhoun. 
3d Z>is^n'c«.— Boone, etc. — Warren Woodson, Eli E. Bass, and Joseph Flood. 
4th District. — Marion, etc. — Wm. J. Howell, Jno. T. Redd, and J. T. Matson. 
bth District. — Lewis, etc. — E. K. Sayer, Henry M. Gorin, and N. F. Givens. 
Qth District. — ^Howard, etc. — ^Wm. A. Hall, Sterling Price, and Thos. Shackelford. 
1th District. — Macon, etc. — ^Frederick Eowland, Jos. M. Irwin, and John Foster. 
8(/i District. — Livingston, etc. — Alex. M. Woolf oik, Jacob Smith, and William Jackson. 
^th District. — ^Daviess, etc. — Jacob T. Tindall, James McFerran. and J. S. Allen. 
lOth District.— Raj, etc.— G. W. Dunn. E. D. Eay, and J. H. Birch. 
ll^Ti District. — ^Andrew, etc. — Eobt. Wilson, Prince L. Hudgins. and EUzy VanbusMrk. 
12th District. — ^Buchanan, etc. — ^Willard P. Hall, Eobt, M. Stewart, and E. W, DonneU. 
l^th District. — Clay, etc. — ^A. W. Doniphan, James H. Moss, and E. H. Norton. 
14:th District. — Jackson, etc. — J. K. Sheeley. Abram Comingo, and Eobt. A. Brown. 
loth District. — Benton, etc. — ^Akeman Welch, A. C. Marvin, and C. G. Kidd. 
IQth District. — ^Lafayette, etc. — J. F. Philips, Samuel L. Sawyer, and Vincent Mar- 
maduke. 



324 



HISTOKY OF MISSOUBI. 



. nth District. — Dade, etc. — J. J. Gravelly, Nelson McDowell, and J. R. Chenault. 

ISth District. — Newton, etc. — A. S. Harbin, E. W. Crawfoi-d, and M. H. Ritchie. 

\Wi District. — Green, etc. — Sample Orr, Littleberry Hendricks, and R. "W. Jamison. 

20(1/1 District.— PoWi, etc. — M. W. Turner, J. W. Johnson, and W. L. Morrow. 

list District. — Franklin, etc. — ^Amos W. Maupin, Chas. D. Eitzen, and Zackariah Isbell. 

2M District. — Texas, etc. — W. G. Pomeroy, V. B. Hill, and Jno. Holt. 

23(2 District. — Washington, etc. — C. L. Rankin, M. P. Cayse, and Joseph Bogy. 

24«/t District. — Ripley, etc. — Samuel C. Collier, Philip Pipkin, and W. T. Leeper. 

2oth District.— 'Ne\v Madrid, etc. — Harrison Hough, R. A. Hatcher, and O. Bartlett. 

2Qth District. — C. Girardeau, etc. — N. W. Watkins, James C. Noell, and Dr. J. E. 
McCormick. 

27th District. — Cole, etc. — J. Proctor Knott, J. W. McClurg, and John Scott. 

28th District. — Cooper, etc. — Wm. Douglass, J. P. Ross, and Charles Drake. 

29th District. — St. Louis — Sam. M. Breckenridge, John How, Dr. M. L. Linton, 
Hudson E. Bridge, Thos. T. Gantt, Hamilton R. Gamble, John F. J^ong, Uriel Wright, 
Ferdinand Meyer, Henry Hitchcock, Robt. Holmes, James O. Broadhead, Sol. Smith, 
Isador Bush, and John H. Shackelford. 

In all ninety-nine members ; who proceeded upon tlie evening of the 
second day to permanently organize by the election of the following 
officers : For President, Mi-. Broadhead nominated Sterling Price, of 
Chariton County. Mr. Hatcher, of New Madrid, nominated Nathaniel 
W. Watkins, of Cape Girardeau. The vote stood: Price 75; Watkins 
15. Mr. Price, who was regarded as a decided Union man, having 
received a majority of all the votes cast, was declared duly elected 
President of the Convention. 

Robert Wilson, of Andrew, also a Union delegate, was elected Vice- 
President ; Samuel A. Lowe, of Pettis, Secretary; Robert A. Camp- 
bell (at this time a distinguished lawyer and politician of St. Louis), 
Assistant Secretary; C. P. Anderson, of Moniteau, Door-keeper; B. 
W. Grover, Sergeant-at-Arms. 

On the second day of the Convention, no important business having 
been transacted, it adjourned to meet in Mercantile Library Hall, in the 
City of St. Louis, on Monday, March 4th. The Convention met pursu- 
ant to adjournment ; continued in session until Friday, March 22d, when 
it adjourned until the third Monday in December following ; but before 
the arrival of that day a majority of the committee charged with the 
duty of convening the Convention prior to the third Mondn}' inDecember, 
at such place as they thought the public exigencies required, notified the 
members to assemble at Jefferson City on July 22d. 

The Convention met pursuant to this notification, remained in session 
until the 31st of the month, and adjourned until the third Monday in 
December. 

It was however reconvened in Mercantile Library Hall, St. Louis, by 



AN INVITATION TO SECEDE. 325 

a proclamation of Governor Gamble, on October 10th, and after a 
session of eight days adjourned subject to cull of the Governor. 

On Monday, June 2d, 1862, it met again, at Jefferson City, in 
response to a proclamation of Governor Gamble, and on the 14th of the 
month adjourned until July 4th, 1863. 

Previous to that day, however, Governor Gamble, by proclamation, 
reconvened the body at Jejfferson City, on June 15th, 1863. After 
remaining in session until July 1st it adjourned sine die. 

On the first day of the session of the Convention in St. Louis, March 
4th, 1861, Mr. Gamble, of St. Louis, offered a resolution, which was 
adopted, for the appointment of a committee of seven, to be called the 
Committee on Federal Relations, which shall consider and report on the 
relations existing between the government of the United States, the 
government and people of the different States, and the government and 
people of this State; and that all propositions or resolutions that may 
be introduced by any member, touching the relations of Missouri with 
the Federal government, shall be referred to said committee. The Presi- 
dent appointed the following gentlemen members of the committee, viz. : 
Hamilton R. Gamble, of St. Louis; John B. Henderson, of Pike ; John 
T. Redd, of Marion; William A. Hall, of Randolph ; Jacob T. Tindall, 
of Grundy; A. W. Doniphan, of Clay; Willard P. Hall, of Buchanan; 
N. W. Watkins, of Cape Girardeau ; Harrison Hough, of Mississippi ; 
Samuel L. Sawyer, of Lafayette; William Douglass, of Cooper; John 
R. Chenault, of Jasper; and William G. Pomeroy, of Crawford. 

Luther J. Glenn, Commissioner from the State of Georgia, being in 
attendance upon the Convention, Mr. Redd, of Marion, moved the 
appointment of a committee of three to wait upon him, and inform him 
the Convention would receive him at 12 o'clock that day, and hear what 
he may choose to communicate in regard to the object of his mission. 
This motion was adopted — yeas 62, nays 35. Mr. Glenn briefly 
addressed the Convention in the name of the State of Georgia ; sub- 
mitted the ordinance of secession adopted by that State, and earnestly 
urged Missouri to pass a similar ordinance and unite with her in forming 
a Southern Confederacy. A large number of citizens were present in 
the lobby, and by mingled applause and hisses testified their pleasure 
or dissatisfaction. These demonstrations continued for some time, and 
were with difficulty subdued by the presiding officer. 

On motion of Mr. Henderson, of Pike, a committee of seven — - 
Henderson, Birch, Howell, Stewart, Wright, Marvin and Knott — was 
appointed, to whom was referred the communications made by Mr, 



326 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

Glenn, said committee being reqnired to report snch action as they may 
deem a respectful and suitable response on the pait of this State. 

A lai'ge number of resolutions, presented by various -members of the 
Convention, were introduced and referred to this committee. On March 
21st, Mr. Henderson, Chairman, presented a report in writing from a 
majority of the committee, embracing a long and earnest argnment 
against secession and in favor of the maintenance of the Union, and 
concluding with a series of resolutions which declared in substance that 
so far as the connnnnication made to the Convention by Mr. Glenn 
asserts the constitutionid right of secession, it meets with their disapproval ; 
that whilst they reprobated, in common with Georgia, the violation of 
constitutional duty by no rthern fanatics, they could not approve the 
secession of Georgia and her sister States, as a measure beneficial either 
to Missouri or to themselves ; that in their opinion a dissolution of the 
Union wonld be ruinous to the best interests of Missouri ; hence no 
effort should be spared on her part to preserve its continued lilessings, 
and she will labor for an adjustment of all existing differences on a basis 
compatible with the interests and honor of all the States ; and that the 
Convention exhorts Georo;ia and the other seceding States to desist from 
the revolutionary measures commenced by them, and unite their voice 
with om^s in restoring peace and in cementing the Union of our fathers. 

Mr. Birch, of Clinton (of the samecommittee) , offered a series of resolu 
tions as a substitute for the resolutions of the majority, declaring that, 
whilst denying the legal right of a State to secede from the Union, we 
recognize, in lieu thereof, the right of revolution, should sufficient reason 
arise therefor ; that whilst, in common with the State of Georgia, we deplore 
and reprobate the sectional disregard of duty and fraternity so forcibly pre- 
sented by her commissioner, we do not despair of future justice, nor will we 
despair until our complaints have been unavailingly submitted to the north- 
ern people ; that the possession of slave property is a constitutional right, 
and as such, ought to be recognized by the Federal government ; that, 
if it shall invade or impair that right, the slave-holding States should 
be found united in its defence, and that in such events as may legiti- 
mately follow, this State will share the danger and destiny of her sister 
slave States, and that the president of the Convention communicate to 
each of the seceding States a copy of its resolves. 

On motion of Mr. Welch, of Johnson, the reports of the majority and 
minority were laid on the table, and by a vote of 56 to 40 were made 
the special order for the third Monday in December following. Here they 
slept a sleep that knew no waking, for neither report was CYer heard 
of 'afterwards. 



AGAINST SECESSION, EEVOLUTION AND WAE. 327 

Intense interest was felt in the Convention and among- the people of the 
State, not to say of the whole Union, in the report which the committee 
on Federal Relations was expected to make. This committee AVas 
composed of some of the oldest and most sagacious statesmen belonging, 
to the body, and their report was looked to as denoting the position 
which Missonri would assume in regard to the embarrassing complications 
besetting the whole country. No unnecessary delay therefore was had 
in its presentation. On the ninth of March, Mr. Gamble, chairman of 
the committee, presented a report from the majority. It was a short but 
incisive, statesmanlike and conservative paper, and was designed to allay 
popular api)rehension and excitement, and plant Missouri irrevocably 
against secession, revolution and war. The opinions and wishes of the 
committee were summarized in the following resolutions : 

1. Besolved, That at present there is no adequate cause to impel Missoim to dissolve 
her connection with the Federal Union, but on the contrary she will labor for such an 
adjustment of existing troubles as will secure the peace, as well as the rights and 
equality of all the States. 

2. Besolved, That the people of this State are devotedly attached to the institvitions 
of our country, and earnestly desire that by a fair and amicable adjustment, all the 
causes of disagreement that at present unfortunately distract us as a people, may be 
removed, to the end that our Union may be preserved and perpetuted, and peace and 
harmony be restored between the North and South. 

3. Besolved, That the people of this State deem the amendments to the Constitution 
of the United States, proposed by the Hon. John J. Crittenden, of Kentucky, with the 
extension of the same to the territory hereafter to be acquired by treaty, or otherwise, a 
basis of adjustment which will successfully remove the causes of difference forever from 
the arena of national politics. 

4. Besolved, That the people of Missouri believe the peace and quiet of the country 
will be promoted by a convention to propose amendments to the Constitution of the 
United States, and this Convention therefore urges the Legislature of this State to take 
the proper steps for calling such convention in pursuance of the fifth article of the 
Constitution, and for providing by laAV for an election of one delegate to such conven- 
tion from each electoral district in this State. 

5. Besolved, That in the opinion of this Convention, the emploj^ment of military 
force by the Federal government to coerce the submission of the seceding States, or the 
employment of military force by the seceding States to assail the government of the 
United States, will inevitably plunge this country into civil war, and thereby entirely 
extinguish all hope of an amicable settlement of the fearful issues now pending before the 
country; we therefore earnestly entreat, as well the Federal government, as the seceding 
States, to withhold and stay the arm of military power, and on no pretence whatever 
bring upon the nation the horrors of civil war. 

6. Besolved, That when this Convention adjourns its session in the city of St. Louis, 
it will adjourn to meet in the hall of the House of Eepresentatives at Jefferson City, on 
the third Monday of December, 1861. 

7. Besolved, That a committee of be elected by this Convention, a majority of 

which shall have power to call this Convention together at such time prior to the third 
Monday in December, and at such place as they may think the public exigencies require, 



328 HISTOKY OF MISSOIIRL 

and the survivors or survivor of said committee shall have power to fill any vacancies 
that may happen in said committee by death, resignation, or otherwise, during the 
recess of this Convention. 

Mr. Redd, of Marion, on behalf of himself and Mr. Hough, of 
Mississippi, presented a minority report in which he maintained that the 
Anti-Slavery people of the North were actuated by a single cohesive 
principle — bitter hostility to the slave institutions of the Southern States 
and hatred to slave-holders ; that political demogogues and sensation 
preachers had employed the politics, press, pulpit, books, literature and 
schools of the North for the purpose of inflaming and strengthening the 
prejudices against Southern institutions and Southern men. He main- 
tained that they had violated the compact which united them to their 
sister States of the South ; that by that compact they had covenanted to 
deliver up fugitive slaves found within their borders ; that they had 
violated this by failing to enact laws providing for their delivery, by 
refusing the master aid and permitting their lawless citizens to deprive 
him of his property by mob violence ; and when Congress interj)osed for 
his relief by the Fugitive Slave Law, they trampled it under foot and 
nullified it by deliberate State legislation. Also that they have permitted 
their citizens to invade the soil of the Southern States, steal the slaves, 
and incite them to insurrection ; and when the felon has been indicted 
and demanded, they have refused to give him up. This Anti-Slavery 
party, through its chosen leader, proclaimed the dangerous heresies that 
our government cannot continue as our fathers made it, part slave and 
part free ; that it must become all one or all the other ; that an 
irrepressible conflict is progressing between freedom and slavery, 
and that it must continue until the public mind rests in the belief that 
slavery is in the process of extinction, and that hereafter the slave 
property of Southern men shall be taken away from them by Con- 
gressional legislation, if they take it with them into the tenitories, the 
common property of all the States. That, deaf to the warning voice and 
remonstrances of the people of the South, they have elevated to the 
Presidential chair a leader who endorses their doctrines, thus placing the 
Federal government in the hands of the enemies of the South, and 
dissolving the Union. The rvsport concludes with four resolutions : the 
first, inviting the States of Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Kentucky, 
Tennessee, Arkansas and Deleware, to send commissioners to meet in 
convention those appointed by Missouri, at Nashville, Tennessee, on 

day of next, to agree upon a basis of settlement, by 

constitutional amendments that will preserve the Union, and afford an 



AGAINST SEOESSIoiN^, EEVOLUTIOK AND WAK. 329 

adequate guarantee for the preservation of their slave institutions and 
the constitutional rights of their citizens ; the second, naming th.e 
commissioners to represent Missouri; the tMrd, appointing a com- 
missioner to visit each of the States above named ; the fourth^ directing 
the Missouri commissioners to said convention, as a basis of settlement, to 
present the resolutions known as the " Crittenden Compromise." 

The resolutions from the committee on Federal Relations being under 
consideration, Mr. Moss, of Clay, moved to amend the fifth of the 
majority (Gamble) series by adding the following: 

And further, Believing that the fate of Missouri depends upon a peaceable adjustment 
of our present difficulties, she will never countenance or aid a seceding State in making 
war on the general government, nor will she furnish men or money for the purpose of 
aiding the general government in any attempts to coerce a seceding State. 

Which was rejected — yeas 30, nays 61 ; — after which the first resolution 
of the Gamble series was adopted— yeas 89, nays 1 : Mr. Bast, of 
Montgomery. The second resolution was adopted — yeas 90, nays 0. 
Third resolution — yeas 90, nays 4: Broadhead, Hill, Hitchcock and 
How. For the fourth resolution of the committee, Mr. Gamble offered 
the following substitute : 

4. Besolved, That the people of Missouri believe the peace and quiet of the country 
will be promoted by a convention to propose amendments to the Constitution of the 
United States, and this Convention therefore urges the Legislature of this State, and the 
other States, to take the proper steps for calling such a convention in pursuance of the 
fifth article of the Constitution ; and for providing by law for an election by the people 
of such number of delegates as are to be sent to such convention. 

Adopted — yeas 83, nays 9: Brown, Chenault, Doniphan, Hatcher, 
Hill, Hough, Hudgins, Redd and Watkins. The fifth resolution coming 
up for consideration, several amendments Avero proposed. Mr. Shackel- 
ford, of Howard, offered the following — afterwards changed in phrase- 
ology at the suggestion of Mr. Gamble — as an addition to the fifth 
resolution, which was adopted 57 to 36 : 

And in order to the restoration of harmony and fraternal feeling between the different 
sections, we would recommend the policy of Avithdrawing the Federal troops from, the 
forts within the borders of the seceding States where there is danger of collision between 
the State and Federal troops. 

The question then recurring upon the adoption of the original fifth 
resolution, as amended, it was agreed to— yeas 89, nays 6: Broadhead, 
Bridge, Bush, Eitzen, Hitchcock and How, — the fifth resolution as 
adopted being as following : 



330 HISTOEY OF MISSOUKI. 

5. Besolved, That in the opinion of this Convention, the employment of military force 
by the Federal government to coerce the submission of the seceding States, or the 
employment of military force by the seceding States to assail the Government of the 
United States, will inevitably plunge this country into civil war, and thereby entirely 
extinguish all hope of an amicable settlement of the fearful issues now pending before 
the country; we therefore earnestly entreat, as well the Federal government as the 
seceding States, to withhold and stay the arm of military power, and on no pretense 
whatever bring upon the nation the horrors of civil war. And in order to the restor- 
ation of harmony and fraternal feeling between the diflfei"eut sections, we would recom- 
mend the policy of withdrawing the Federal troops from the forts within the borders of 
the seceding States where there is danger of collision between the State and Federal 
troops. 

The sixth resolution was adopted — ^}^eas 76, nays 19. 

Numerous amendments having been introduced to the seventh resolu- 
tion, it, together with the amendments, was referred to the committee 
on Federal Relations, who, through Mr. Gamble, reported the following 
substitute, which was adopted nein. coii: 

7. Besolved^ That tiiere shall be a committee, consisting of the President of this 
Convention, who shall be ex-offlcio chairman, and seven members, one from each 
Congressional District of the State, to be elected by this Convention, a majority of 
which shall have power to call this Convention together at such time prior to the third 
Monday in December next, and at such place as they may think the public exigencies 
require; and in case any vacancy shall happen in said committee hy death, resignation, 
or otherwise during the recess of this Convention, the remaining members or member of 
said committee shall have power to fill such vacancy. 

Said committee was made to consist of the foUowino; members : Sterling 
Price, chairman; Thomas T. Gantt, J. T. Matson, J. T. Tindall, Robert 
Wilson, J. Proctor Knott, J. W. McClnrg and James R. McCormack. 

During the pendency of the resolutions from the Committee on Federal 
relations, one of the most able and exhaustive debates of the Convention 
occurred — a debate which took a wide range and embraced discussions of 
the origin, structure, and object of the Federal Constitution ; the rights 
ot the States and of the People; secession, nullification and revolution, 
coercion, and the causes which it was claimed by the extremists justified 
Missouri in withdrawing from the Federal Union and throwing herself 
into the embrace of the Southern Confederacy. This debate is a valuable 
contribution to the political literature and learning of our State, and, 
fortunately, was reported and published in full by order of the Convention 
in the volume of its proceeeings. Among those who prominently 
participated in these discussions, by the delivery of able arguments in 
enforcement of their views, the following may be mentioned : Broadhead, 
Birch, Breckeuridge, Doniphan, Foster, Dunn, Gamble, Gantt, Hall of 



THE BOEDEE STATE CONVENTION. 331 

Randolph, Hall of Buchanan, Henderson, Hitchcock, Hudgins, Linton, 
Moss, Norton, Orr, Eedd, Shackelford and Wiight. 

It is not important at this time, and perhaps improper in this place, 
to review all the resolutions adopted. To record them, and the action 
of the Convention thereon, must suffice. Nevertheless, two of them, 
even at this remote period of time, will attract the attention of intelligent 
readers : the first and fifth, — -the first containing the explicit declaration 
that there was no adequate cause to impel Missouri to dissolve her con- 
nection with the Federal Union; the fifth, wherein the Convention took 
unmistakable ground against the employment of milittny force by the 
Federal government to coerce the seceding States, or the employment of 
military force by the seceding States to assail the government of the United 
States. This was at that period of our civil war the position generally 
occupied by the Union men of all the border slave States ; that is to say, 
that whilst they were opposed to secession and in favor of the mainten- 
ance of the Federal Union, as the palladium of our liberties and the 
richest heritage of our fathers, they were at the same time opposed to 
coercion by the general government against the seceding States or the 
employment of military force by the States against the general govern- 
ment. 

This doctrine was, at that incipient stage of the war, sought to be 
justified and defended on the ground that an attempt by military force, 
by either side, to coerce the other, would inevitably pknige the country 
into the bloody vortex of revolution and war. Therefore, with the 
earnest hope and patriotic purpose of averting the calamities of civil 
war, the Union men of Missouri, and of Kentucky, Tennessee and other 
slaves States, entreated the Federal government, even after the secession 
of South Carolina and other States, to withhold and stay the arm of 
military power. It is due to the truth of history, however, to say that 
after the firing upon Fort Sumter and the culmination of the rebellion — in 
short, after the question unmistakably became one of arms, and no 
longer one of argument or diplomacy, — they assumed more extreme 
views. 

Mr. Gamble reported, from the Committee on Federal Relations, a 
resolution in favor of the election, by the Convention, of seven delegates 
— one from each Congressional district — to attend the Border Stale 
Convention proposed by the State of Virginia, to be held at an earl}' day, 
for the purpose of devising some plan for the adjustment of our national 
difficulties ; which, after voting down several amendments, was adopted- 
yeas 93, nays 3, — and the following named gentlemen were elected as 



332 HTSTOEY OF linSSOUllL 

delegates : Hamilton R. Ganil)le, of St. Louis ; John B. Henderson, 
of Pike; William A. Hall, of Randolph ; James H. Moss, of Clay; 
William Dcmglass, of Cooper; Littleberry Hendricks, of Greene; and 
William G. Pomeroy, of Crawford. 

On the call of a majority of the Committee, the Convention met in 
Jefferson City, on Monday, July 22d, 1861, and was called to order 
b}^ Mr. Wilson the Vice-President — the President, Sterling Price, 
having since the adjournment made his place vacant by accepting the 
position of Major General in the Confederate army or State Guard. 
Robert Wilson, Vice-President, was elected to fill the vacancy, and 
Akeman Welch, of Johnson, was chosen Vice-President. 

On motion of Mr. Broadhead, of St. Louis, a committee of seven, 
one from each Congressional district, was elected by the Convention for 
the purpose of reporting what action was necessary to be taken by the 
Convention in the present condition of public affairs in Missouri. The 
following named gentlemen were elected as members of the Committee: 

James O. Broadhead, of St. Louis; William A. Hall, of Randolph; 
Willard P. Hall, of Buchanan; William Douglass, of Cooper; Little- 
berry Hendricks, of Green, and Joseph Bogy, of Ste. Genevieve. 

On the fourth day of the session, Mr. Broadhead, chairman of the 
Committee, made a report reciting that the brief interval since the 
adjournment of the Convention, on the 22d of March, had been filled 
with the most startling events; that "the horrors of a civil war, inau- 
gurated b}^ the most gigantic and causeless rebellion of which modern 
history affords any example," had visited the State; that the Governor 
and other high officers of State had deserted the Capital and formed a 
conspiracy to dissolve the connection of Missouri with the Federal 
Government, and in conjunction with a large portion of the members of 
the Legislature, had attempted, through the forms of legislation, to 
establish a military despotism over the people. The Committee, there- 
fore, recommended that certain amendments to the Constitution be 
ordained as follows: 1. That the offices of Governor, Lieutenant 
Governor, Secretary of State, and members of the General Assembly 
should be vacated. 2. That the three first officers named should be 
appointed by the Convention, and continue in office until the first Monday 
in August, 1862, when a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Secretary 
of State should be elected by the qualified voters of the State. 3. That 
the Supreme Court should consist of seven judges, four of whom should be 
appointed l)y the Governor to be chosen by this Convention, and 
should hold their offices until the first Monday of August, 1862, when 



STATE OFFICES VACATED. 333 

four judges of the Supreme Court should be elected by the people. 

The Committee also recommended the adoption, by the Convention, of 
an ordinance repealing "certain odious laws" enacted by the last Legisla- 
ture, namely, the militia law, the law to create a militia fund to arm the 
State; also a joint resolution to suspend the apportionment of the State 
school money for the year 1861, &c. ; also the revival and re-enactment, 
in full force, of the volunteer militia law of December 31st, 1859. 

The report having been sul)mitted :ind ordered to be printed, Hamilton 
R. Gamble, of St. Lonis, was by a v.ote of the Convention added to the 
Committee. 

The report of the committee of seven, now made to number eight by 
the addition of Mr. Gamble, and thereafter known as "the committee of 
eight," was re-committed to said committee, on motion of Mr. Broadhead, 
for the purpose of enabling it to perfect their report. On the next day 
a new report was presented, diifering in no material respect from the 
other except by the substitution of the first Monday of November, 1861, 
for the first Monday of August, 1862, as the day of the election, and the 
omission of the proposed amendment to the Constitution providing for 
the additional judges of the Supreme Court. The committee supple- 
mented this second report by an ordinance, submitting the action of the 
Convention to a vote of the people at an election to be held on the first 
Monday of November, 1861. 

The report of the committee of eight coming up for consideration, the 
first clause of the ordinance, providing for certain amendments to the 
Constitution, viz. : declaring the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor 
and Secretary of State vacated, was adopted — yeas 56, nays 25. The 
clause vacating the offices of the General Assembly was also adopted — 
yeas 52, nays 28. The clause providing for the appointment, by the 
Convention, of a Governor, Lientenant Governor and Secretary of State, 
was adopted — yeas 54, nays 27. The remaining portions of the ordinance 
were then adopted by substantial!}^ the same vote, and the ordinance as a 
whole by yeas 73, nays 0. 

By this action the Convention vacated the places of the State officers 
named, and provided for their appointment; and of the members of the 
General Assembly, and provided for their election; repealed "certain 
odious laws " named, and provided for submitting the action of the 
Convention to a vote of the people. 

On the 31st of July, 1861, the Convention proceeded to the appoint- 
ment of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State, in 
place of Claiborne F. Jackson, Thomas C. Reynolds, and Benj. F. 



334 HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 

Massey, whose seats had been declared vacant. For Governor, Mr. 
Hull, of Randolph, nominated Hamilton R. Gamble, who was elected, 
69 members voting for him — 8 excused from voting and 20 absent. 
Those who were excused from voting were Eli M. Bass, of Boone; 
George Y. Bast, of Montgomery ; Robert B. Frayzer, of St. Charles ; 
Prince L. Hndgins, of Andrew ; Phillip Pipkin, of Jefferscm ; Joseph G. 
Waller, of Warren ; Warren Woodson, of Boone ; and Uriel Wright, 
of St. Louis. 1 Willard P. Hall, of Buchanan, was elected Lieutenant 
Governor, and Mordecai Oliver, of Greene, (now a well known lawyer of 
St. Joseph,) Secretary of State. 

After the adoption of an address to the people of the State, presented 
by Mr. Gamble from the committee appointed to prepare it, the Con- 
vention adjourned. 

Another session of the Convention was held in Mercantile Library 
Hall, in the City of St. Louis, commencing on October 10th, 1861, in 
response to a proclamation by Gov. Gamble. A communication from 
the Governor having been read to the Convention, that body proceeded 
to the election of a Doorkeeper and Sergeant-at-Arms. To the first 
named office, Henry C. Warmoth (since Governor of Louisiana) was 
elected, and to the last Josiah H. Alexander. Mr. Hendricks, from the 
Committee on Elections, reported an ordinance changing the time of 
holding the gubernatorial election, and the election submitting to a vote 
of the people the action of the Convention, from the first Monday of 
November, 1861, to the firstMonday of August, 1862, and for continuing 
in office until that time the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Secretary 
of State appointed by the Convention — which was adopted — yeas 49, 
nays 1 (E. R. Say re, of Lewis), Afterwards Mr. Wright, of St. Louis, 
obtained leave to record his vote in the negative. 

Mr. McFerran, from the Committee on Civil Officers, reported an 
ordinance abolishing certain offices, reducing salaries, and providing an oath 
to test the loyalty of civil officers in this State. It abolished the offices of 
Board of Public Works, State Superintendent of Common Schools, 
County School Commssioner, State Geologist and Assistant State 
Geologist, and provided that the clerks of the respective County 
Courts should discharge the duties of County School Commissioners. 
Also that the salaries of all civil officers should be reduced 20 per cent, 
during the year ending Sept. 30th, 1862. Also that each civil officer in this 
State, including County Court clerks, within sixty days after the passage 

iSee Journal of Proceedings, page 25. 



OATH OF LOYALTY FOE CIVIL OFFICEKS. 335 

of the ordinance, should take an oath "to support the Constitution of 
the United States and of this State, and that he will not take up arms 
against the government of the United States, nor the provisional govern- 
ment of this State, nor give aid or comfort to the enemies of either, 
during the present civil war." Also that the offices of all persons 
failing to take, subscribe and tile said oath within the sixty days mentioned, 
should be declared vacant ; and any civil officer who should falsely take said 
oath or wilfully violate it shall be deemed guilty of perjury and punished 
a,ccordingly. 

An amendment by Mr. Broadhead, vacating the offices of judges of 
Supreme, Circuit and Probate Courts, sheriffs and clerks, clerks of 
Courts of Record, Recorders of deeds, Registers of lands, State Auditor, 
Treasurer and Attorney General, and providing that the Governor should 
fill most of the vacancies so created, failed to pass — yeas 10, nays 40. 

Mr. McFarren offered an amendment, by way of a new section, pro- 
viding that any person whomsoever, who shall take and subscribe the 
oath provided in the ordinance, and tile the same in the office of Secretary 
of State or in the office of any county clerk in this State, within the 
sixty days mentioned, "shall be exempt from arrest or punishment for 
offences previously committed against the provisional government of this 
State, or giving aid or comfort to its enemies in the present civil war." 
The governor was also directed to furnish a copy of the ordinance to the 
President of the United States, and request him, in the name of the 
people of Missouri, by proclamation, to exempt all persons taking said 
oath from all penalties they might have incurred by taking up arms against 
the United States, or giving aid or comfort to its enemies in the present 
civil war. The amendment was agreed to. The yeas and nays were not 
called. 

The vote finally being taken, the first and second sections — abolishing 
the Board of Public Works and the office of State Superintendent of 
Public Schools — were adopted. The third section — abolishing the office 
of County School Commissioner — was adopted; yeas 27, nays 23. The 
fourth section was adopted — abolishing the offices of State and Assistant 
State Geologists. The fifth section — reducino: the salaries of all civil 
officers 20 per cent. — was rejected ; yeas 24, nays 29 ; but afterwards 
the vote was reconsidered and the section passed by yeas 28, nays 22. 
The sixth section — prescribing an oath for each civil ofBcer in the State, 
including clerks of the County Courts — ^was adopted ; yeas 37, nays 15. 
The seventh section — prescribing the oath for County Court clerks — 
and the eighth, providing amnesty for any person whomsoever who may 



336 HISTOEY OF MISSOUEI 

take, subscribe and file the oath of loyalty according to the ordinance, 
were passed by the following vote : 

Yeas — John S. Allen, of Harrison; James H. Birch, of Clinton; Joseph Bogy, of Ste. 
Genevieve; Samuel M. Breckenridge, of St. Louis; Hudson E. Bridge, of St. Louis ;* 
William Douglass, of Cooper ; Charles D. Eitzen, of Gasconade ; John D. Foster, of Adair ; ^ 
Thomas T Gantt, of St Louis; Joseph J. Gravelly, of Cedar ;i Willard P. Hall, of 
Buchanan; John B. Henderson, of Pike; Littleberry Hendricks, of Greene;^ Henry 
Hitchcock, of St. Louis; Robert Holmes, of St. Louis; ^ John How, of St. Louis; Joseph 
M. Irwin, of Shelby; Z. Isbell, of Osage ;i William Jackson, of Putnam; Eobert W. 
Jamison, of Webster ; James W . Johnson, of Polk ; William T. Leeper, of Wayne ; 
M. L. Linton, of St. Louis; ^ John F. Long, of St. Louis; James R. McCormack, of 
Perry; Xelson McDowell, of Dade; James McFerran, of Daviess; Ferdinand Meyer, of 
St. Louis; James C. Noell, of Bollinger; Sample Orr, of Greene; John F. Phillips, of 
Pettis ; William G. Pomeroy, of Crawford ; John H. Shackelfoi-d, of St. Louis ; ^ Sol. 
Smith, of St. Louis ;^ Eobert M. Stewart, of Buchanan; ^ Ellsy Van Busldrk, of Holt; 
George W. Zimmerman, of Pike ; ^ — 37. 

Nays — James O. Broadhead, of Pike; Isador Bush, of St. Louis; William A. Hall, 
of Randolph ; William J. Howell, of Monroe ; Asa A. Marvin, of Henry ; ' Amos W. 
Maupin, of Franklin; Phillip Pipkin, of Jefferson; Frederick Eowland. of Macon; 
E. E. Sayre, of Lewis; Jacob Smith, of Linn; Jacob T. Tindall, of Grundy ;i W. W. 
Turner, of Laclede; Aikman Welch, of Johnson ; ^ A. M. Woolfolk, of Livingston, 
and Eobert Wilson (the President,) of Andi-ew.^ — 15. 

It was on this day, October 16th, 1861, and in the ordinance adopted 
by this Convention, that test oaths of loyalty for civil officers and 
citizens were first authoritatively promulgated in Missouri. 

After passing an ordinance to provide for the organization of the 
Missouri State Militia — ^yeas 43, nays 8, — and for the issuing of "Union 
Defence Bonds" (better known as "Military Defence Warrants") — ^yeas 
37, nays 14, — the Convention, after a session of eight days, adjourned. 

On Monday, June 2d, 1862, in obedience to a proclamation by Gov. 
Gamble, the Convention re-assembled at Jefierson. City for the purpose 
of dividing the State into Congressional districts, so that the number of 
representatives to which Missouri was entitled might be elected, and for 
the transaction of other necessary business. John H. Shanklin, of Grundy, 
member elect to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Jacob T. 
Tindall, who fell at the head of his regiment at the battle of Shiloh, 
on the 2d day of April, 1862, took his seat as a member of the 
Convention. Elder Thomas M. Allen, of Boone, was appointed Chap- 
lain, after which the President laid before the Convention a message 
from Gov. Gamble, which was read. 

Mr. Stewart, of Buchanan, introduced a resolution, which was referred 

^ Since deceased. 



STEELING PKICE AND OTHEES EXPELLED. 337 

to the Committee on Elective Franchise, declaring that all men, whether 
civilians or soldiers, who have been found in arms against the govern- 
ment of the United States, and all neutrals who have given them aid or 
comfort, be disqualified to vote. 

Mr. Bridge, of St. Louis, offered a resolution declaring vacant the 
seats of Sterling Price, of Chariton, late President of the Convention ; 
and of John R. Chenault, of Jasper : Robert W. Crawford, of Lawrence ; 
V. B. Hill, of Pulaski; Robert A. Hatcher, of New Madrid (at this 
time [1877] a member of Congress from the 4th Missouri district) ; W. W. 
Turner, of Laclede ; N. W. Watkins, of Cape Girardeau, and Uriel 
Wright, of St. Louis ; — which was referred to a select committee, consist- 
ing of Messrs. Bridge, Allen, Bush, Calhoun, Eitzen, ^Gravelly and 
Isbell; who, on the 6th of June, made a report that they were satisfied 
that Messrs. Price, Crawford and Hill had taken up arms against the 
government of the United States and the provisional government of 
Missouri ; that Mr. Wright had left the State and espoused the rebel 
cause, and given it aid and comfort by public speeches and otherwise ; 
that Messrs. Chenault and Hatcher had removed from the State ; that 
N. W. Watkins had accepted a commission as a Brigadier General from 
C. F. Jackson, late Governor of this State, for the purpose of organizing 
and equipping troops for the State service, and for some time had been 
absent from the State, although previously he had thrown up his com- 
mission; that Mr. Turner, during the recess of the Convention, 
committed criminal acts, and was then a fugitive from the State. The 
committee therefore recommended the expulsion of Messrs. Price, Craw- 
ford, Hill, Wright and Turner, and that the seats of Messrs. Chenault, 
Hatcher and Watkins be declared vacant ; also that the name of each 
gentleman mentioned be struck from the rolls of the Convention. Mr. 
Pipkin, of Jefferson, moved to strike the name of N. W. Watkins from 
the resolution. Negatived — ^yeas 12, nays 55. Similar attempts were 
made, but they were unsuccessful, to except Messrs. Chenault and Wright 
from the effect of the resolutions, after which they were unanimously 
adopted. 

Mr. Breckenridge, of St. Louis, presented an ordinance for submitting 
to a vote of the people of the State certain amendments to the constitu- 
tion and a scheme for the gradual emancipation of slaves ; to wit : for 
the abolition of the first and second clauses of the 26th section of the 3d 
article of the constitution — the first, forbidding the legislature to pass ■ 
laws for the emancipation of slaves without the consent of their owners, 
or without paying a full equivalent for them ; the second, forbidding the 
22 



338 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

legislature to pass laws to prevent bona fide emigrants to this State, or 
actual settlers therein from bringing from any State or territory of the 
United States persons deemed to be slaves therein, so long as any persons 
of the same description are allowed to be held as slaves by the laws 
of this State.' Mr. Breckenridge's ordinance also provided : 

Sec. 2. That all Negroes and Mulattoes who shall be born in slavery in this State 
from and after January 1st, 1865, shall be deemed and considered slaves until they 
shall arrive at the age of twenty-five years and no longer, unless sooner permanently 
removed from the State; jtrovided ahoays, that it shall be the duty of the General 
Assembly of the State, at its first regular session after this-* ordinance shall take effect, or 
as soon thereafter as may be practicable, to provide by law for the payment to the 
owner of those Negroes and Mulattoes who would but for this ordinance have been born 
slaves for life, a full equivalent for their value at tbe expiration of their term of service, 
and also to provide by law for the removal to such place or places beyond the limits 
of this State, may be designated by the General Assembly, at the expense of the State, 
of such persons as they arrive at the age of twenty five years ; and also to address a 
memorial to the Congress of the United States announcing the acceptance by the State 
of Missouri of the offer made in the resolutions recommended for adoption by the 
President of the United States, approved April, 1862, and asking a fulfillment of the 
pleelge therein contained to aid those States which should provide by law for the 
emancipation of slaves, in bearing the burdens thereby incurred. 

The third section made it the duty of the owner of any Negro or 
Mulatto born in this State after January 1st, 1865, to deliver within six 
months after his or her birth, to the clerk of the proper county, to be 
recorded in a book provided for the purpose, a paper duly signed, stating 
the name, age and sex of said Negro or Mulatto, and the name and 
residence of the owner thereof; and failing in this said owner f-hould 
forfeit all claim for compensation as provided in section 2, for said 
Negro or Mulatto so not registered. Also that after the ordinance should 
go into effect, no slave should be brought into this State. It also 
provided that on the first Monday of August, 1864, an election should 
be held at which the* ordinance should be submitted for ratification or 
rejection of the legal voters of the State. 

On motion of Mr. Hall, of Randolph, the ordinance offered by Mr. 
Breckenridge was laid on the table by the following vote : yeas 52, nays 
19. 

Mr. Broadhead, from the Committee on Congressional Districts, 
reported an ordinance dividing the State into nine Congressional Districts, 
which, after the adoption of several amendments, passed nem con. 
• After passing an ordinance repealing all ordinances heretofore passed by 
the Convention, submitting its action to a vote of the people ; an 
ordinance defining the qualifications of voters and civil officers : yeas 42, 



OATH OF LOYALTY FOE VOTEES, ETC. 339 

nays 27; an ordinance continuing the present provisional government in 
oflSce until the first Monday in August, 1864, and until their successors 
are elected and qualified : yeas 45, nays 21 ; an ordinance to enable 
citizens of this State, in the military service of the United States or the 
State of Missouri, to vote ; an ordinance in relation to assessors and 
collectors and for the paj^ment of certain accounts ; an ordinance amend- 
ing the Constitution so that after July 1, 1862, all general elections should 
take place on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, and 
be held biennially, the convention adjourned on the 12th day of its ses- 
sion— June 14th, 1862. 

The first section of the ordinance denning the qualifications of the 
voters and civil officers in this State, adopted June 10, 1862, provided 
that no person should vote at any election thereafter held in the State, 
under the Constitution and laws thereof, whether State, county, 
township or municipal, who should not previously take an oath in form 
as follows : 

"I, , do solemnly swear (or affirm as the case may be) that I will support, 

protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the 
;State of Missouri, against all enemies or opposers, whether domestic or foreign ; that I 
will hear true faith, loyalty and allegiance to the United States, and will not, directly or 
indirectly, give aid or comfort, or countenance, to the enemies or opposers thereof, or of 
the provisional Government of the State of Missouri, any ordinance, law or resolution of 
•any State Convention or Legislature, or of any order or organization, secret or other- 
wise, to the contrary notwithstanding ; and that I do this with a full and honest deter- 
mination, pledge and purpose, faithfully to keep and perform the same, without any 
mental reservation or evasion whatever. And I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I 
have not, since the 17th day of December, A. D. 1861, wilfully taken up arms, or levied 
war, against the United States, or against the provisional Government of the State of 
Missouri, so help me God," 

This was the second test oath for voters ever adopted in the State, 
and it passed the convention as follows : 

Yeas— Messrs. J. S.Allen, of Harrison; Joseph Bogy, of Ste. Genevieve; Samuel M. 
Breckenridge, of St. Louis; Hudson E. Bridge, of St. Louis; Isidor Bush, of St. Louis; 
William Douglass, of Cooper; Charles D. Eitzen, of Gasconade; Willard P. Hall, of 
Buchanan; Littleberry Hendricks, of Greene; Henry Hitchcock, of St. Louis; Eobert 
Holmes, of St. Louis; John How, of St. Louis; Joseph M. Irwin, of Shelby; Z. Isbell, 
of Osage; William Jackson, of Putnam; Eobert W. Jamison, of Webster; James W. 
Johnson, of Polk ; Christopher G. Kidd, of Henry; William T. Leeper, of Wayne; M. 
L. Linton, of St. Louis; JohnF. Long, of St. Louis; Asa C. Marvin, of Henry; Joseph 
W. McClurg, of Osage; James E. McCormack, of Perry; James McFerran, of Daviess, 
Ferdinand Meyer, of St. Louis ; Sample Orr, of Greene; John F. Philips, of Pettis; 
William G. Pomeroy, of Crawford ; Charles G. Eankin, of Jefferson ; Thomas Scott, of 
Miller; John H. Shackelford, of St. Louis; John H. Shanklin, of Grundy Co.; Jacob 



340 HISTOEY OF MISSOUKI. 

Smith, of Linn; Sol. Smith, of St. Louis; Eobert M. Stewart, of Buchanan; Aikman 
Welch, of Johnson ; Alexander M. Woolf oik, of Livinsgton and Ellzy Van Buskirk, of 
Holt— 39. 

Nays — Messrs. Eli E. Bass, of Boone; George Y. Bast, of Montgomery; James H. 
Birch, of Clinton; R. A. Brown, of Cass; Eobert Calhoun, of Audrain; Milton P. Cayce, 
of St. Francois; A. W. Doniphan, of Clay; E. W. Donnell, of Buchanan; Charles 
Drake, of Moniteau; George W. Dunn, of Eay; Eobert B. Frayzer, of St. Charles; 
Joseph Flood, of Callaway; William J. Howell, of Mom-oe; Prince L. Hudgins, of 
Andrew; Vincent Marmaduke, of Saline; James T. Matson, of Ralls; Nelson McDowell, 
of Dade; James H. Moss, of Clay; Phillip Pipkin, of Jefferson; Eobert D. Eay, of 
Carroll; James P. Eoss, of Morgan; Frederick Eowland, of Macon; E. K. Sayre, 
of Lewis; James K. Sheeley, of Jackson; Joseph G. Walker, of Warren; Warren 
Woodson, of Boone, and George W. Zimmerman, of Lincoln — 27. 

A similar oath was prescribed for all persons who should be elected or 
appointed to any civil office in this State, and for all jurymen and attorneys. 
The oath prescribed for jurymen and attorneys was adopted — ^yeas 36, 
nays 33. 

On Monday, June 15, 1863, pursuant to a proclamation from Gov. 
Gamble, the convention re-assembled and held its last session in 
Jefferson City. This proclamation recited that " the subject of eman- 
cipation has for sometime engaged the public mind, and it is of the 
highest importance to the interests of the State that some scheme of 
emancipation should be adopted. The Geneial Assembly, at its late 
session, being embarressed by constitutional limitations upon its power, 
failed to adopt any measure upon the subject of emancipation, but 
clearly indicated a wish that the convention should be called together to 
take action upon the subject." Therefore Gov. Gamble convened the 
convention " to consult and act upon the subject of emancipation of 
slaves, and such other matters as may be connected with the peace and 
prosperity of the State." 

Credentials of newly elected members were presented as follows : 
Solomon R. Moxley, of Lincoln ; Charles D. Drake, of St. Louis ; 
Robert T. Prevvitt, of Howard; William Boker, of Laclede; Smith O. 
Schofield, of Buchanan; Claudius P. Walker, of McDonald; William J. 

Duvall, of • ; William H. McLean, of Cape Girardeau ; Henry J. 

Deal, of Mississippi; William Bonnitield, of Jackson, andH. J. Linden- 
bower, of Greene. 

A message from Gov. Gamble was read, laid on the table and ordered 
to be printed. 

On motion of Mr. Henderson, of Pike, a committee of nine, one from 
each Congressional district, was elected by the Convention, as follows : 
1 — H. R. Gamble, of St. Louis; 2 — Isador Bush, of St. Louis j 



EMANCIPATION OF SLAVES. 341 

3 — ^Joseph Bogy, of Ste. Genevieve; 4 — M. H. Eitchey, of Newton; 
5 — John F. Philips, of Pettis; 6 — A. Comingo, of Jackson ; 7 — Willard 
P. Hall, of Buchanan ; 8 — William A. Hall, of Eandolph ; 9 — John B. 
Henderson, of Pike. To this committee all ordinances on the subject 
of emancipation stood referred. 

Mr. Gamble, Chairman of the Committee on Emancipation, reported 
an ordinance to provide for certain amendments to the Constitution and 
for emancipation of slaves ; to-wit : That the first and second clauses of 
the 26th section of the 3d article of the Constitution are hereby 
abrogated ; that slavery shall cease to exist in Missouri on July 4th, 
1876, and all the slaves w^ithin the State on that. day are hereby declared 
free ; that all slaves thereafter brought into the State and not then 
belono-ing: to citizens of the State shall be free ; that all slaves removed 
by consent of their owners to an}^ seceded State after its secession, and 
brought into this State, shall be free, and that the General Assembly shall 
have no power to pass laws to emancipate slaves without consent of their 
owners. 

Mr. Bush, of St. Louis, presented a minority report from the same 
committee, and submitted an ordinance abrogating the same clauses of 
the Constitution, but declaring slavery shall cease in the State January 
1, 1864; provided, however, that said slaves and their issue thereafter 
born shall become indentured apprentices to their owners or their repre- 
sentatives, and as such held to service and labor until July 4, 1870. 
Also that the legislature shall pass laws regulating the relations between 
said apprentices and their masters ; to provide, as far as necessary for 
the education, apprenticing and support of those who shall become free 
under this ordinance, and against the importation of any Negro or 
Mulatto ; that no future assessment of slave property shall be made in 
the State, and taxes now assessed against said property shall not be 
collected. Also that on the first Monday in August, 1863, an election 

shall be held at the several places of voting in this State, at which 
this ordinance shall be submitted for the ratification or rejection of the 

people . 

The majority report coming up for consideration, Mr. Drake, of St. 
Louis, moved to strike out "July 4, 1876," and insert "January 1, 1874." 
Negatived — yeas 18, nays 65. Mr. Gravelly, of Cedar, oifered an 
amendment making it the duty of the legislature, at its first session after 
the passage of this ordinance, to devise means for ascertaining the number 
of slaves belonging to loyal citizens, and to appropriate and pay to such 

citizens $300.00 for each slave freed by the ordinance. Agreed to — 



342 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

yeas 43, na3's 40. A large number and great variety of amendments to 
the ordinance pending, and new ordinances as substitutes, were intro- 
duced, debated and dispensed of, most of theml)eing disagreed to; until, 
June 29, Mr. Broadhead, of St. Louis, introduced a substitute for 
section 2, and it was agreed to — yeas 55, nays 30. Without specially 
noting the action of the Convention on the various propositions sub- 
mitted, suffice it to say that on July 1st, and on the fifteenth day of the 
session, the ordinance as amended was passed (yeas 51, nays 30,) as 
follows : 

Beit Ordained by the People of the State of Missouri in Convention Assembled: 

Section 1. The first and second clauses of the 26th section of the 3d article of the 
Constitution are hereby abrogated. 

Sec. 2. That slavery and involuntary servitude, except for the punishment of ci'ime, 
shall cease to exist in Missouri on the 4th day of July, 1870, and all slaves within the State 
at that day are hereby declared to be free ; Provided^ however, that all persons emanci- 
pated by this ordinance shall remain under the control, and be subject to the authority 
of their late owners or their legal representatives, as servants during the following- 
period, to-wit: — Those over forty years, for, and during their lives: those under 12 years 
of age until they arrive at the age of 23 years, and those of all other ages until the 4th 
day of Jnly, 1876. The persons, or their legal representatives, who, up to the moment of 
the emancipation were the owners of the slaves thus freed, shall, during the period for 
which the sei'vices of such freed men are reserved to them, have the same authority 
and control over the said freed men for the purpose of receiving the possession and 
services' of the same, that are now held absolutely by the master in respect to his slave. 
— Provided^ however, that after the said 4th day of Juljr, 1870, no person so held to service 
shall be sold to a non-resident of, or removed from the State of Missouri, by authority 
of his late owner or his legal representatives. 

Sec. 3. That all slaves hereafter brought into this State, and not now belonging to 
citizens of this State, shall thereupon be free. 

Sec. 4. All slaves removed, by consent of their owners, to any seceded State after the 
passage by such State of an act or ordinance of secession, and hereafter brought into 
this State by their owners, shall thereupon be free. 

Sec. 5. The General Assembly shall have no power to pass laws to emancipate 
slaves without the consent of their owners. 

Sec. 6. After the passage of this ordinance no slaves in this State shall be subject 
to state, county or municipal taxes. 

The vote on the passage of the above ordinance, by yeas and nays, was 
as follows : 

Yeas. — J. S. Allen, of Harrison; Eli E. Bass, of Boone; Joseph Bogy, of St. Gene- 
vieve; S. M. Breckenridge, of St. Laiis; J. O. Broadhead, of St. Louis; H. E. Bridge, 
of St. Louis; Robert Calhoun, of Audrain; M. P. Cayce, of St. Francois; A. W.Don- 
iphan, of Clay; Wm. Douglass, of Cooper; Robert B. Frayzer, of St Charles; John D. 
Foster, of Adair; H. R. Gamble, of St. Louis; Thos. T. Gantt, of St. Louis; Henry jS^. 
Gorin, of Scotland; Wm. A. Hall, of Randolph; John B. Henderson, of Pike; Henry 



HAMILTON E. GAMBLE'S EESIGNATION. 343 

Hitchcock, of St. Louis ; Eobert Holmes, of St. Louis; ' John Holt, of Dent; John How, 
of St. Louis; Wm. J. Howell, of Monroe; Jos. L. Irwin, of Shelby; Wm. Jackson, 
of Putnam; J. W. Johnson, of Polk; C. G. Kidd, of Henry; John F. Long, of St. 
Louis; A. C. Marvin, of Henry; J. E. McCormack. of Perry; Nelson McDowell, of 
Dade; James McFerran, of Daviess; W. H. McLane, of Cape Girardeau; Solomon E. 
Moxley, of Lincoln; W. G. Pomeroy, of Crawford; Eobt. T. Prewitt, of Howard; C. 
G. Eankin, of Jefferson ; M. H. Eitchey , of JSTewton ; E. K. Sayre, of Lewis; Thomas 
Scott, of Miller ; Thos. Shackelford, of St. Louis ; James K. Sheeley, of Jackson ; John 
H.Shanklin, of Grundy Co.; Jacob Smith, of Linn; Sol. Smith, of St. Louis; Aikman 
Welch, of Johnson; Warren Woodson, of Boone; G. W. Vanbuskirk, of Holt. — 51. 

Noes — Wm. Baker, of Laclede; Orton Bartlette, of Stoddard; Geo. Y. Bast, of Mont- 
gomery; Jas. H Birch, of Clinton; Wm. Bonnifield, of Jackson; Isador Bush, of St. 

Louis; Henry J. Deal, of Mississippi ; Wm. J. Devol, of ; G. W. Drake, of 

Moniteau; Chas.D. Drake, of St. Louis; G- W. Dunn, of Eay; Chas. D. Eitzen, of 
Gasconade; Harrison Hough, of Mississippi; Q. Isbell, of Osage; Eobt. W. Jamison, of. 
Webster; Wm. T. Deeper, of Wayne; H.J. Lindenbower, of Greene; J. T. Matson, of 
Ealls ; J. W. McClurg, of Camden ; Ferdinand Meyer, of St. Louis ; W. L. Morrow, of 
Dallas; Sample Orr, of Greene; Eobert D. Eay, of Carroll; James P. Eoss, of Morgan; 
Smith O. Schofield, of Buchanan ; E. M. Stewart, of Buchanan ; Claudius P. Walker, of 
McDonald; J. G. Waller, of Warren; A. M. Woolf oik, of Livingston ; Eobert Wil- 
son (Pres't) , of Andrew. — 30. 

Hamilton E. Gamble having tendered his resignation as Governor of 
the State, on motion of Mr. Comingo, it was resolved that his resigna- 
tion be returned to him with the request that he continue to exercise the 
powers and discharge the duties of the office of Governor until the first 
Monday in November, 1864, and until his successor is elected and qualified. 
Yeas 47, nays 34. To which Gov. Gamble, on July 1, 1863, 
responded in a communication to the Convention in which he with- 
drew his resignation. 

Wednesday, July 1, 1863, the Convention, after having held various 
sessions since February 28, 1861, adjourned sine die. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

1861— OuK Civil War.— Difficulties in Arriving at the Truths of its History.— 
Inauguration OF THE War.— Secession OF South Carolina.— Firing on the '-Star of 
THE West" and Fort Sumter.— The First Gun of the Rebellion. — President 
Lincoln Calls for 75,000 Troops,— Gov. C. F. Jackson's Response.— Imminence op 
the Crisis.— Hopes of the Conservative Masses.— General Military Order (No. 7) 
OF Gov. Jackson to Organize Camps for Drill.— Camp Jackson.— Gen. D. M. 
Frost's Letter to Capt. Nath'l Lyon, Commandant of the St. Louis Arsenal.— 
Capt. Lyon's Letter to Gen. Frost .Demanding the Surrender of Camp Jackson. — 
Capt. Lyon and Col. F. P. Blair March against Camp Jackson.— It Surrenders. — 
Particulars of the Event.— Fearful Excitement. — Gen. Frost's Letter op 
January 24th, 1861, to Gov. Jackson.— Gen. W. S. Harney's Proclamation.— The 
Harney-Price Agreement.— It is disapproved at Washington and Gen. Harney 
REMOVED.— Gen. Lyon succeeds to the Command of the Department.— Conference 
BETWEEN Gen. Lyon, Col. Blair, Gov. Jackson and Gen. Price.— What each party 

DEMANDED.— JTHE CONFERENCE A FAILURE.— JaCKSON AND PRICE RETURN TO THE 

Capital, Burning the Bridges behind them. — Col. Thomas L. Snead's sketch op 
Lyon.— Gov. Jackson's Proclamation calling for 50,000 men.— Gen. Lyon marches 
to Jefferson City. — Jackson and Price desert the Capital and establish 
themselves at Boonville.— Lyon and Blair occupy the Capital.— The Boonville 
Fight. — The State Troops Repulsed.— Lyon occupies Boonville and issues a 
Proclamation. — The Battle of Carthage.— Col. Sigel's Retreat. 

Previous chapters laave disclosed many of the important proceedings 
of Congress and of the Legishiture, and events State and National, which 
immediately preceded our late civil war, and by which that dire calamity 
was precipitated upon the country. In this record we have seen popular 
frenzy and sectional rancor growing out of our federal relations, and have 
contemplated with alarm the imminent peril of the Union of the States. 
We have seen the deliberations of the Federal Congress, and of State 
Legislatures, and of popular assemblies of the people, fearfully distracted 
by the conflicts of opposing opinions, and by heart-burnings and jealous- 
ies calculated to incite an appeal to the arbitrament of the sword. We 
have traced the measures of conciliation proposed through various instru- 
mentalities to avert the bloody issues of civil war, and haye marked with 
the deepest concern how impotent they all proved in the end to stay 
the surging tide of popular reason dethroned. 

We therefore now come to the culmination of the disorder ; to the clash 
of arms itself; to that period in the State's history in which all argument 
and entreaty, all appeals to an intelligent patriotism, all invocation of the 
blessed memories and maxims of a noble ancestry were hushed in the diu 
and obscured by dust of battle. 




HON. FRANK P. BLAIR . 
R ENATOR FROM MI S S OlIRI . 



OUR CIVn. WAK. 345 

Within the limits allowed in this " Sketch" it will be impossible to 
make a full record of the war history of the State, and therefore it 
will not be attempted. An account, necessarily brief, but, it is hoped, 
non-partisan and correct, of the most important war- events occurring in 
the State from the inception of the rebellion in 1861, to its close in 1865, 
must suffiice. Minor occurrences, although they may have inspired others 
of tremendous import, and tiresome details, must be omited. The salient 
points of history will be recorded, we trust, faithfully, succinctly, reli- 
ably. History will not be knowingly manufactured. That which exists 
or has existed, events which actually transpired during the war, will claim 
attention ; for the true province of a historian is to chronicle the known, 
not the unknown ; the true, not the false ; and to discharge this function 
in a manner that shall be equally just to all men. 

To accomplish it, however, is no easy task, for the difficulties to be 
met and overcome are both numerous and formidable. All wars, and 
especially all civil wars, are outgrowths of misunderstandings and ill- 
blood ; and the contemporaneous records of their conflicts by land and sea 
are more or less discolored by the bitter waters of personal rancor and 
injustice. Conflicts of arms in all civil wars are remarkably fruitful of 
conflicts of statement ; and therefore it is often difficult, even for the 
most candid and impartial, to evolve the truth out of antagonisms which 
so largely partake of the sensational and the personal. 

We believe it will not be seriously questioned that the overt act of 
the war, the initial step of the Eebellion, was South Carolina's. That 
State was the first to pass an ordinance of secession, and this she did as 
early as December 20th, 1860. In less than a half hour afterwards, the 
telegraph having flashed the news to Washington, all her representatives in 
Congress, except two, left the hall. On the 24th, only four days after the 
passage of the secession ordinance, the Arsenal at Augusta, Georgia, and 
on the 3d of January, Fort Pulaski, on Cockspur Island, at the mouth 
of the Savannah River, and Fort Jackson, nearer the city of Savannah, 
were taken possession of by the insurgents. National defenses in Alabama 
and North Carolina shared the same fate. On the 9th of January, 1861, 
the Star of the West, laden with government supplies for Fort Sumter, 
and with the national colors flying at her mast-head, and while nearing 
the fort in Charleston harbor, was fired upon by State troops from a 
masked battery on Morris Island. In a few days afterwards. Forts St. 
Philip and Jackson, below New Orleans, and commanding the approach 
to that city, and the Federal garrison at Baton Rouge, were seized by the 
State authorities. Warlike demonstrations thus followed each other in 



346 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

rapid succession, occasioning the wildest excitement among the people 
of Missouri and the whole conntry. 

This excitement culminated on the 12th of April ; for it was during 
the darkness of th;it eventful morning that Lieutenant H. S. Farley, by 
order of Gen. G. T. Beauregard, fired a signal gun from a battery on 
James Island, and sent a shell of fire through the black night to explode 
innnediately over Fort Sumter. It was a shot of fearful portent, whose 
full augm-y the wisest in the land could not interpret. 

It was the first gun of the Rebellion, the signal for cannonading the 
Fort itself, which immediately commenced with shot and shell from the 
batteries on Sullivan's Island, Fort Moultrie, Cummings's Point, and 
Morris Island. After a heroic and unavailing resistance, and a terrific 
bombardment for thirty-six hours, during which over three thousand 
shot and shell were hurled at the Fort, Major Anderson capitulated with 
his assailants, surrendered Fort Sumter to their possession, and evac- 
uated it. 

This event caused a profound sensation throughout the Union. From 
the lakes to the gulf, and from the rivers to the sea, the wildest excite- 
ment seized npon the people. They were frenzied. All were equally 
moved by the portentous event — the Union men by indignation, the 
Secessionists by exultation. In the midst of the wide-spread and univer- 
sal commotion. President Lincoln, within twenty-four hours after the 
National Flag was lowered in Charleston harbor, issued a proclamation 
(April 15, 1861), calling forth " the militia of the several States of the 
Union, to the aggregate number of 75,000, to suppress combinations in 
South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and 
Texas, too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial 
proceedings," " to maintain the honor, the integrity, and existence of 
our national Union and the perpetuity of popular government," and "to 
repossess the forts, places and property w^iich have been seized from the 
Union." Simultaneousl}^ with this proclamation, the Secretary of War 
(Simon Cameron), by authority of law,i issued a telegram to the gover- 
nors of all the States, excepting those mentioned in the President's pro- 
clamation, requesting each of them to detail from the militia of the State 
the number of men designated in a table accompanying the requisiton, to 
serve as infantry or riflemen for a period of three months. 

Missouri's quota was fixed at four regiments, which Gov. Jackson was 
requested to furnish. The following was his scornful and defiant reply: 

^See Act of Congress of February 28, 1795. 



IMMINENCE OF THE CEISIS. 347 

Executive Department of Missouri, ) 
Jefferson City, April 17, 1861. ) 
To the Hon. Simon Cameron, Secretary of War, Wasliington, D. C, : 

Sir: — ^Your dispatch of tlie 15th inst., making a call on Missouri for four regiments of 
men for immediate service, has been received. There can be, I apprehend, no doubt 
but these men are intended to form a part of the President's army to make war upon 
the people of the seceded States. Your requisition, in my judgment, is illegal, uncon- 
stitutional, and revolutionary in its objects, inhuman and diabolical, and cannot be 
complied with. Not one man will the State of Missouri furnish to carry on such an 
unholv crusade. C. F. Jackson, 

Governor of Missouri. ■ 

Very similar in language and sentiment were the responses of the other 
five of the eight slave-holding States included in the call — Virghiia, North 
Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas. The exceptions were 
Maryland and Delaware, whose answers to the requisition, while not di- 
rect and outright refusals to comply, were more conciliatory in spirit, 
and yet did not comply, or promise to comply. 

It was quite evident our national affairs were rapidly tending towards 
a great and momentous crisis, nnparalelledin our history, and that we were 
on the precipitous verge of a bloody civil war. Many indeed there were, 
among our public men of acknowledged wisdom and sagacity, who al- 
ready "smelled the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains and the 
shouting." Nevertheless, sodisastrous to all our best interests a civil war 
was believed to be, and therefore distasteful to good men of all parties, 
that high hopes were entertained, especially among the conservative 
masses of the border slave-states — Missouri included — that by some agen- 
cy or other, they scarcely knew how or what, the threatened storm of 
flagrant war would be avoided. Many Union men, therefore, truly loyal 
to the Constitution and government of the United States, and having no 
sympathy whatever with the effort to destroy them, persisted in their 
endeavors to prevent a collision of arms between the military forces of 
the States and Nation. Hence they were reluctant to abandon their orig- 
inal and anomalous position of armed neutrality and non-coercion, hoping 
*and trusting that, if the shedding of fraternal blood could be postponed, 
even for a short period longer, the Union would be saved and the re- 
pose of the republic preserved. 

They claimed, in the language of Millard Fillmore, to have stood "like 
a rock in the midst of the ocean, against which the surges of secession 
beat in vain. Not moved by terror or seduced by an unholy ambition, 
they formed a rampart for the protection of the Constitution." Their 
policy was one of fidelity to the Union, and of conciliation and peace, 



348 HISTORY OF ISnSSOUHI. 

distinguislied by unceasing eftbrts, amid a storm of obloquy and reproach 
and misrepresentation, to prevent tiieir respective States from madly flying 
from their orbits and plunging the country into the voracious abyss of 
anarchy and revolution. 

Tiie imminence of the crisis induced Gov. Jackson, who unquestionably 
sympathized with the Secessionists, to convene the General Assembly in 
extra session on May 2d, 1861. It was a very important and notable ses- 
sion of that body, the proceedings of which are recorded and reviewed in a 
previous chapter — Chapter XXVI. Of even date with the governor's 
proclamation (April 22, 1861), the following general military order-was 
issued by Warwick Hough, then Adjutant-general of Missouri, now one 
of the judges of the State Supreme Court : 

Headquakteks Adjutant General's Office, Mo. } 
Jefferson City, April 22, 1861. ) 
(General Orders jSTo. 7.) 

I. To attain a greater degree of efficiency and perfection in organization and discipline 
the commanding officers of the several military districts in this State, having four or 
more legally organized companies therein, whose armories are within fifteen miles of 
each other, will assemble their respective commands at some place to be by them sever- 
ally designated, on the 3d day of May, and to go into an encampment for the period of six 
days, as provided by law. Captains of companies not organized into battalions wiU 
report the strength of their companies immediately to these Headquarters, and await 
further orders. 

n. The Quartermaster General ^^^ll procure and issue to the Quartermasters of Dis- 
tricts, for those commands not now provided for, all necessary tents and camp equipage, 
to enable the commanding officers thereof to carry the foregoing orders into eflfect. 

TTT . The Light Battery now attached to the Southwest Battalion, and one company of 
mounted riflemen, including all officers and soldiers belonging to the First District, wUl 
proceed forthwith to St. Louis, and report to Gen. D. M. Frost for duty. The remaining 
companies of said battalion will be disbanded for the purpose of assisting in the 
organization of companies upon that frontier. The details in the execution of the 
foregoing are entrusted to Lieutenant Colonel John S- Bowen, commanding the Bat- 
talion. 

IV. Tlie strength, organization, and equipment of the several companies in the 
Districts will be reported at once to these Headquarters, and Division Inspectors will 
furnish all information which may be servicable in ascertaining the condition of the 
State forces. 

By order of the Governor, Warwick Hough, 

Adjutant General of Missouri. 



Pursuant to this order, the military encampment of " Camp Jackson," 
at Lindell's Grove, ia the western suburbs of the city of St. Louis, was 
organized on the 3d of May, 1861, by Daniel M. Frost, a Brigadier-Gen- 
eral of the Missouri Militia, and a graduate of the United States Military 



CAMP JACKSON. 349 

Academy at West Point. Its object was stated to be to attain greater 
efficiency in organization and military drill, and doubtless this was its 
more immediate design ; but the conviction soon became general in 
United States military circles that there were ulterior purposes in view, 
known only, or chiefly, to Gov. Jackson and Gen. Frost, and their con- 
fidential advisers. These purposes, it was strongly suspected, and by some 
verily believed, embraced the seizure of the United States Arsenal at Sz. 
Louis, with its large supply of valuable munitions of war, and the mili- 
tarv control of the State in the interest of those who, notwithstandino; 
the overwhelming anti-secession vote of the people at the Convention 
election in February, would link the fortunes of Missouri to the Southern 
Confederacy. 

It is true these ulterior purposes were disavowed, and that in token 
of the loyalty of the Camp and its commanders, the Stars and Stripes 
floated over them. Yet Captain Nathaniel Lyon, of the United States 
army, who had recently supplanted Maj. William Henry Bell, as com- 
mandant of the Arsenal, and Col. (afterwards Maj or- General), Frank P. 
Blair, Jr., and other leading Unionists, looked with suspicion upon the 
sentiments of Gov. Jackson's inaugural, and particularly the more recent 
and pronounced avowals of his message to the extra session of the Legisla- 
ture, when considered in the light of his response to the requisition of the 
Secretary of War (Cameron). Added to all this testimony was the seiz- 
ure of the United States Arsenal at Liberty, in the county of Clay, April 
20th, 1861, by order of Gov. Jackson, and the fact that two of the streets 
or avenues formed by tents of Camp Jackson, were called "Davis" and 
"Beauregard," in compliment to two of the most prominent leaders of 
the Rebellion. Also, about the time of the seizure of the Libert}' Arsenal, 
Captain Lyon was informed that cannon and mortars in boxes marked 
" marble," and shot and shell in barrels, had been landed at the St. Louis 
wharf, from the steamer J. C Swan, and hauled to Camp Jackson on 
wagons or drays. To satisfy himself as to the truth of the report, as 
well as to make a reconnoisance of the camp. Captain Lyon disguised 
himself in ladies' clothes, and closely veiled, rode unsuspected in a car- 
riage around it, and became convinced that vigorous measures were called 
for with promptness. ^ 



^Capt. Lyon wore the dress, shawl and bonnet of Mrs. Andrew Alexander, a daughter 
of the late Gov. George Madison of Kentucky, whose bravery was conspicuous at French- 
town on the river Raisin, during the War of 1812. A colored man named Wm. Eoberts 
drove the carriage, and Capt. J. J. Witzig was Lj^on's guide. 



350 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

Soon after the commtind of the St. Louis Arsenal was assumed by Capt. 
Lyon, it was reported to Gen. Frost tJiat it was his intention at an early 
day to attack Camp Jackson ; and so rapidly did tliese reports finally 
Gome to him, that, on the morning of May 10th, Gen. Frost addressed 
Capt. Lyon the following note : 

Headquarters, Camp Jackson, ) 
Missouri Militia, May 10, 1861. ) 
Capt, IST. Lyon, Commanding United States Troops in and about St. Louis Arsenal: 

Sir : I am constantly in receipt of information that you contemplate an attack upon 
my camp, whilst I undei-stand that you are impressed with the idea that aii attack upon 
the Arsenal and United States troops is intended on the part of the militia of Missouri. 
I am gTeatl}^ at a loss to know wliat could justify you in attacking citizens of the United 
States who are in the lawful performance of duties devolving upon them under the 
Constitution, in organizing and instructing the militia of the State in obedience to her 
laws, and therefore have been disposed to doubt the correctness of the information I 
have received. 

I would be glad to know from you personally, whether there is any truth in the 
statements that are constantly pouring into my ears. So far as regards any hostility 
being intended towards the United States, or its property or representatives by any 
portion of mj^ command, or as far as I can learn (and I think I am fully informed), of 
any other part of the State forces, I can positively say that the idea has never been 
entertained. On the contrary, prior to your taking command of the Arsenal, I proferred 
to Maj. Bell, then in command of the very few troops constituting its guard, the services 
of mj^self and all my command, and, if necessary, the whole power of the State, to 
protect the United States in the full possession of all her property. Upon General 
Harney's taking command of this Department, I made the same proffer of services to 
him, and authorized his Adjutant General, Capt. Williams, to communicate the fact 
that such had been done to the War Department. I have had no occasion since to 
change any of the views I entertained at that time, neither of my own volition, nor 
through orders of mj^ constitutional commander. 

I trust that after this explicit statement^we may be able, by fully understanding each 
other, to keep far from our borders the misfortunes which so luihappily affect oiu* 
common country. 

This communication will be handed to you by Colonel Bowen, my Chief of Staff, who 
Avill be able to explain anything not fully set forth in the foregoing. I am, sir, 
Very respectfully your obedient servant. 

Brigadier General D. M. Frost, 
Commanding Camp Jackson, M. V. M. 

Capt. Lyon, it was reported at the time, and we suppose it is true, 
refused to receive this communication from Gen. Frost; at all events it is 
not questioned that on the very day of its date, and perhaps at the very 
hour, he was in the midst of active preparations to march upon the camp 
and to demand its surrender. About the time of the investment of his 
camp, between two and three o'clock, p. m., Friday, May 10th, 1861, 
Gen. Frost received from Capt. Lyon the following : 



THE CAPTURE OF CA3IP JACKSON. 351 

Headquakters United States Tkoops, ) 
St. Louis, Mo., May 10, 1861. \ 
CrEN". D. M. Frost, Gommanding Camp Jackson: 

Sir : Your command is regarded as evidently hostile towards tlie Government of the 
United States. . 

It is, for tlie most part, made up of those Secessionists who have openly avowed their 
hostility to the General Government, and have been plotting at the seizure of its prop- 
erty and the overthrow of its autliority. You are openly in communication with the 
so-called Southern Confederacy, which is noAV at war with the United States, and you 
are receiving at your camp, from the said Confederacy, and under its flag, large supplies 
of the material of Avar, most of which is Imown to be the property of the United States. 
These extraordinary preparations plainly indicate none other than the well known 
purpose of the Governor of this State, under whose orders you are acting, and Avhose 
purpose, recently communicated to the Legislature, has just been responded to by that 
body in the most unparallelled legislation, having in direct view hostilities to the 
General Government, and co-operation with its enemies. 

In view of these considerations, and of your failure to disperse in obedience to the 
proclamation of the President, and of the imminent necessities of State policy and 
warfare, and the obligations imposed upon me by instructions from Washington, it is 
my duty to demand, and I do hereby demand of you an immediate surrender of your 
command, Avith no other conditions than that all persons surrendering, under this 
demand, shall be humanely and kindly treated. Believing mj^self prepared to enforce 
this demand, one-half hour's time, before doing so, Avill be alloAved for your compliance 
therewith. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

]Sr. Lyon, 
Capt. 2d Infantry, Commanding Troops, 

Gen. Frost could not, and did not, mistake tlie purport of this 
communication, nor under-estimate the power of the armed force then 
on the march for his encampment and in sight of his tents. Capt. Lyon's 
command numbered between six and seven thousand men and about 
twenty pieces of artillery. They marched, according to the Missouri 
Republican s account, "at quiclc time up Market street, and on arriving 
near Camp Jackson, rapidly surrounded it, planting batteries upon 
all the heights overlooking the camp. Long files of men were stationed 
in platoons at various points on every side, and a picket guard established 
covering an area of say two hundred yards. The guards, with fixed 
bayonets and muskets at half cock, were instructed to allow none to 
pass or re-pass within the limit thus taken up.^ By this time an immense 

1 The regiments of Missouri Volunteers under Colonels Blair, Boernstein and Franz 
Sigel were formed on the north and west sides of the camp ; the regiment of Col. Nich- 
olas Schuttner Avith a company of United States Kegulars and a battery of artillery, 
under Lieut. Lathrop. Avere draAvn upon the east side; and a company of Regulars 
under Lieut. Saxton, and a battery of heavy guns were on thenorthside. Capt. Lyon's 
staff consisted of Franklin A. Dick, (Provost Marshal General of Missouri, under Gen. 
S. B. Curtis), Samuel Simmons, Bernard G. Farrar and Maj. H. A. Conant. 



352 HISTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 

crowd of people had assembled in the vicinity, having gone thither in 
carriages, buggies, rail cars, baggage wagons, on horseback and on foot. 
Numbers of men siezed rifles, shot-gnns, or whatever other weapons 
they could lay hands upon, and rushed pell-mell to the assistance of the 
State troops, but were, of course, obstructed in their design. The 
hills, of which there are a number in the neighborhood, were literally 
black with people — hundreds of ladies and children stationing themselves 
with the throng, but as they thought, out of harm's Avay." 

Immediatel}' on receipt of Capt. Lyon's demand for surrender — ^the 
Missouri Republican of May 11th, 1861, says — "Gen. Frost called a 
hasty consultation of the ofiicers of his staff. The conclusion arrived at 
was about as follows : The Brigade was in no condition to make resistance 
to a force so numerically superior. With but a few pieces of small 
calibre, and with less than a dozen rounds of cartridges for his command, 
a battle must necessarily be of short duration and of but one result — 
the total route and defeat of the State troops. To have withstood an 
attack would have been sheer recklessness and cruelty to the men of 
Gen. Frost's command. In short, the Brigade was not by any means in 
a war condition. Gen. Frost stated, moreover, that he had no war to 
wage upon the United States or its troops ; that he was only acting in 
cheerful obedience to the order of his superior officer, and in compliance 
with the laws of the State ; that he had anticipated no conflict, and 
would not willingly jeopardize the lives of his men in anything that 
might be construed into hostility to the United States Government. 
Only one course was to be pursued, and that was quickly agreed upon, 
viz : a surrender. 

"The demand of Capt. Lyon was accordingly agreed to. The State 
troops were therefore made prisoners of war, but an offer was made 
to release them on condition that they would take an oath to support the 
Constitution of the United States, and would-swear not to take up arms 
against the Government. These terms were made known to the several 
commands, and the opportunity given to all who might feel disposed 
to accede to them to do so. Some eight or ten men signified their wil- 
lingness ; but the remainder, about eight hundred, preferred, under the 
circumstances, to become prisoners. (A number of the troops were 
absent from the camp in the city, on leave.) Those who declined to 
take the prescribed oath said that they had already sworn allegience to 
the United States and to defend the Government, and to repeat it now 
would be to admit that they had been in rebellion, which they would not 
concede." 



riKING ON THE CKOWD. 353 

"The prepurations for surrender and for marching, as prisoners, under 
escort of the Arsenal troops, occupied an hour or two. The Brigade 
was then formed in line headed by Gen. Frost and his staff, on horseback, 
and with colors flying and drums beating, marched through the wood 
skirting the road up to an opening that had been made in the fence near 
the turnpike. Here a halt was made for some reason, and the opportunity 
was improved by a large crowd of excited citizens to draw near the 
officers of the staff and salute them with cheers. The men appeared 
dejected and rather sad, but evidently were not conscious of having done 
anything cowardly. One of the officers^ achieved a volley of deafening 
huzzas by riding up to a fence and hacking away at it with his sword, 
breaking and bending it so as to render it entirely useless. It was a 
very handsome sword, costing $100, and was a recent present from some 
military friends. This example waf» followed by others amidst shouts of 
applause. 

"About half past five, the prisoners of war left the grove and entered 
the road, the United States soldiers enclosing them by a single file 
stretched along each side of the line. A halt was ordered and the troops 
remained standing in the position they had deployed into the road in. 
The head of the column at the time rested opposite a small hill on the 
left as you approach the city, and the rear was on a line with the 
entrance to the grove. Yast crowds of people covered the surrounding 
grounds and every fence and house-top in the vicinity. Suddenly the 
sharp reports of several fire-arms were heard from the front of the 
column, and the spectators that lined the adjacent hill were seen fleeing in 
the greatest dismay and terror. It appears that several members of 
one of the German companies, on being pressed by the crowd and 
receiving some blows from them, turned and discharged their pieces. 
Fortunately no one was injured, and the soldiers who had done the act were 
at once placed under arrest. Hardly, however, had tranquility been 
restored when volley after volley of rifle reports were suddenly heard from 
the extreme rear ranks, and men, women and children were beheld 
running wildly and frantically away from the scene. Many, while running, 
were suddenly struck to the sod, and the wounded and dying made the 
late beautiful field look like a battle ground. The total number killed and 
injured is about twenty-five. It was reported that the Arsenal troops 
were attacked with stones, and a couple of 'shots discharged at them by 
the crowd before they fired. 

^Col. John Knapp. 
23 



354 HISTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 

"The most of the people exposed to the fire of the soldiers, were 
citizens with their wives and children, who were merely spectators, and 
who took no part in any demonstration whatever. The firing was said to 
liave been done hy Boernstein's company and at the command of an 
officer. As night closed in and hid the ghastly horrors of the scene, 
a German regiment took possession of the blood-stained camp and the 
tents of the State soldiers. By citizens of St. Lonis, and especially 
those who have lost friends by the occurrence of yesterday, the events 
will not be easily forgotten. 

" The United States troops are now in possession of Camp Jackson, 
with all the equipage, tents, provisions, &c. The prisoners of war are, 
we believe, at the Arsenal. 

"It is almost impossible to describe the intense exhibition of feeling 
which was manifested last evening in the city. All the most frequented 
streets and avenues were thronged with citizens in the highest state of 
excitement, and loud huzzas and occasional shots were heard in various 
localities. There was very little congregating on the street corners. 
Everybody was on the move, and rapid pedestrianism was turned into 
account. Thousands upon thousands of restless human beings could be 
seen from almost any point on Fourth street, all in search of the latest 
news. Imprecations, loud and long, were hurled into the darkening air, and 
the most unanimous resentment was expressed on all sides at the manner 
of firing into the harmless crowds near Camp Jackson. Hon. J. R. 
Barret, Major Uriel Wright and other speakers addressed a large and 
intensely excited crowd in front of. the Planters' House, and other well 
known citizens were similarly engaged at various other points in the city. 
Amid the noise and confusion it was impossible to obtain even the 
substance of the speeches delivered. 

"All the drinking saloons, restaurants and other public resorts of simi- 
lar character, were closed by their proprietors almost simultaneously at 
dark; and the windows of private dwellings were fastened, in fear of a 
general riot. Theaters and other public places of amusement were 
entirely out of the question, and nobody went near them. Matters of 
graver import were occupying the minds of our citizens, and everything 
but the present excitement was banished from their thoughts. 

"Crowds of men rushed. through the principal thoroughfares, bearing 
banners and devices suited to their several fancies, and by turns cheering 
and groaning. Some were armed and others were not armed, and all 
seemed anxious to be at work. A charge was made on the gun store of 
H. E. Dimick on Main street, the door was broken open, and the crowd 



A EEMAEKABLE LETTEE. 355 

secured fifteen or twenty guns before a sufficient number of police could 
be collected to arrest the proceedings. Chief McDonoiigh marched down 
with about twenty policemen, armed with muskets, and succeeded in dis- 
persing the mob and protecting the premises from further molestation. 
Squads of armed policemen were stationed at several of the most public 
corners, and the offices of the Missouri Democrat and Anzeiger des Wes- 
tens were placed under guard for protection." 

Gen. Frost's command were marched to the Arsenal between Blair's 
and Boernstein's regiments, and remained there that night prisoners of 
war. Next day (Saturday) they were released, each one of them — Capt. 
Emmet McDonald, excepted, who refused — subscribing the following 
parole : 

St. Louis Arsenal, May 11, 1861. 
We, the undersigned, do pledge our words as gentlemen that we will not take up arms 
nor serve in any military capacity against the United States, during the present civil 
war. This parole to be returned upon our surrendering ourselves, at any time, as pris- 
oners of war. While we make this pledge with the full intention of observing it, we 
hereby protest against the justice of its exaction. 

The history of the capture of Camp Jackson would not be complete 
without the transcript of a letter from Gen. Frost to Gov. Jackson, dated 
January 24th, 1861, (captured with other Confederate records in Ala- 
bama by the 49th Missouri Volunteers) . Although the letter was written 
more than three months before Lyon's march upon the camp, it discloses 
the purposes of Gen. Frost, and those in authority in Misssouri at that 
time, and the concealed sympathies with their designs of Maj. Bell, then 
commandant of the Arsenal. Gen. Frost's letter is a remarkable paper, 
and pours a flood of light upon events transpiring previous to the 
inauo-uration of flao:rant war in Missouri. It is as follows : 

St. Louis, Mo., January 24, 1861. 
His Hoccellency, G. F. Jackson, Governor of Missouri : 

Dear Sir : I have just returned from the Ai-senal, where I have had an interview 
with Major Bell, the commanding officer of that place. I found the Maj or everything that 
you or I could desire. He assured me that he considered that Missouri had, whenever 
the time came, a right to claim it as being upon her soil. He asserted his determination 
to defend it against any and all irresponsible mobs, come from whence they might, but at 
the same time gave me to understand that he would not attempt any defense against the 
proper State authorities. 

He promised me upon the honor of an officer and a gentleman that he would not suf- 
fer any arms to be removed from the place without first giving me timely information, 
and I in return promised him that I would use all the force at my command to prevent 
him being annoyed by irresponsible persons. 



356 HISTORY OF IVnSSOURI. 

I at the same time gave him notice that if affairs assumed so threatening a character 
as to render it unsafe to leave the place in its comparatively unprotected condition, that 
I might come down and quarter a proper force there to protect it from the assaults of 
any persons whatsoever, to which he assented. In a word, the Major is Avith us, where 
he ought to be, for all his worldly wealth lies here in St. Louis (and it is very large) , and 
then, again, his sympathies are with us. 

I shall therefore rest perfectly easy, and use all my influence to stop the sensationists^ 
from attracting the particular attention of the government to this particular spot. The 
telegraphs you received were the sheerest '■'■canards'''' of persons who, without discre- 
tion, are extremely anxious to show their zeal. T shall be thoroughly prepared with the 
proper force to act as emergency may require. The use of force will only be resorted to 
when nothing else will avail to prevent the shipment or removal of the arms. 

The Major informed me that he had arms for forty thousand men, with all the appli- 
ances to manufacture munitions of almost every kind. 

This Arsenal, if properly looked after, \Aill be everything to our State, and I intend to 
look after it, very quietly, however. I have every confidence in the word of honor 
pledged to me by the Major, and would as soon think of doubting the oath of the best 
man in the community. 

His idea is, that it would be disgraceful to him as a military man to surrender to a 
mob, whilst he could do so without compromising his dignity, to the State authorities. 
Of course I did not show him your order, but I informed him that you had authorized 
me to act as I might think proper to protect the public property. 

He desired that I would not divulge his peculiar views, which I promised not to do,. 
except to yourself. I beg, therefore, that you will say nothing that might compromise 
him eventually with the general government, for thereby I would be placed in an awk- 
ward position, whilst he would probably be removed, which would be unpleasant to our 
interests. 

Grimsley, as you doubtless know, is an unconscionable jackass, and only desires to- 
make himself notorious. It was through him that McLaren and George made the mis- 
take of telegraphing a falsehood to you. 

I should be pleased to hear whether you approve of the course I have adopted, and if 

not, I am ready to take any other that you, as my commander, may suggest. I am,. 

sir, most truly Your obedient servant, 

D. M. Frost. 

The capture of Camp Jackson, and the consequent unfortunate col- 
lision between some of the Union troops and the people, but notably 
the blood-shed which followed, occasioned a profound sensation and the 
wildest excitement throughout the State. Nothing equal to it in the in- 
tensity of the popular delirium occurred during the war. The most sen- 
sational and exaggerated reports flew on the wings of the wind, of the- 
brutal murder of defenseless men, women and children, by an infuriated 
soldiery ; of their unprovoked attack with Minie rifles and fixed bayonets,, 
upon the unofi'ending spectators of Frost's surrender, and of heartless and 
criminal outrages too horrid to be recorded here. In truth these reports 
not only occasioned great consternation in the Legislature then in session 
at the Capital, but set the State ablaze, and precipitated the people for a 
time into the giddy whirl of an unreasoning frenzy. 



GEN. HAENEY'S PEOCLAMATIOI^. 357 

We have seen, in a former chapter, how the startling and rapidly- 
occurring events passeded the Military Bill tlirough the General Assembly, 
jjroviding for men and money to arm the State. Had we space, we might 
note the im]3romptu uprising of the people in many localities, with such 
arms as they could hastily gather, to avenge the terrible and wholesale 
slaughter (as the first reports falsely stated it), of women and children in 
the streets of St. Louis, by a brutal and licentious Abolition mob, armed 
with U. S. muskets and commanded by German cut-throats. But it is 
not necessary. Suffice it to say that, two days after the capture of Camp 
Jackson, Brigadier-General Wm. S. Harney, commandant of the depart- 
ment, returned to St. Louis from Washington, and on that day (May 12, 
18^1) , issued a proclamation to the people of Missouri and St. Louis, city 
in which he deprecated "the deplorable state of things existing," and as- 
sured the people "he would carefully abstain from the exercise of any 
unnecessary powex'S," and only use "the military force stationed in this 
District in the last resort to preserve the peace." He trusted he would 
^'be spared the necessity of resorting to martial law, but the public peace 
must be preserved, and the lives and property of the people protected." 
He also exhorted the people to "pursue their peaceful avocations, 
to observe the laws and orders of their local authorities, and to abstain 
from the excitements of public meetings and heated discussions," 

Two days afterwards (May 14, 1861), Gen. Harney issued a second 
proclamation "to the People of the State of Missouri," in Avhich he de- 
nounced the "Military Bill," passed by the recent Legislature, as " an- 
indirect secession ordinance, ignoring even the forms resorted to by other 
States," and unconstitutional and void. He also alluded approvingly to 
the capture of Camp Jackson, maintaining that the camp had been " or- 
ganized in the interests of the secessionists," " the men openly wearing 
the dress and badge distinguishing the army of the so-called Southern 
Confederacy ; " and that it was "a notorious fact that a quantity of 
arms had been received into the camp which were unlawfully taken from 
the United States Arsenal at Baton Rouge, and surreptitiously passed up 
the river in boxes marked 'marble.' " Also that " no government in the 
world would be entitled to respect that would tolerate for a moment such 
openly treasonable preparations ;" adding : "It is but simple justice, 
however, that I should state the fact that there were many good and loyal 
men in the camp, who were in no manner responsible for its treason- 
able character." The proclamation, which was one of considerable 
length, concluded as follows : 
r 



358 HISTORY OF MISSOUEI. 

Disclaiming, as I do, all desire or intention to interfere in any way with the preroga- 
tives of the State of Missouri, or with the functions of its Executive or other authorities, 
yet I regard it as my plain path of duty to express to the people, in respectful but at the 
same time decided language, that within the field and scope of my command and au- 
thority, the '•'•supreme law'''' of the land must and shall be maintained, and no subterfuges, 
whether in the forms of legislative acts or otherwise, can be permitted to harrass or op- 
press the good and law-abiding people of Missoui-i. I shall exert my authority to protect 
their persons and property from violations ot every kind, and I shall deem it my duty 
to suppress all unlawful combinations of men, whether formed under pretext of military 
organization or otherwise. Wm. S. Harney, 

Brig. Gen. U. S. Army, Commanding. 

It was quite evident from the tenor of both of Gen, Harney's proclama- 
ti^3ns, that it was his purpose to pursue apolicy of conciliation and peace, 
and to avert the horrors of civil war, provided these objects could be 
attained and the authority and unity of the National Government 
preserved, and not otherwise. He was ready for the field, but anxious- 
for peace. 

With the view of preserving the public peace and maintaining the 
supremacy of the laws and the unity of the republic, Gen. Harney held a 
conference with Gen. Sterling Price,^ of the Missouri State Guard, in St. 
Louis, on May 21st, 1861, which resulted in the adoption of an 
agreement, that imposed certain important duties and responsibilities on 
each party signing it, and on the authorities and people they claimed 
respectively to represent. It was as follows : 

St. Louis, May 21, 1861. 

The undersigned, officers of the United States Government, and of the Government of 
the State of Missouri, for the purpose of removing misapprehensions and allaying public 
excitement, deem it proper to declare publicly that they have, this day, had a personal 
interview in this city, in which it has been mutually understood, without the semblance 
of dissent on either part, that each of them has no other than a common object equally 
interesting and important to every citizen of Missouri — that of restoring peace and good 
order to the people of the State in subordination to the laws of the General and the State 
Governments. 

It being thus understood, there seems no reasons why every citizen should not con- 
fide in the proper officers of the General and State Goverments to restore quiet; and, as 
the best means of offering no counter influences — we mutually recommend to all persons 
to respect each other's rights throughout the State, making no attempt to exercise un- 
authorized powers, as it is the determination of the proper authorities to suppress all 
unlawful proceedings which can only disturb the public peace. 

Gen. Price, having by commission full authority over the Militia of the State of Mis- 
souri, undertakes, with the sanction of the Governor of the State, already declared, to 
direct the whole power of the State officers to maintain order within the State among the 



1 Gen. Sterling Price died in St. Louis, of chronic diarrhea, Sept. 29th, 1867, aged 5S 
years. 



GEN. HAENEY KEMOVED. 359 

people thereof; and Gen. Harney publicly declares that this object being thus assured, 
he can have no occasion, as he has no wish, to make military movements which might 
otherwise create excitements and jealousies, which he most earnestly desires to avoid. 

We, the undersigned, do therefore. mutually enjoin upon the people of the State to at- 
tend to their civil business, of whatsoever sort it may be ; and it is to be hoped that the 
unquiet elements, which have threatened so seriously to disturb the public peace, may 
soon subside and be remembered onlj^ to be deplored. 

WM. S. Hakney, Brig. Gen. Commanding. 

Stekling Pkice, Maj., Gen. M. S. G. 

Of even date with the above compact and declaration, and as a part 
of it, Geii. Harney issued the following proclamation : 

To the People of the State of Missouri: — I take great pleasure in submitting to you the 
above paper, signed by General Price, commanding the forces of the State, and by my- 
self on the part of the Government of the United States. It will be seen that the united 
forces of both Governments are pledged to the maintenance of the peace of the 
State, and the defense of tlie rights and property o/aZ^i^ersons, ivithout distinction of party. 
This pledge, which both parties are fully authorized and empowered to give, by the Gov- 
ernments which they represent, will be, by both, most religiously and sacredly kept ; and 
if necessarjr to put down evil disposed persons, the military power of both Governments 
will be called to enforce the terms of the honorable and amicable agreement which has 
been made. I therefore ask of all persons in this State, to observe good order, and re- 
spect the rights of their fellow-citizens, and give them the assurance of protection and 
security in the most ample manner. Wm. S. Harney, 

Brig. Gen., Commanding. 

The authorities of the National Government at Washington did not 
approve the Harney-Price agreement, and therefore it was short-lived and 
fruitless of results — except to i3recipitate the removal of Gen. Harney 
from the command of the Department, a step which was evidently con- 
templated some days anterior to the consummation of this agreement. 
He assumed the command of the Department on the 12th of May, and on 
the 21st entered into the peace arrangement with Gen. Price. Although 
the order superseding him was dated the 16th of May, five days before 
the arrangement, it did not reach him until the 31st — ten days after its 
publication. Gapt. Lyon succeeded Gen. Harney in command. 

Previous, however, to his supersession, and in testimony of his good 
faith in carrying out the arrangement entered into with Gen. Price, Gen. 
Harney issued orders for the withdrawal of the Federal troops (German 
Kegiments) from the different encampments in the suburbs of St. Louis. 
Col. Shutter's regiment left for Bird's Point, opposite Cairo, on Tues- 
day, May 28th. Col. Boernstein's regiment, stationed near the Reservoir, 
and at Bissell's Point, for the purpose of stopping Missouri river boats, 
was ordered to the Barracks. Col. Siael's reoiment remained at the 



360 HISTOEY OF MISSOURI. 

Arsenal, and it was the intention to send Col. Blair's the next week to 
Vii-o-inia. And Gov, Jackson and Gen. Price, in the spirit of the 
arrangement, disbanded the State troops at Jetferson City and St. Joseph, 
and ordered them home, there to drill and receive military instrnction. 

The removal of Gen. Harney and the appointment of Gen. Lyon to 
the command defeated the execntion of the Harney-Price arrangement, 
and, as it' turned ont, left all the terrible issues of the times to be settled 
by the arbitrament of the sword. 

It is very true that on the 11th of June, a second conference was held 
in St. Louis between the military authorities of the National and State 
Goverinnents, with the yiew of averting the calamities of war and 
preserving the peace of the people. But it resulted in nothing, except 
in the more vivid disclosure of the terrible truth that their differences 
were irreconcihible by any means known to the councils of peace. This 
interview was held at the Phmters' House, between Gen. Nathaniel Lyon, 
Col. Frank P. Blair, Jr., and Maj. H. A. Conant, on the one side, and 
Gov. C. F. Jackson, Gen. Sterling Price and Col. Thomas L. Snead, 
Private Secretary of Gov. Jackson (afterwards Gen. Price's Chief of 
Staff), on the other. The interview lasted six hours. Gov. Jackson, 
according to his representation of the interview, as found in his procla- 
mation of the next day, submitted to Gens. Lyon and Blair this propo- 
sition : — 

That I would disband the State Guard, and break up its organization; that I would 
disarm all the companies which had been armed by the State ; that I would pledge myself 
not to attempt to organize the militia under the Military Bill ; that no arms or muni- 
tions of war should be brought into the State ; that I would protect all citizens equally 
in all their rights, regardless of their political opinions ; that I would repress all insur- 
rectionary movements within the State ; that I would repel all attempts to invade it, 
from whatever quarter, and by whomsoever made ; and that I would thus maintain a 
strict neutralitj'' in the present unhappy contest, and preserve the peace of the State. 
And I further proposed that I wovild, if necessary, invoke the assistances of the U. S. 
troops to carry out these pledges. All this I proposed to do upon condition that the 
Federal Government would undertake to disarm the Home Guards which it has illegally 
organized and armed throughout the State, and pledge itself not to occupy with its 
troops any localities in the State, not occupied by them at this time. 

This proposition was rejected by Gens. Lyon and Blair, they demand- 
ing, according to Gov. Jackson's proclamation above quoted — 

ISTot only the disorganization and disarming of the State militia, and the nullification 
of the Military Bill, but they refused to disarm their' own Home Guards, and insisted 
that the Federal Government should enjoy an unrestricted right to move and station its 
troops throughout the State, whenever and wherever that might, in the opinion of its 



GEN. LYON. 361 

officers, be necessary, either for the protection of the "loyal subjects'" of the Federal 
Oovernment, or for the repelling of invasion ; and they plainly announced that it was 
the intention of the Administration to take military occupation, under these pretexts, 
of the whole State, and to reduce it, as avowed by General Lyon himself, to the -'exact 
condition of Maiyland." 

This final effort at conciliation having failed, Gov. Jackson and his 
associates left for Jefferson City that night,^ burning the railroad bridges 

1 During the summer of 1877, a New York correspondent of the Cincinnati '■'■Enqirer''^ 
met Col. Thos. L. Snead, now a citizen of New York, who gave this account of Gen. 
Lyon and of the Lyon- Jackson interview: "Lyon," said Col. Snead, "was the gTeatest 
man I ever saw. That has been my statement everywhere. I felt it and said it the day 
we held that memorable interview of six hours with him at the Planters' House, St. 
Louis. He was Jeflf. Davis over again, but not as narrow and prejudiced as Davis. He 
was Davis, however, in intensity and tenacity, and about of the weight and leanness of 
Davis. We were to hold that interview in order to see if war could be prevented. I 
am the only survivor of it. Claib. Jackson aiad Sterling Price were the ablest politi- 
cians of Missouri; Price at the head, after the death of Col. Benton. I was the Gover- 
nor's (Jackson's) Secretary. Lyon came there with Frank Blair, Jun., and Gen. Conant. 
The latter was afterward killed. Price was a successful military officer and Major Gen- 
eral in the war with Mexico. Lj'^on was nothing but a little Captain of artillery. But 
such was his clearness, force and real genius, that he met those old politicians at every 
point, conceding nothing, but never discourteous, his reason and his will equal. The 
whole party felt him to be the master mind, and the Federal historians do not err when 
they put him down as the greatest man they produced — greater than any produced on 
both sides west of the Mississippi Elver. 

"Lyon advanced into that room, a little, red-bearded, red-haired, precise, positive, 
plain man. He sat down and crossed one leg over the other stiffly, and his face was 
serious and stern. He spoke each word separate from the other, pronouncing the little 
words like my and to with as much emphasis as the longer words. He raised his right 
arm automatically as the conversation proceeded, and brought it down with a jerk, the 
fore-finger extended, yet never speaking higher or lower than at first. "We felt the sense 
of war and government in all his bearing. 

" 'I shall take small part in this conference,' said Lyon. 'Mr. Blair is familiar with 
this question, and knows the views of my Government, and has its full confidence. 
What he has to say will have my support.' 

"Yet in half an hour he took the case out of Blair's mouth aiid advanced to the front, 
and Frank Blair was as dumb as he had been. The United States never could have been 
typified by a more invincible mind and presence. It was three o'clock when the meeting 
broke up. The last attempt Jackson made was to have both sides agree not to recruit 
troops in Missouri. Lyon arose : 

" 'Rather than agree that my government shall concede to your government one iota 
of authority as to one man to be recruited, one inch of soil of this State to be divided 
in allegiance or neutralized between my government and your government, I will see 
you, sir, (pointing to Price), and you, sir, (pointing to Jackson), and myself and all 
of us, under the sod!' Then, taking out his watch, stiffly, he said, 'You shall have 
safe conduct out of my lines for one hour. Meantime, you can get your dinner. It is 
now three o'clock. ' " We took our dinner in haste and left St. Louis by an express train, 
and if we had not burned the bridges behind us, by George! he would have caught us, 
sir, before we could reach Jeff"erson City, for he marched at once." 



362 HISTORY OF MISSOUEI. ; 

behind them, and cutiing the telegi'aph wires. On the next day 
(June 12), Gov. Jackson issued a prochimation calling into active ser- 
vice fifty thousand State militia "for the pmpose of repelling invasion 
and for the protection of the lives, liberty and property of the citizens 
of this State," earnestly exhorting "all good citizens of Missouri to rally 
under the flag of their State for the protection of their endangered homes 
and firesides, and for the defense of their most sacred rights and dearest 
liberties." He also advised the people " that your first allegiance is due 
to your own State ; and that 3'^ou are under no obligation, whatever, to 
obey the unconstitutional edicts of the military despotism which has en- 
throned itself at ^Yashington, nor submit to the infamous and deffradins: 
sway of its wicked minions in this State. No brave and true-hearted 
Missourian will obey the one or submit to the other. Rise, then, and 
drive out ignominiously the invaders who have dared to desecrate the 
soil which your labors have made fruitful, and which is consecrated by 
your homes." 

This proclamation was the signal for civil war in Missouri, and 
immediately after its publication active military movements within the 
State begun. 

General Lyon at once prepared to march upon Jefferson City. On 
Thursday the 13th of June — the day after the proclamation of Goveuor 
Jackson was issued — two companies of regulars, the second battalion 
of the first regiment of Missouri volunteer infantry, and one section of 
Totten's light artillery, left St. Louis on the steamer latan; and the 
steamer J. C. Swan left the wharf with the first battalion of the first 
regiment under the command of Colonel F. P. Blair, and other sections. 
of Totten's battery and a detachment of pioneers, together with General 
Lyon and staff, numbering fifteen hundred men, for the Capital of 
Missouri. All needed camp equipage, ammunition and provisions for a 
long march, together with wagons and horses, accompanied the expedi- 
tion . 

On Saturday evening at 3 o'clock, June 15th, they disembarked at 
Jefferson City and took possession of the town. No resistance was- 
offered, for on the Thursday previous Governor Jackson, General Price 
and other officers left on the steamer White Cloud for Boonville, never 
to return. Captain Kelly's company left on the railroad on Friday, 
burning the bridge at Gray's creek behind them. Five companies of 
Colonel Blair's regiment, one company of regulars and one company of 
artillery, entered the city. The regulars landed first and immediately 
took possession of the heights near the Penitentiary, and a part of 



THE BOOISTYILLE FIGHT. 36^ 

Colonel Blair's regiment marched to the Capitol, took possession of the 
building, and hoisted the national flag. The balance of the troops, with 
the artillery, remained on the boats. 

Colonel Henry Boenistein was appointed to the command of Jefferson 
City, who on the 17th issned a proclamation "to the citizens of Cole 
County and the .adjacent counties of Missouri." 

On Sunday, Jnne 16th, Gen. L3'on re-embarked his troops on the 
steamers A. McDowell, latan and City of Louisiana, and set sail for 
Boonville, whither Jackson and Price had irone, and where thev had 
collected, short as the time was, a military force estimated at three or four 
thousand. For the most part they were badly armed, and many of them 
wholly without arms, and without officers, training or organization ; and 
with but a single piece of artillery, a six pounder. In the midst of these 
hasty pi-eparations to fight the first battle of the rebellion in Missouri, 
Gen. Price was prostrated by serious illness, and on Sunday left, on the 
White Cloud, for his residence in Chariton County. 

Gen. Lyon's command steamed up the river, and, landing one mile 
below Providence, a small shipping point on the river in Boone County, 
stopped for the night. Early next morning he resumed his course up 
the river, reaching Rocheport about 6 o'clock a. m., where he learned 
that the State troops, under Gov. Jackson and Col. John S. Marmaduke, 
of Saline, were preparing to receive him some six miles below Boon- 
ville, on the Cooper side. The propriety of attacking Gen. Lyon's- 
command or of risking a battle was seriously questioned by Jackson and 
Price, on account of the badly armed and disorganized condition of the 
raw recruits who had rallied to their standard. But the State troops 
were "full of fight" and would listen to none of the counsels of prudence,^ 
which oftimesis the better part of valor. Therefore they left Boonville 
and their only piece of ordnance, and under the command of Col. John 
S. Marmaduke marched to meet the advancing column under Lyon and 
Blair. This column had disembarked from their boats at Rocheport, 
with six pieces of artillery, and pursuing their way in the direction of 
Boonville, encountered the State troops about midway between that place 
and Rocheport. Reaching the brow of the ascent on which Col. Marmaduke 
and Gov. Jackson had formed their line of battle, Capt. Totten opened 
the engagement by throwing a few nine-pounder explosives into their 
ranks, while the infantry filed oblique right and left and commenced a 
terrific volley of musketry, which was for a short time well replied to, 
the balls flying thick and fast and occasionally wounding a soldier of 
Lyon's command. Col. Marmaduke was posted in a lane running 



364 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

towards the river from the road along which the army of the United 
States were advancing, and in a brick house (Elliott's) on the northeast 
corner of the jmiction of the two roads. A couple of bombs were 
thrown through the east wall of the house, scattering the State troops in 
all directions. The well-directed fire of the German infantry, Lieut. Col. 
Schaefi'er onthe right, and Gen. Lyon's company of regulars and part of 
Col. Blair's regiment on the left of the road, soon compelled Col. Mar- 
maduke's command to fallback into a field of wheat, where they again 
formed in line just on the brow of the hill. They then advanced 
some twenty steps to meet the United States troops, and for a short time 
the cannon were plied with great rapidity and eflect. Just at this junc- 
ture the State forces opened a galling fire from a grove on the left 
of Lyon's center, and from a shed beyond and still further to the left. 

The skirmish now assumed the magnitude of a battle. The com- 
mander, Gen. L3^on, exhibited the most remarkable coolness, and 
preserved throughout that undisturbed presence of mind shown by 
him alike in camp, in private life, or on the field. "Forward on the 
extreme right." " Give them another shot, Capt. Totten," echoed above 
the roar of musketry clear and distinct from the lips of the General, 
who led the advancing column. Lyon's force was 2,000 in all, but not 
over 500 participated at any one time in the battle. The State troops 
numbered, perhaps, 1,500; not all of whom, however, were engaged 
in the conflict. 

The last encounter ended the engagement, and the State troops 
retreated in great disorder — so much so that the Boonville battle is often 
called in Missouri "the Boonville Races." 

The number of killed and wounded on each side was greatly exagger- 
ated at the time. According the most authentic accounts accessible to 
us, there were two men killed on the Federal side — Jacob Kiburtz, 
commissary of Company B, Second Regiment, and M. N. Coolidge, of 
Company H, First Regiment. Nine men were wounded, but few of 
them severely. One man was also missing who was known to have been 
badly shot. On the State side only two were killed — Dr. William 
Quarles, of Boonville, and Frank E. Hulen, of Pettis, son of Taylor 
Hulen, of Boone County, and the brother of Mrs. James Duncan of 
Columbia. A son of Dr. McCutchen, of Boonville, died of his wounds 
the Monday after the battle. 

The Federal forces marched to Boonville and took quiet possession of 
''Camp Vest" and the city. At "Camp Vest" there were found one 
thousand two hundred shoes, twenty or thirty tents, quantities of 



LYON OCCUPIES BOONVILLE AND ISSUES A PEOCLAMATION. 365 

ammunition, some fifty guns of various patterns, blanlcets, coats, carpet 
sacks and two secession flags. 

On the day after reaching Boonville (June 18th, 1861), General 
Lyon issued a proclamation "to the people of Missouri," in which 
he re-assured them that it was his intention to use the force under his 
command for no other purpose than the maintenance of the authority of 
the General Government and the protection of the rights and property 
of all law-abiding citiezens. He also made it known that "the State 
authorities, in violation of an agreement with General Harney, on the 
21st of May last, had drawn together and organized upon a large scale 
the means of warfare, and having made declaration of war, they aban- 
doned the Capital, issued orders for the destruction of the railroad and 
telegraph lines, and, proceeding to this point, put into execution their 
hostile purposes toward the General Government." He also denied, in 
order to counteract the influence of the misrepresentations of the secession 
leaders, "that the Government troops intended a forcible and violent 
invasion of Missouri for purposes of military despotism and tyranny," 
and gave notice to the people of this State, that he should scrupulously 
avoid all interference with the business, rights and property of every 
description, recognized by the laws of this State, and belonging to law- 
abiding citizens ; but that it was equally his duty to maintain the 
paramount authority of the United States with such force as he had at 
his command, which would be retained only so long as opposition should 
make it necessary, and that it was his wish, and should be his purpose, to 
devolve any unavoidable vigor, arising in this issue, upon those only 
who provoked it. 

Governor Jackson left Boonville on horseback for Arrow Rock, 
Saline County. A few days afterwards he was at Syracuse, on the 
Pacific railroad*, with a military force of six hundred men. At this point 
he was scented by General Lyon, who dispatched a Federal force of a 
thousand men under Captain Totten to capture and bring him back to 
Boonville ; but the Governor, hearing of their approach, left with his 
troops about sunrise, en route for Arkansas to join Colonel Ben. Mc- 
Culloch. General Price, on partially regaining his health, went to 
Lexington, thence to Southwest Missouri. 

Civil war was now fairly inaugurated in Missouri, and military move- 
ments progressed rapidly. Federal troops poured into the State, and the 
work of organizing new regiments within its borders was entered upon 
with enthusiasm and success. The Union forces garrisoned the city of 
St. Louis, Hermann, Jefferson City, Rolla, the terminus of the south- 



■366 HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 

west branch of the Pacific ralh'oad, Boonville and Bird's Point, opposite 
Cairo. They held the entire State north of the Missouri river, the 
southeast portion between the Mississippi river and a line drawn south- 
ward frcnn the State Capital to the Arkansas border, and all the railroads 
nnd navigable rivers in the State. 

General Lyon remained in Boonville until July 3d, 1861, on which 
day he left with his forces for the southwest, reaching Springfield on the 
6th, where his command was increased by the addition of the troops un- 
der Maj. Sturgis. On the day before Lyon arrived at Springfield (July 
5th), a sharp engagement — the next in chronological order after the bat- 
tle at Boonville — took place at Carthage, Jasper county, between the 
Federal forces under Col. Franz Sigel and the State troops in command 
of Gov. Jackson, Gen. James S. Rains, of Jasper, and Gen. M. M. 
Parsons, of Cole. The following account of the engagement, apparently 
the most authentic at command, is taken from the Missouri Hepublican 
of July 11th, 1861 ; and is based upon information received from Lieut. 
M. Tosk, of the artillery attached to the 3d Missouri Volunteers, and 
who acted as Col. Sigel's adjutant during the fight. He came to St. 
Louis as the bearer of dispatches to the commander of the St. Louis Ar- 
senal, and traveled day and night from "the seat of war" : — 

On Friday morning last, at 5 o'clock, a scouting party, sent out by Col. Sigel, encount- 
ered, about two miles distant from Carthage, a picket guard of the State troops, who 
were attacked and Avere taken pi'isoners. With all dispatch CjI. Sigel prepared to go 
forward, expecting to meet the State troops some distance west of Carthage. About 
half past nine o'clock, the meeting took place in an open prairie, seven miles beyond 
Carthage. Lieut. Tosk estimates the numbers of the opposing army at five thousand, 
chiefly cavalry, but suiDplied with a battery of five cannon — four six pounders and one 
twelve pounder — while Col. Sigel's command consisted of his own regiment of two bat- 
talions, and Col. Salomon's detached regiment, with several pieces of artillery, under 
command of Major Backoff. Col. Sigel's regiment had six hundred men, and Col. Sal- 
omon's five hundred. The State troops were commanded by Generals Parsons and Eains. 
Maj. Backoff, under the direction of Col. Sigel, opened the fire, which continued briskly 
for neariy two hours. In less than an hour the twelve pounder of the State troops was 
dismounted, and soon afterward the whole batteiy was silenced. The superior arms of 
the Federals enabled them to maintain a situation of comparatively little danger. The 
State troops, whom for convenience we shall call "Jackson's men," twice broke 
their ranks, but were rallied and held their position very well, considering the destruct- 
ive discharges against them, until their guns gave out, when their column was again 
broken. 

At this juncture, about fifteen hundred of the cavalry started back with the intenti(>n 
of cutting off Sigel's transportation train, seeing which movement a retreat was ordered, 
and Avord sent immediately for the wagons to advance as quickly as possible. By keeping 
up the fire with the infantry and bringing the artillery in range whenever practicable, 
Ool. Sigel managed to retard the progress of Jackson's cavalry, and eventually to fall 



THE BATTLE OF CAKTHAGE. 367 

back almost unobstructed to the baggage train, which was some three and a half miles 
from the scene of the first engagement. 

By a skillful movement, the wagons were placed in the center of the column in such a 
manner that there were artillery and infantry forces both in front and rear. Jaclcson's 
troops then retreated and endeavored to sun-ound the entire column by taldng a position 
upon some high bluflfs or hills overlooking the creek. There was but one road leading 
across this stream, and to progress at all, without further retreating in the direction of 
Carthage, it was necessary to cross the elevation where the cavalry were mainly posted. 

Major Backoff ordered two of the artillery pieces in front to oblique to the left and two 
to the right, and at the same time a similar movement was made from Col. Sigel's bat- 
tallions. This was a maneuver to induce Jackson's men to believe that Sigel was seeking 
to pass out on the extremes of their lines, and to out-flank the cavalry. It was followed 
"by a closing up to the right and to the left by the forces on the bluffs, when, on 
reaching a point three hundred and fifty yards from the cavalry, the four pieces were 
ordered to transverse oblique, and immediately a heavy cross-fire was opened with can- 
ister. At the same time the infantry charged at double quick, and in ten minutes the 
State troops were scattered in every direction. Ten rounds of canister were fired from 
each of the cannon, together with several rounds by the infantry. 

This was about five o'clock in the evenmg, and the engagement, with the maneuvering, 
had occupied in the neighborhood of two hours. Jackson's cavalry were poox-ly mounted, 
being armed chiefly with shot-gTins and common rifles. They had no cannon on the 
bluffs or hills, and were consequently able to make little or no resistance to the attacks 
of Col. Sigel. Forty-five men and eighty horses were taken, belonging to Jackson's 
troops, and there were also captured sixty double-barreled shot-guns and some revolvers 
and bowie knives. Our informant states that one of the pi'isoners, on being asked how 
many had been killed on his side, estimated the loss at from two hundred and fifty to 
three hundred. 

Lieut. Tosk says that it is undeniable that the officers of Jackson's troops displayed 
great ability in their maneuvers, showing great strategic skill, but that the men were raw 
and undisciplined, their inexperience in the art of war leading them continually into 
danger. JSTotwithstanding their losses, the State troops still held their position so far as 
to cut off Sigel's advance over the creek, and that officer was compelled to order a 
retreat in the direction of Carthage, Jackson's men following and surrounding the 
column on three sides. During the retreat, fixing by the infantry was kept up, and in 
this way the cavalry was kept at some distance. Sigel's command got back to Carthage 
at half past 6 o'clock, and at once undertook to enter the woods about a mile distant. 
This movement was strongly and desperately resisted, Jackson's men feeling that once 
in the timber they could do nothing, being on horseback. An effort to rally the cavalry 
to a charge was made, which brought the whole of the infantry into action. After some 
hard fighting. Col. Sigel got his men into the woods, and so covered his retreat as to 
force the State troops to relinquish the fight for the night. The latter returned, to Car- 
thage with the evident intention of renewing the battle in the morning. Lieut. Tosk, 
without any positive information on the subject, thinks that in this last engagement 
near Carthage, Jackson's men must have suffered a loss of not less than two hundred 
killed. 1 He says that during the whole day the loss on the Federal side was but eight 
killed and forty-five woanded, though we understand that the dispatches of Gen. Sigel, 
to Col. Harding, at the Arsenal, place the number of killed at twenty-four. 

Colonel Sigel, notwithstanding the great fatigue of the day — his men being in action 
nearly twelve hours, and suffering severely from the heat and from the lack of water 

I Doubtless an over-estimate. 



368 



HISTORY OF JVnSSOUEI. 



—ordered his men to press on in retreat from Carthage. A forced march was made to 
Sarcoxie, in the southeast corner of Jasper county (Carthage being the county seat), 
a distance of twelve or fourteen miles. There they went into camp at 3 o'clock Sat-, 
m-day morning. In the afternoon of the next day the retreat was continued- to Mt. 
Vernon, Lawi-ence county, sixteen or eighteen miles east of Sarcoxie, where Sigeltook 
a stand, and where his headquarters were located when Lieut. Tosk left, which was 
at four o'clock on the evening of the 7th. 

The next important engagement between the Federal and State forces 
occurred at Wilson's Creek on August 10th, Gen. Nathaniel Lyon 
commanding the former and Gen. Ben. McCalloch the latter, and during 
which Gen. Lyon was killed. It was one of the most bloody and desper- 
ately -contested battles of the campaign in Missouri. Of this and other 
interesting historical facts in the next chapter. 




A River Scene. 




c^'4^'fiy ^zC^^-i^^^ 





/t^z^f^-^^^C^^^yC^ 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

1861. — Creation of the Western Department. — John C. Fremont Appointed to its Com- 
mand.— He Eeturns from Europe to New York; thence Goes to St. Louis and 
Establishes his Headquarters.— He Fortifies St. Louis. — A Dilemma. — Shall he 
Save Bird's Point or Reinforce LyonP^He elects to do the former. — Proclama- 
tions of Gov. C. F. Jackson.— Lieut. Governor Thomas C. Eetnolds and Gens. 
Gideon J. Pillow and Jeff. Thompson, at New Madrid.— Thompson's " Cattle on 
Ten Thousand Hills."— Fremont's Fleet sails from St. Louis to Bird's Point and 
back again. — Lyon's March from Boonville to Springfield. — Price's March from 
Cow Skin PR41RIE towards Wilson's Creek. — The Battle of Dug's Springs.— Rains 
Defeated. — Lyon Returns to Springfield. — Massing of Confederate Forces on 
Crane Creek in Stone County. — Disagreement between Price and McCulloch. — 
The Battle at Wilson's Creek ; one of the Most Bloody of the War. — Death op 
Gen. Lyon. — Defeat op the Union Army. — Its Retreat toRolla. — Reports of the 
Battle made by Major Sturgis and Gens. Siegel, McCulloch, Price and Clark 
—Forty-two Thousand Militia called for by Gov. Gamble.— Gen. Fremont 
Declares Martial Law.— Provost Martial McKinstry's "Permit" Order.— 
President Lincoln Disapproves Fremont's Proclamation.—" The Swamp Fox" 
again Piroclaims.— He will " Hang, Draw and Quarter." 

On July 6, 1861, the Western Department was created, and comprised 
the State o? Illinois and the States and Territories west of the Mississippi 
and east of the Rocky Mountains, including New Mexico, — headquarters 
at St. Louis. Previous to the establishment of the Department, as we 
saw in the last chapter. Gen. W. S. Harney, and afteiw^ards Gen. 
Nathaniel Lyon, was in command, at St. Louis, of the National forces in 
Missouri ; and the latter remained in command until the creation of the 
Western Department and the appointment of Maj. Gen. John C. Fre- 
mont as its commander. 

At the breaking out of the war, Fremont, who will be remembered as 
a son-in-law of Senator Benton, and the candidate of the Republican 
party for the Presidency in 1856, was absent from the country in Europe. 
On May 14, 1861, notwithstanding his absence, he was commissioned a 
Major-General of volunteers, and, receiving notice of the fact, at once 
departed for the United States and arrived at Boston on the 27th of 
June, bringing with him a large assortment of arms for the Union troops. 
On July 6th, 1861, he was appointed to the command of the Western 
Department, for which, while in New York, he made arrangements for 
over 20,000 stand of arms and a large quantity of munitions of war. 
The bloody battle and Federal defeat at Bull Run, occurring on July 21st, 
while he was yet in New York, he left for St. Louis, where he arrived 
on the 26th of July, and where he found Colonel Chester Harding, Gen. 
24 



370 HISTORY OF MISSOUEI. 

Lyon's Adjiitiint-Gener:il, in command. General Fremont established 
his head-quarters at the large and splendid residence of the late Colonel 
Joshua B. Brant, on Chouteau Avenue, Avhere, with a good deal of the 
"pomp and circumstance of glorious war'' he entered upon the discharge 
of his duties. 

His short administration of the affairs of the department has been 
severely criticised, and perhaps in some respects justly. It certainly 
was not brilliantly successful, if successful at all. It is claimed, how- 
ever, that he found much disorder prevailing in the department ; that the 
arms ordered in New York had been diverted for the use of the Army of 
the Potomac ; that he had little money at his command, and that the 
military authorities at Washington, on account of the disastrous defeat 
at Bull Run, were so absorbed with the defences of the National Capi- 
tal as to be unable to give needed attention to the exposed condition of 
the Western Department. 

Being without money, General Fremont made application to the sub- 
treasurer at St. Louis, who had $300,000 in his vaults, to supply his 
wants. That officer refusing, Fremont avowed bis purpose to seize 
$100,000 by military force, whereupon the sub-treasurer yielded to his 
.demands ; and with these funds he secured the re-enlistment of many of 
the Home Guards, or three-months' men, whose terms had recently? 
expired. He also proceeded, by the erection of nnmerous and costly 
fortifications, to place the city of St. Louis in a position of successful 
defence against any probable attack. 

Very soon, as the exigencies of the campaign in Missouri appeared to 
him, Fremont was placed in a dilemma, and compelled to choose between 
the safety of Cairo and Bird's Point and the reinforcement of General 
Lyon in the Southwest. General Gideon J. Pillow was reported to be 
preparing, with a large number of Confederate troops, to advance upon 
Cairo and Bird's Point, while General Hardee was pushing into the inter- 
ior of Missouri to annoy General Lyon's flank and rear. In addition to 
this, Lieutenant Governor Thomas C. Reynolds — Governor C. F. Jack- 
son being absent on an urgent visit to Richmond, Virginia, — elated with 
the Confederate success at Bull Run (or Manassas) issued a long 
proclamation at New Madrid, on July 31,^ in which he announced that 
"The sun which shone in its full mid-day splendor at Manassas is about 

1 About the same, time, and also from New Madrid, General Gideon J. Pillow issued 
a proclamation to the people of Missonri, announcing his presence in the State with his 
army, at tlie request of Governor Jackson, to aid as allies in " placing our down-trodden 
sister on her feet ", etc. See Eehellion Eecord, Vol. 2, p. 442. 



PEOCLAMATION OF GOVERNOK JACKSO:S". 371 

to rise upon Missouri " ; that he had intended to await Governor Jack- 
son's returd. to Missouri before he (E.) should enter the State, but on 
consultation with Major-General Polk and General Pillow they had all 
come to the conclusion that substantial reasons counselled his presence 
here. He added: "War dissolves all political unions. The Lincoln 
Administration, by an open war upon our State, commenced by the per- 
fidious capture of Camp Jackson, has dissolved the Union which, under 
the Constitution of the United States, connected Missouri witli the 
country still under Mr. Lincoln's sway. Its acts fully justify separation 
on the part of our State, or revolution on the part of individual citizens. 
The Lincoln government and its partisans have distinctly announced their 
intention to decide by force the future destiny of Missouri ; their oppo- 
nents, always willing to accept the decision of the peo-ple, are nevertheless 
compelled to meet the issues tendered by the enemies of her sovereignty. 
The wish of her people to remain under the same government witb that 
sisterhood of Southern commonwealths to which she has belonged is 
clear from the conduct of her oppressors ; had they not felt certain of 
defeat in a reference of the question to her people, they would never 
have resorted to force to retain her in the Northern Union." For these 
reasons Lieutenant-Governor Reynolds maintained that the bond which 
united Missouri to the North had been virtually broken, and that every 
citizen of the State was fully relieved of obligation to regard it. 
Alluding to the State Convention which began its sessions in Jefierson 
City on February 28th, 1861, he said it was called into existence by the 
Legislature merely as an advisory body, to present to the people, at the 
proper time, the question of separation from the North ; that it had been 
virtually dissolved by the acts of the enemy in banishing and imprison- 
ing many of its members, thus giving the minority the appearance of a 
majority of the body ; that its present session was held amid foreign 
bayonets, and its members admitted by passes from the local instrument 
of the Lincoln despotism ; and that, reduced to a mere rump, it might 
become a convenient tool of foes, but its acts could not decide the destiny 
of Missouri. He concluded by a call upon the citizens of Missouri to 
"rally as one man to the standard of the State," and as an incentive 
thereto declared that the people of the lower Mississippi Valley were 
"about to rush with gleaming bowie knives and unerring rifles to aid us 
in driving out the abolitionists and their Hessian allies ;" that the road to 
peace and internal security was only through union with the South, and 
that the Confederate forces under General Pillow had entered Missouri, 



372 HISTORY OF MISSOUni. 

on invitation of Governor Jackson, to aid in expelling the enemy from 
the State. ^ 

On the day after the issuing of this proclamation, Brigadier-General 
Jeff. Thompson, Commandant of the Missouri State Guard of the first 
military district, headquarters at Bloomfield, Stoddard County, issued a 
characteristic pronnnciamento, in which he exhorted the people of Mis- 
souri to strike while the iron was hot ; to leave their plows in the 
furrow, their ox to the yoke, and rush like a tornado upon their invaders^ 
and sweep them like a hurricane from the face of the earth ; adding : 
"We have plenty of ammunitiou, and the cattle on ten thousand hills- 
are ours." Ten thousand ! Just niue thousand more than the Psalmist 
claimed as the Lord's.^ The following is the full text of Thompson's 
remarkable proclamation : 



MISSOUEIANS ! STRIKE FOR TOUR FIRESIDES AND YOUR HOMES ! 

LiTARY District Mo. State Gva 
Bloomfield, Mo, August 1, 1861 



Headquarters 1st Military District Mo. State Guards, \ 



To the People of Missouri : 

Having been elected to command the gallant sons of the First Military District of 
Missouri in the second war for iiidependence, I appeal to all whose hearts are with us, 
immediately to take the field. By a speedy and simultaneous assault on our foes, we can, 
like a hurricane, scatter them to the winds, while tardy action, like the gentle south 
wind, will only meet Avith northern frosts, and advance and recede, and like the seasons, 
will be like the history of the war, and will last forever. Come now! Strike while the 
ii'onishot! Our enemies are Avhipped in Virginia. They have been whipped in Mis- 
souri. Gen. Hardee advances in the center, Gen. Pillow on the right, and Gen. McCul- 
loch on the left, with twenty thousand brave Southern hearts to our aid. So, leave your 
plows in the furrow, your ox to the yoke, and rush like a tornado upon our invaders and 
foes, to sweep them from the face of the earth, or force them from the soil of our State I 
Brave sons of the First District, come and join us! We have plenty of ammunition,, 
and the cattle on ten thousand hills are ours. We have forty thousand Belgian muskets 
coming ; but bring your guns and muskets with you, if you have them ; if not, come 
without them. We will strike our foes like a southern thunderbolt, and soon om- camp- 
fires will illuminate the Merimac and Missouri. Come, turn out ! 

JEFF. thompso:n', 

Brigadier General Commanding. 



Eebellion Eecord, Vol. 2, pp. 455-57. 

a Anecdote. — ^A short time after the publication of this proclamation. Gen. Thomp- 
son, being in great need of beef cattle for his troops and not one on the " ten thousand 
hills " coming at his call, seized upon the only cow of a widow in the vicinity and was 
in the act of driving her to his camp. The widow went to him and protested : " Why, 
General, is it possible you intend to rob a widow of the only cow she has in the world, 
when, as you have said in your proclamation, the cattle on ten thousand hills are 
yours? " The General, who always enjoyed a joke, retreated from the widow and her 
cow. 



FEEMONT'S FLEET SAILS FKOM ST. LOUIS. 373 

More than tliis : Governor Claiborne F. Jackson, having returned from 
Richmond, issued a "thunderbolt" in a proclamation published at New Mad- 
rid on August 5th, called by him the "Declaration of Independence 
OF THE State of Missouri," in which, after reciting various usurpations 
and outrages by the Federal military and civil authorities against the 
people and government of Missouri, he declared, "in their name, by their 
authority and on their behalf," that "the political connection heretofore 
existing between said States and the people and government of Missouri, 
is, and'ought to be, totally dissolved ; and that the State of Missouri, as 
a Sovereign, Free and Independent Republic, has full power to levy 
war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all 
other acts and things which independent States may of right do."i 

Several weeks previous to General Fremont's assumption of the com- 
mand of the Western Department, the battle of Carthage had been 
fought, and the Union forces compelled to retreat, while General Lyon's 
command in the vicinity of Springfield was seriously menaced by a Con- 
federate force at least 50,000 strong, under the command of Generals 
Price, McCulloch, Pearce and McBride. Cairo and Bird's Point were 
nlso threatened. In the dilemma which presented itself. General Fre- 
mont, believing himself unable to save both, elected to secure the safety 
of Bird's Point, and therefore to leave General Lyon and his little army 
to take care of themselves as best they might. 

About the 1st of August, a great fleet of eight steamers was ordered 
to the wharf at St. Louis to convey the troops down the river, and 
unusual activity in military circles prevailed. The fleet, Captain Bart 
Able in charge, consisted of the City of Alton, the flag transport, with 
General Fremont and staff on board, Louisiana, D. A. January, G. Wi 
Graham, Empress, War Eagle, Jenny Deans and Warsaw. With this 
fleet, and a formidable array of infantry and artillery, General Fremont 
steamed down to Bird's Point and steamed back again, there being no 

iThe Missouri Statesman. (Columbia), of August 23, 1S61, referring to this proclama- 
tion, said : It not only declares Missouri out of the Union, but goes a kangaroo leap 
beyond and declares it an Independent Kepublic— a nation of itself, with full power to 
levy war and conclude peace, to contract alliances, regulate commerce, make treaties 
with foreign nations and the Indian tribes, coin money, grant letters of marque and 
reprisal, and do all other acts and things which independent nations may perform. 
Not only out of the Union; not only severed from her connection with and allegiance 
to the federal constitution, but riding out upon the world's ocean, isolated and alone, 
recognized by no power, known by no power, claimed by no power, a fugitive among 
the nations. And all this, too, without a vote of her people, legislature or convention— 
the radical transfiguration being consummated by the fiat of Governor Jackson alone I 



374 HISTOKY OF MISSOUEL 

Confederiite force there, Pillow's demonstration proving to be a menace 
only. Bird's Point, which many now believe was never in danger, was 
saved. And Bird's Point cost the country Lyon ! Had it been a point 
of gold, which it Avas not, instead of a point of sand, which it was, it 
would have been dearly purchased with the life of such a soldier and the 
loss of such a battle as Wilson's Creek. 

After the battle at Boonville, on the 18th of June, 1861, General 
Lyon, with a force numbering near three thousand men, four pieces of 
artillery and a long baggage train, left that place on July 3d, 1861, in 
pursuit of the State troops, who were reported to have fled to Syracuse 
and beyond. General Lyon was mounted on an iron-gray horse, and 
was accompanied by a small body-guard of ten butchers of St. Louis, 
■who were all remarkable for their large size, strong physique, and fine 
horsemanship. 

At Grand River, a branch of the Osage, in Henry County, which he 
reached on July 7th, he was re-inforced by three thousand troops from 
Kansas, commanded by Major S. D. Sturgis. When within eighty miles 
of Springfield, Lyon received intelligence of Sigel's battle at Carthage, 
and he determined to change his course and march to his relief. Not- 
withstanding the intense heat of the weather and the fact that his in- 
fantry was overcome by fatigue, early on the morning of the 10th of 
July the army marched from their encampment, on the south bank of the 
Osage, and pursued their way among the steep hills, deep gorges, and 
trackless forests Avhich lay before him. After a march of some fifty 
miles, a messenger from General Sigel brought him definite information 
of his desperate encounter at Carthage with the Confederates, and of his 
arrival in safety at Springfield. Therefore, Lyon, marching leisurely, 
accomplished the distance (thirty miles) to Springfield in the next two 
days. In camping near that place he prepared for ofi'ensive war against 
the superior and constantly-increasing force of his enemies. Conscious 
of the perils which environed him, he repeatedly asked General Fremont 
for reinforcements, but received no reply. Patiently he waited for them, 
but they came not. He prepared as best he could to resist the threat- 
enino^ dangers. 

On the 25th of July, 1861, General Sterling Price began to move his 
command from its encampment on Cowskin Prairie, in McDonald 
County, towards Cassville, in Barry County, at which place it had been 
agreed between Generals McCulloch, Pearce and Price their respective 
commands, together with the troops under General McBride, should 
concentrate, preparatory to a forward movement on Springfield. On the 



LYON'S MAUCH FEOM BOONVILLE TO SPEINGFIELD. 375 

29th, the junction was effected with McCiilloch and Pearce. The com- 
bmed armies were then put under mjirching orders ; the first division, 
General McCulloch, of Texas, commanding ; the Second Division, General 
Pearce, of Arkansas, and the Third Division, General Steen, of Missouri, 
leaving Cassville on the 1st and 2d of August, taking the road leading to 
their objective point — Springfield. General Price, of Missouri, with the 
greater portion of his infantry, accompanied the Second Division. A 
few days afterward, a regiment of Texas Eangers, under command of 
Colonel Greer, joined the enbattled hosts who were moving to attack 
Lyon. Brigadier-General James S. Rains, a well-known politician of 
Jasper County, Missouri, commanded the advance guard of the Southern 
army, his force consisting of six companies of mounted Missourians. On 
Friday, August 2, he encamped at Dug Springs, on the Springfield road, 
and about five miles beyond Crane Creek, where he encountered the 
Union forces, under General Lyon, and where the battle of Dug Springs 
was fought. 

Near the close of the month of July, General Lyon was informed of 
the concentration of the Southern troops at Cassville, and of their 
intention of marching upon his camp. Therefore, large as their force 
was in comparison with his own, he determined to go out and meet them ; 
and, late in the afternoon of the 1st of August, his entire army (5,500 
foot, 400 horse, and 18 guns), led by himself, moved toward Cassville, 
with the exception of a small force left behind to guard the city. ^ They 
bivouacked that night on Cave Creek, ten miles south of Springfield, and 
moved forward at an early hour in the morning, excessively annoyed by 
heat and dust, and intense thirst, for most of the wells and streams were 
dry. At Dug Springs, in Stone County, nineteen miles southwest of 
Springfield, they halted. They were in an oblong valley, five miles in 
length, and broken by projecting spurs of the hills, which formed wooded 

'Lyon's force at this time consisted of five companies of the First and Second 
Eegulars, under Major Sturgis; five companies of the First Missouri Volunteers, Lieut- 
enant-Colonel Andrews; two companies of the Second Missouri, Major Osterhaus; 
three companies of the Third Missouri, Colonel Sigel; Fifth Missouri, Colonel Salomon; 
Firs-t Iowa, Colonel Bates; First Kansas, Colonel Deitzler; Second Kansas, Colonel 
Mitchel; two companies First Eegular Cavalry, Captains Stanley and Carr; three 
companies First Eegular Cavalry (recruits), Lieutenant Lathrop; Captain Totten's 
Battery, Eegular Artillery, six guns, 6 and 12-pounders ; Lieutenant Dubois' Battery, 
Eegular Artillery, four guns, 6 and 12-pounders; Captain Schaeffer's Battery, Missouri 
Volunteer Artillery, six guns, 6 and 12-pounders. General Lyon gave the most 
important secondary commands to Brigadier-General Sweeney, Colonel Sigel, and 
Major Sturgis. 



376 HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 

ridges. Soon after halting, tliey discovered, by clouds of dust at the 
other extremity of the valley, that a large body of men were there and 
in motion. These were Confederates, under General James S. Rains. 
A. battle-line was formed by the National troops, and in that order the 
little army moved forward toward the enemy, led by a company of 
regnlar infantry, under Captain Steele, supported by another of the 
Fourth Regular Cavalry, under Captain Stanley, which held the advanced 
position on the left. Owing to the ridges in the valley, the real force of 
each party was easily concealed from the other, and afforded opportunities 
for surprises. And so it happened. While the vanguard of the Union 
troops was moving cautiously forward, followed by the main body, and 
skirmishers were exchanging shots briskly, a large force of Confederates 
suddenly emerged from the woods, to cut off Steele's infantry from 
Stanley's cavalry. The latter (about a hundred and fifty strong) imme- 
diately drew up his men in proper order, and when the foe was within 
the range of their Sharp's carbines, they opened a deadly fire upon them. 
The latter numbered nearly five hundred. They returned the fire, and 
a regular battle seemed about to open, w]ien a subordinate officer in 
Stanley's command shouted "Charge !" and twenty-five horsemen dashed 
in among the Confederate infantry, hewing them down with their sabers. 
Stanley could do nothing better than sustain the irregular order ; but 
before he could reach them with reinforcements, the Confederates had 
broken and fled in the wildest confusion. " Are these men or devils — 
they fight so?" asked some of the wounded of the vanquished, when the 
conflict was over. When this body of Confederate infantry fled, a large 
force of their cavalry appeared emerging from the woods. Captain 
Totten brought two of his guns to bear upon them from a commanding 
eminence, with such precision that his shells fell among and scattered 
them in great disorder, for their frightened horses became unmanageable. 
The whole column of the Confederates now withdrew, leaving the valley 
in possession of the National troops. Thus ended the battle of Dug 
Springs. Lyon's loss was eight men killed and thirt}^ wounded ; and 
that of the Confederates was about forty killed, and as many wounded. ^ 

Pursuit was instituted the next morning, but none of Rains' force was 
found. At the encampment at Curran, in Stone County, twenty-six miles 
from Springfield, Lyon determined to return to that place, which he 
reached on August 6th. After the concentration, near Crane creek, in 
the northern part of Stone County, of the entire Confederate force, 

^"The Civil War in America," Lossing, Vol. 11, pp. 45-6. 



DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN PEICE AND McCULLOCH. 377 

intellio-ence was received by them that Lyon's army, which had defeated 
Eains at Dug Springs, was immensely superior in numbers to their own ; 
and therefore a disagreement arose among some of the Confederate offi- 
cers as to the policy of a further advance toward Springfield. General 
McCuUoch counseled a retrograde and General Price a forward move- 
ment. Price's officers and men agreed with him and were "eager for the 
fray." Price asked McCulloch, as he was unwilling to advance, to loan 
him arms for the destitute portions of his command, that he might ad- 
vance without him. He refused. And thus the embarrassing disagree- 
ment continued till the evening of the day (August 4th, 1861), when an 
order was received by McCulloch from Major-General Leonidas Polk, 
ordering just that which Price desired — an advance upon Lyon. A 
council was at once held, in which McCulloch agreed to march upon 
Springfield, provided he would be granted the chief command of the 
army. Price, to whom in right and justice the chief command belonged, 
anxious to encounter Lyon and defeat and drive him from the State, con- 
sented to the terms of the imperious Texan, remarking that he was "not 
fio-htino; for distinction, but for the defence of the liberties of his coun- 
try," and that "he was willing to surrender his command and his life, if 
necessary, as a sacrifice to the cause. "^ A little after midnight, there- 

1 " Gath " (George Alfred Townsend) , a correspondent of the Cincinnati Enquirer^ va. 
the summer of 1877, met in New York city Colonel T. L. Snead, Chief of Staff of Sterling 
Price, who was in every pitched hattle fought by the armies of Kansas and Missouri. 
He is a St. Louis man, and was an editor and amateur politician. Colonel Snead said 
that he possessed a chest full of papers and reports, and could write the only accurate 
statement, and correct many prevailing errors and misapprehensions, of the battle of 
Wilson's Creek. He was Price's Adjutant there, as Mcintosh, of Georgia, was Ben 
McCuUoch's. Mcintosh was a better soldier than McCulloch, who was indecisive and 
faint of confidence. Price was a fine old officer, who had never lost a battle, and felt 
like all Missourians, that the place to fight Lyon was Missouri, and not to fall back to 
Arkansas. McCulloch commanded the Confederate army proper of only 3,000 men. 
Price commanded ihe Missouri State Guard, which the others considered militia, of 8,- 

000 men. The Confederate Government, including Jeff. Davis, seemed indifferent about 
Missouri, and did not regard her as having properly seceded. Price was a Major-Gen- 
eral, McCulloch only a Brigadier. The latter hesitated about marching upon Spring- 
field, and was inclined to return to Arkansas. One day Price rode up on his horse ; he 
had a loud voice and a positive address, and always spoke to McCulloch as if he consid- 
ered the latter an inferior. "Do you mean to march into Missouri and attack Lyon. 
General McCulloch? " " I have not received permission from Mr. Davis to do so, sir," 
answered McCulloch. " My instructions leave me in doubt whether I will be justified 
in doing so." " Now, sir," said Price, still in a loud, imperious tone, " I have commanded 
in more battles than you ever saw, General McCulloch. I have three times as many 
troops as you, I am of higher rank than you are, and I am twenty years your senior in 
age. I waive all these things, General McCulloch, aiid if you will march into Missouri 

1 wUl obey your orders, and give you the whole command and all the glory to be won 



378 HISTOEY OF MISSOUEI. 

fore, on Suntlay, August 4lh, they took up the line of marcli, Avhicli was 
continued to Wilson's Creek, ten miles southwest of Springiiekl, which 
they reached on Ihe 9th. Here they encamped, and determined at nine 

there.'" McCiilloch s.aid he was then expecting a dispatch from Mr. Davis, and would 
take Pi-ice at his Avord if it was favorable. The dispatcli came, and the army advanced, 
witli jMcCulloch in supreme command. After McCulloch had advanced awhile he 
again grew irresolute, and instead of moving on Springfield dii-ect, he halted out on 
Wilson's Creek, twelve miles or so south of that city. Pr.ce rode up to him one day and 
found liim making diagrams with a stick on the ground. Price bawled out, '' General 
McCulloch, are you going to attack Lyon or not? " McCulloch said that he was xinde- 
cided. "Then.'" cried Price. "I want my own Missouri troops, and I will lead them 
against Lyon myself if tlie,y are all killed in the action, and you. General McCulloch^ 
may go where in the devil j'ou please! '■■ McCullocli was thus exasperated into prom- 
ising an attack. It was arranged to move on the very night that Lyon moved, and by 
three columns, upon Springfield. Price was to take one column. McCulloch a second, 
and General Clark a third. In anticipation of this movement, McCulloch drew in his 
pickets, and seeing some clouds and threatening weather arising, he ordered the troops 
to lay on their arms, and did not again advance his pickets. This led to the complete 
surprise effected in the morning by Lyon; and it also saved Sterling Price from annihi- 
lation; for, had Price moved with his column on the road laid down for him, he would 
have met Lyon's army and been extirpated. At four o'clock on the morning of the bat- 
tle — the 10th of August* 18G1 — McCulloch rode over to Price's headquarters, wliicb 
were pitched in a sort of a cow-j^ard by a small farm house down in a hollow. McCul- 
loch was back on a hill. While Price. McCulloch and Snead were taldng breakfast at 
the earliest dawn, a man came in from the front, where Rains was posted, and said he 
had an important message. The Yankees were advancing, full 30,000 strong, and were 
on Eains' line already. " Oh, pshaw," said ISIcCulloch, after a minute, " that's anotlier 
of Eains' scares." They went on eating until a second man came in, and again reported 
that the Federals were not more than a mile away, and right on Eains' column as they 
lay on their arms. McCulloch again said that it was nonsense ; but Price was excited. 
He thundered out to Snead: " Order my troops, sir, under arms and in line of battle 
at once, and have ni}' horse saddled! " He had hardlj^ spoken the words Avhen tills lit- 
tle group of men looked up from the cow-yard where the hills Avere ilsing line on line 
before them, and in the clear morning perspective they saw Totten's battery unlimbered 
on the top of a hill less than three-quarters of a mile distant, and, before he had thrown 
the first shot, Sigel's battery in the rear also pealed out, and the balls from those twa 
cannon crossed each other right over the hollow Avhere Price's troops Avere lying. The 
surprise Avas perfect. General McCulloch hastened back to his headquarters and put 
his troops in motion against Sigel. In a very little Avhile Sigel was Aviped out. Price 
meanwhile had to encounter Lj'on. The contest Avas spirited and deadl}^, and the 
Aveather like fighting in a furnace. Pi-ice's columns Avere reeling before Lyon's attack^ 
Avhen he sent Colonel Snead back to ask McCulloch if he could spare him a battalion of 
Missourians VA'hich were not properly in McCulloch's command. McCidloch then put 
himself at the head of this Missouri column, Avith certain other troops, and came back 
over the field to Price's i-elief. It AA'as this reinforcement which caused the death of 
Lyon, as Colonel Snead believes; for, seeing fresh troops advancing on the rebel side» 
Lyon AvaA'^ed his SAVord and led the counter-attack, and Avas shot dead. Colonel Snead 
said that it seemed to him but a fcAV minutes after Lj'^on fell before the battle stopped 
on both sides. 



BATTLE OF WILSON'S CKEEK. 379 

o'clock that night to march in four separate columns against Springfield, 
surround the city, and begin a simultaneous attack at daybreak. A 
threatened storm and the darkness of the night caused General McCul- 
loch to countermand the order to march, and Saturday morning found 
the entire army, consisting of 5,300 effective infantry, fifteen pieces of 
artillery and 6,000 cavalry ^ with a large number of unarmed horsemen, 
encamped upon the field. But the night was neither too dark nor 
stormy for General Lyon. His perils were imminent and extreme, and 
his responsibilities to the Union cause in Missouri vQi-y embarrassing. 
His little army was in front of a largely superior and constantl3Mncreas- 
ing force, which was marching to attack him. Abandoned to his fate by 
the department commander and the authorities at Washington, he was 
reduced to the extremity, in the midst of fearful odds against him, either 
of retreating northward or of riskins: a battle under such disadvantao;es. 
He chose the latter alternative, and waited not a moment to put his 
resolve into execution. Therefore, at five o'clock p. m., of August 9th, 
he marched in two columns from Springfield, making a detour to the 
right, and, notwithstanding the almost impenetrable darkness and the 
prevailing storm, atone o'clock in the morning arrived in view of the 
Confederate guard-fires. Here the columns halted and lay on their arms 
till the dawn of day, when they formed in battle-line and advanced to 
to the bloody encounter which ensued. Lyon's effective force was 5,200 
men, infantry and cavalry, and three batteries of 16 guns. ^ 

1 General McCuUocli-s army consisted of the First Division, commanded by himself; 
the Second Division, by General Pearce, of Arliansas, and the Third Division, General 
Steen. The Missouri troops were under command of Major- General Sterling Price, and 
were as follows: The Advance Guard, six companies, under Brigadier- General Pains; 
First Brigade, Colonel Pichard Hanson Weightman, and other divisions and brigades 
tinder Brigadier-General William Y. Slack, of Chillicotlie (formerly of Boone County) ; 
Brigadier -General John B. Clark, Sr., of Howard County; Brigadier-General J. H. 
McBride, of Greene County and Brigadier- General Monroe M. Parsons, of Cole. All 
arms of the service were represented among the Missouri troops — infantrjr, cavalry and 
artillery. (See oflScial reports of Gens. McCalloch, Price and Clark in the '• Pebellion 
Kecord," Vol. 2, pp. 506-11.) 

^ Lj^on's column consisted of three brigades, commanded respectively by Major S. D. 
Sturgis, Lieutenant-Colonel Andrews and Colonel Deitzler. Major Sturgis' Brigade 
was composed of a battalion of regular infantry, under Captain Plummer; Captain Tot- 
ten's light battery of six pieces, a battalion of Missouri volunteers, under Major Oster- 
haus, Captain Wood's company of mounted Kansas volunteers, and a company of regu- 
lar cavalry, under Lieutenant Canfield. Lieutenant-Colonel Andrews' brigade' consisted 
of Captain Steele's battalion of regulars, Lieutenant Dubois' light battery of four pieces, 
and the First Missouri Volunteers. Deitzler's brigade was composed of the First and 
Second Kansas and First Iowa Volunteers, and two hundred mounted Missouri Home 



380 HISTOKY OF MISSOUEL 

The two columns of the Federal army were commanded by Lyon and 
Sigel, and their attack at daylight upon the Confederate forces was a 
complete surprise, for McCulloch, not apprehending a march upon his 
camp through such a night of darkness and storm, had withdrawn his 
advanced pickets. 

The official reports, from officers on both sides, of the battle which 
ensued — a battle which takes rank among the most terrible and bloody 
in the annals of the Rebellion — are before us ; and from these, discard- 
ing all irresponsible newspaper accounts of it, this narrative is chiefly 
constructed. 

General Lyon having been killed in the midst of the engagement, 
Major S. D. Sturgis succeeded to the command, and made report on 
August 20th, 1861, to General Fremont, commandant of the Western 
Department. According to Major Sturgis' report, the Federal forces in 
command of Lyon — the other column being under Sigel — formed a 
line of battle at daylight, closely followed by Totten's battery, sup- 
ported by a strong reserve, and with skirmishers in front. Driving in 
the enemy's out-posts, a ravine was crossed and a high ridge gained, 
where a considerable force of the enemy's skirmishers came in view. 
Major Osterhaus' battalion was deployed to the right, and two companies 
of the First Missouri Volunteers, under Captains Yates and Cavender, 
were deployed to the left — all as skirmishers. Very severe firing ensued, 
and it became evident Lyon's column was approaching the Confederate 
stronghold, where they intended giving battle. A few shells from Cap- 
tain James Totten's battery cleared the front ; and the First Missouri 
a,nd the First Kansas moved forward, supported by the First Iowa and 
Totten's battery. The Second Kansas, Captain Fred. K. Steele's 
battalion and Lieutenant John V. Dubois' battery, were held in reserve — 
the latter to the left and rear of Totten's guns, so as to bear upon a 
powerful battery of the enemy in front, and on the opposite side of 
Wilson's Creek, and thus occupy a position to sweep the entire plateau 
upon which the advancing Federal column was formed. The Confeder- 
ates now rallied in large force near the foot of the slope, opposite Lyon's 
left wing, and along the slope in his front and to his right in the direction 
of the crest of the main ridge, running parallel to the creek. During 
this time. Captain Plummer, with four companies of infantry, had moved 

Guards. Sigel's column consisted of the Third and Fifth Missouri Volunteers, one 
company of cavaliy, under Captain Carr, another of dragoons under Lieutenant Far- 
rand, of the First Infantry, and a company of recruits, with alight battery of six guns, 
under Lieutenant Lathrop. 



BATTLE OF WILSON'S CKEEK. 381 

down a ridge about jSve hundred yards to Lyon's left, and reached its 
abrupt terminus, where a large force of infantry, occupying a corn-field 
in the valley, arrested his further progress. At this moment, from a high 
point about two miles distant, and nearly in Lyon's front, and from which 
Colonel Sigel was to have commenced his attack, an artillery fire was 
opened, which was answered from the opposite side of the valley and at 
a greater distance from Lyon — the line of fire of the two batteries being 
nearly perpendicular to that of Lyon's column. Lyon's whole line now 
advanced with enthusiasm upon the Confederate position ; and the firing, 
which up to this time had been spirited, increased to a continuous roar 
of musketry. Totten's battery, by piece and by section, as the nature of 
the ground and woods would permit, came into action, and played upon the 
opposing force with great efiect. After a fierce engagement of half an 
hour, during which Lyon's troops gave way two or three times in more 
or less disorder, but always to rally again and press fonvard with increased 
vigor, the Confederates retired in the utmost confusion, leaving Lyon in 
possession of the position. Meanwhile, Captain Plummer, who had been 
ordered to move forward on the left, encountering overpowering resist- 
ance from the large force of Confederate infantry in the corn-field in his 
front, was compelled to fall back ; but at this moment, Lieutenant 
Dubois' battery, supported by Captain Steele's battalion, opened upon 
the enemy in the corn-field a terrific fire of shells, which, with great 
slaughter and much disorder, drove him from that position. A momen- 
tary cessation of fire along nearly the whole line ensued, except on the 
extreme right, where the First Missouri was still engaged with a superior 
force attempting to turn the Federal right. General Lyon, informed of 
this movement, ordered the Second Kansas to the support of the First 
Missouri ; and it reached them in time to prevent the Missourians from 
being destroyed by the overwhelming numbers against which they were 
unflinchingly holding their position. During this time Captain Steele's 
battalion, which had been detailed to the support of Dubois' battery, 
■was brought forward to the support of Totten's. Scarcely had these 
dispositions been made, when the Confederate force again appeared in 
large numbers along Lyon's entire front, and marching towards each 
flank. The battle was at once renewed, and became general and almost 
inconceivably terrific along the whole line ; the Confederate troops often 
in three or four ranks, lying dwwn, kneeling, and standing — the lines 
sometimes approaching within thirty or forty yards of each other, as 
charges upon Totten's battery were made. Every available Federal 
battalion was now brought into action, and for more than an hour the 



382 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

battle raged with unabated fury, and great slaughter on both sides. The 
conflict was equally balanced, and victory seemed to perch, first upon the 
standard of one army and then upon the other. 

Early in this desperate and hotly-contested engagement, General Lyon, 
observing that considerable disorder prevailed among some of the Union 
troops, led his horse along the line on the left of Totten's battery and 
endeavored to rally them. While doing so his horse was killed, and he 
received a wound in the leg and one in the head. Major Sturgis dis- 
mounted one of his orderlies and tendered the horse to General Lyon, 
which he mounted, and, swinging his hat in the air, called to the troops 
nearest him to follow. The Second Kansas gallantly responded, headed 
by Colonel Mitchell, who in a few minutes fell, severely wounded. 
About the same time, a fatal ball was lodged in General Lyon's breast, 
inflicting a mortal wound. ^ Lyon was killed ! And the day was lost! 
"But a galaxy of great men was in embryo on that stricken field — Schofield, 
Sturgis, Granger, Elliott, Osterhaus and Lyon. From it arose after- 
wards six major-generals and thirteen brigadiers, and from Captain 

^From George Alfred Townsend's paper, "Annals of the War," in the PhiladelpMa 
Weekly Times of August 4, 1877: "It was near nine o'clock, and Lyon, for the fii-st 
time doubtful, yet brave, led on the last attack, riding his horse in between the First 
Kansas and the First Iowa regiments. (Captain F. J. Herron of Dubuque, Iowa, 
who on January 15th, 1861, in the tender of his company, "Governor's Grays," to 
the Government of the United States, afforded the first evidence of the volunteer spirit 
in the nation,) saw his horse fall, and says that it seemed to sink dowii as' if vitally 
struck, neither plunging nor reeling. Lyon then walked on, waving his sword 
and hallooing, and he fell only about twenty yards distant from Herron, who was 
marching at the side of his company. Lyon had worn a white felt hat and only 
his old Captain's uniform. As he left his dead horse and limped along — for he 
had now been wounded in the leg — he looked stunned and M'hite; but with an 
impulse of high spirit, he raised his sword and cried, "Come on! " Then he showed 
blood on the side of his head, from another wound, and was also shot through the bodjr, 
and he dropped. The butcher, (one of his body guard) into whose arms he fell, says 
that he gasped: "Lehman, I'm going." He fell about one hundred yards in advance 
of his dead horse. Herron looked into his livid face, the precious breath still feeling at 
his lips, the great lion heart striking its 0"wn knell. It was but an instant, yet an event- 
ful one in any young man's life. Herron's look was only for an instant; he stepped 
back beside his company, and the battle went on — Sturgis concluding it. The regiments 
Lyon led on advanced about 400 yards beyond his body, and the battle ended before 
eleven o'clock; the First Iowa, First Missouri and First Kansas Eegiments firing the last 
volleys in support of Totten's battery — volleys so murderous that the victorious rebel 
army was dismayed and the Union retreat secured. More than 120 of each side lay on 
the beaten field, on the high plateau of the Ozark. 

"Nothing I ever saw was more impressive than Lyon's death," says Herron. "He 
was the greatest character ever seen west of the Mississippi. His equal never arose to 
succeed him." 



DEFEAT OF THE UNIOIST AEMY. 383 

Herron's own company of the First Iowa there were thirty-seven com- 
missioned officers in the service two years afterwards. 

After the death of Lyon, Major Sturgis succeeded to the command. 
The Confederates had just been repulsed and left the field, and for twenty 
minutes there was another lull in the storm. Sturgis summoned his 
principal officers for consultation. Lyon's column had been dreadfullv 
shattered, and its leader killed. For nearly thirty hours they had been 
without water, and a suj)ply could not be had short of Springfield, ten or 
twelve miles away. Their ammunition was well nigh exhausted, and, 
should the enemy make this discovery through a slackening of their 
fire, annihilation seemed inevitable. The great questions, then, were : 
*' Where is Sigel?" and "Is retreat possible?" Sigel had not been 
heard from ; his silence was ominous, and the loss of his column was 
then unknown. If he had retreated, nothing was left to Sturgis but to 
do likewise — if possible. 

The consultation of officers was suddenly brought to a close by the ad- 
vance of a heavy column of infantry from the hill where Sigel' s guns had 
been before. They wore a dress much resembling that of Sigel' s 
brigade, and carried the American flag. Mistaking them for Sigel' s 
men, Sturgis' line was formed for an advance, with the hope of forming 
a junction with him. They were in easy range of Dubois' battery, but 
were permitted to move down the hill, to the covered position at the 
foot of the ridge on which the Union troops were posted, and from which 
they had been fiercely assailed befoie; when suddenly, from a hill in 
Sturgis' front, a battery began to pour into his lines shrapnell and 
canister. At this moment the Confederates displayed their true colors, 
and at once commenced along the entire Union lines the fiercest and most 
bloody engagement of the day. Totten's battery in the centre, supported 
by the lowas and regular troops, was the main object of attack. The 
Confederates could frequently be seen within twenty feet of Totten's 
battery, and the smoke of the opposing lines was often so intermingled 
as to appear made by the same guns. It was at times a fight almost 
muzzle to muzzle, and great slaughter was the result. Notwithstanding 
the utter rout of the Confederate front, and their seeming intention to 
fly the field, they did not do so, but held it. Finally, therefore, the 
Federal forces were ordered to withdraw, to retreat ; and the whole 
column moved slowly to the high open prairie, about two miles from the 
battle-ground, thence to Springfield, which place they reached about five 
o'clock that afternoon. On their way they were joined by a portion of 



384 HISTOEY OF MISSOURI. 

Sigel's shattered forces. Total Federal loss — killed, 223 ; wounded, 
721 ; missing, 292.^ 

Thus far we have chiefly noted, according to Major Sturgis' report, the 
part performed in the bloody drama of Wilson's Creek by Lyon's com- 
mand. What of Sigel's column? The answer is short. He encountered 
the Confederates on their right and rear, bad a bloody fight, was repulsed, 
and compelled to retreat. According to his report, he arrived within a 
mile of McCulloch's camp at daybreak, and on his left planted four pieces 
of artillery, while the infantry advanced towards the point where the 
Fayette ville road crosses Wilson's Creek, and the two cavalry companies 
extended to the right and left to guard his flank. He ordered the artillery 
to begin their fire against the camp of the enemy, (Missourians), which 
was so destructive that thev were seen leaving; their tents and retiring in 
haste toward the northeast of the valley. Meanwhile, the Third and 
Fifth Missouri Infantry had quickly advanced, passed the creek, and 
traversing the camp, formed almost in the centre of it. As the enemy 
made his rally^in large numbers before him, about 3,000 strong, consisting 
of infantry and cavalry, he ordered the artillery to be brought forward 
from the hill and formed there in battery across the valley, with the 
Third and Fifth to the left, and the cavalry to the right. After an 
efiectual fire of half an hour, the enemy retired in some confusion into 
the woods and up the adjoining hills. The firing toward the northwest 
was now more distinct ; and it increased, until it was evident that the 
main corps of General Lyon had engaged the enemy along the whole 
line. To give the greatest possible assistance to him, Sigel left his 
position in the camp and advanced toward the northwest, to attack the 
enemy's line of battle in the rear. Marching forward, Sigel's column 
struck the Fayette ville road, and pursuing it to Sharpe's farm, planted 
artillery on the plateau and the two infantry rigiments on the right and 
left, across the road, whilst the cavalry extended on its flanks. The 



^Lyon's body was placed in. an ambulance to be moved from the field, but in the 
hurry of departure it was left. From Springfield, a surgeon with attendants was sent 
back for it, and General Price sent it to the town in his own wagon. In the confusion 
of abandoning Springfield, the next morning, it was again left behind, when, after being 
carefully prepared for burial by two members of Brigadier- General Clark's staff, it was 
delivered to the care of Mrs. Mary Phelps (wife of Hon. J. S. Phelps, a former member 
of Congress from Missouri, the present Governor of the State, and a staunch Union man) , 
who caused it to be buried. A few daj'^s afterward it was disinterred and sent to St. 
Louis, and from there it was conveyed to Eastford, Connecticut, his native place, where, 
on September 4th, 1861, it was re-interred with military honors in the family graveyard, 
in the presence of 15,000 people. 



KETKEAT TO KOLLA. 385 

firing in the northwest, which was the direction of Lyon's colnmn, and 
which had incessantly roared for an hour, had then almost entirely ceased. 
Presuming that Lyon had repulsed the Confederates, and that his forces 
were coming up the road. Lieutenant Albert, of the Third, and Colonel 
Salomon, of the Fifth, notified their regiments not to fire upon the troops 
coming in that direction, while Sigel gave the same caution to the 
artillery. Very soon, and very unexpectedly, two Confederate batteries 
opened their fire upon them — one in front, on the Fayetteville road, and 
the other upon the hill upon which Sigel supposed Lyon's forces were 
in pursuit of the enemy, whilst a strong column of infantry, supposed to 
be the Iowa regiment, advanced from the Fayetteville road and attacked 
Sigel's right. Consternation and frightful confusion, of course, ensued. 
The cry, " They (Lyon's troops) are firing against us," spread like wild 
fire through Sigel's ranks, and his artillery and infantry could hardly 
be induced to serve their guns, until it was too late. The enemy arrived 
within ten paces of the muzzles of Sigel's cannon, killed the horses, 
turned the flanks of the infantry, and forced them to fly. The Union 
troops were throwing themselves into the bushes and bye-roads, retreating 
as well as they could, followed and attacked incessantly by large bodies 
of Arkansas and Texas cavalry. In this retreat Sigel lost five cannon, 
of which three were spiked, and the colors of the Third, the color-bearer 
having been wounded, and his substitute killed. The total loss of the 
two regiments, the artillery, and the pioneers, in killed, wounded and 
missing, amounted to 892 men. 

After the arrival of the Federal troops at Springfield, the command 
was entrusted by Major Sturgis to Colonel Sigel, who ordered a retreat 
from that place, which commenced on the night of the memorable 10th 
of August, to Rolla, Phelps County, the terminus of the Southwest 
Branch Railroad, and 125 miles distant. The retreating army reached 
Rolla on the 19th of August, safely conducting a Government train five 
miles in length and valued at $1,500,000. Here " Camp Good Hope" 
was established. 

Thus much for the Federal account of the battle of Wilson's Creek ; 
and although it does not materially difier from the Confederate narrative 
of the same engagement, in a spirit of fairness to all concerned, we will 
now epitomize the latter. 

According to General McCuUoch's report. General Lyon attacked his 

force on the left, and General Sigel on his right and rear, from which 

points batteries opened upon them at daylight. The Missonrians under 

Generals Slack, Clark, McBride, Parsons and Rains, were nearest the 

25 



386 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

position taken bj^ General Lyon with his main force ; they were instantly 
tnrned to the left, and opened the battle with an incessant fire of small 
arms. Woodruff opposed his battery to the battery of the enemy under 
Captain Totten, and a constant cannonading was kept up between these 
baiterics during the engagement. Hebert's regiment of Louisiana Vol- 
unteers, and Mcintosh's regiment of Arkansas Mounted Eiflemen, were 
ordered to the front, and after passing the battery (Totten's), turned to 
the left and soon engaged the enemy with the regiments deployed. 
Colonel Mcintosh dismounted his regiment, and the two marched up 
abreast to a fence around a large corn-field, where they met the left of 
the enemy already posted. A terrible conflict of small-arms took place 
here. The opposing force was a body of regular United States Infantry, 
commanded by Captains Plummer and Gilbert. 

Notwithstanding the galling fire poured on the regiments of Hebert 
and Mcintosh, they leaped over the fence, and gallantly led by their 
Colonels, drove the enemy before them, back upon the main body. Dur- 
ing this time, the Missourians under General Price were gallantly attempt- 
ing to sustain themselves in the centre, and were hotly engaged on the 
sides of the height upon which the enemy were posted. Far on the 
right Sigel had opened his battery upon ChurchiU's and Greer's regi- 
ments, and had gradually made his way to the Springfielcl road, upon 
each side of which the enemy was encamped, and in a prominent position 
he established his battery. 

General McCuUoch at once rapidly marched from the front and right, 
to the rear, two companies of the Louisiana regiment, and ordered Colo- 
nel Mcintosh to bring up the rest. Reld's battery had already opened 
upon Sigel' s and occasioned confusion among them. The Louisianans 
gallantly charged among the guns and swept the canuoniers away. Five 
of Sigel' s guns were captured, and his command completely routed and 
put in rapid retreat. Some companies of the Texan regiment and a por- 
tion of Colonel Major's Missouri Cavalry pursued, and in the pursuit 
captured Sigel' s last gun and killed and took prisoners many of his 
troops. Having thus cleared his right and rear, General McCulloch 
turned his attention to the centre, where the Union troops under General 
Lyon were pressing upon the Missourians under General Price, having 
driven them back. To this point Mcintosh's regiment under Lieuten- 
ent-Colonel Embry, and Churchill's regiment on foot, Gratiot's regiment 
and McEae's battalion were sent. The terrible fire of musketry was 
now kept up along the whole side and top of the hill, upon which Lyon's 
force was posted. Masses of infantry fell back and again rushed for- 



EEPOETS OF THE BATTLE. 387 

ward. The summit of the hill was covered with the dead and wounded, 
both sides were fighting with desperation for the day. 

At this critical moment, when the fortunes of the day seemed to be at 
the turning point, two regiments of General Pearce's brigade were 
ordered to march from their position (as reserves), to support the centre. 
The order was obeyed with alacrity, and General Pearce gallantly rushed 
with his brigade to the rescue. The battle then became general, and 
probably no two opposing forces ever fought with greater desperation ; 
inch by inch the Union troops gave way, and were driven from their posi- 
tion; Totten's battery fell back; and Missourians, Arkansans, Lousian- 
ians and Texans pushed forward. The incessant roll of musketry was 
deafening, and the balls fell as thick as hail stones ; nevertheless the 
Confederate column pressed forward, and with a terrific yell broke upon 
the enemy, driving them back and strewing the ground with their dead. 
Nothing could withstand the impetuosity of the final charge, which broke 
the line of the Federal troops so that they could not again be rallied. The 
battle lasted six hours and a half, i 

General Sterling Price, in his report, after reciting the fact that Gen- 
eral McCuUoch was with him at his quarters when the news of Lyon's 
attack was received, states that he instantly rode toward General Rains' 
position, at the same time ordering Ge-nerals Slack, McBride, Clark and 
Parsons to move their infantry and artillery rapidly forward. He had 
ridden but a few hundred yards when he came suddenly upon the main 
body of the enemy, commanded by General Lyon in person. The 
infantry and artillery, to the number of 2,036 men, came up immediately 
and engaged Lyon. A bloody conflict then ensued, which was conducted 
with ihe greatest gallantry and vigor on both sides for more than five 
hours, when the Union forces retreated in great confusion. The victory 
was dearly bought, by the loss of many skillful officers and brave men. 
Colonel Richard Hanson Weightman fell mortally wounded on the field, 
at the head of his brigade, and wounded in three places. He died just 
as the victorious shout was raised upon the air. Here, too, died Colonel 
Ben. Brown, of Ray County, President of the Missouri Senate. One of 
General Price's aids, Lieutenant-Colonel George W. Allen, of Saline 
County, was shot down while communicating an order. 

Brigadier-General Slack's division sufiered severely. He himself fell 



1 This battle is variously known as Wilson's Creek, Springfield and Oak Hill. Gen- 
eral McCuUoch in his official report of it calls it '• Oak Hill." Believing " Wilson's 
Creek " the more appropriate name, we adopt it. 



388 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

dano-erouslv woiiiulccl at the head of his column. Of his reo;iment of in- 
fantrv, under Col. John T. Hughes, ' consisting of about 650 men, 36 were 
killed, 76 wounded, many of them mortally, :ind thirty were missing. 
Among the killed were C. H. Bennet, Adjutant of the regiment ; Captain 
Blackwell, and Lieutenant Samuel S. Hughes, (brother of John T.). 
Colonel Rives' squadron of cavalry, (dismounted), numbering some 234 
men, lost four killed, and eight wounded. Among the former were 
Lieutenant-Colonel Austin, and Captain Engart. Brigadier-General 
Clark was also wounded in the leg. His infantry (200 men) lost, in 
killed, seventeen, and wounded, seventy-one. Colonel Burbridge was 
severely wounded. Captains Farris and Halleck, and Lieutenant Has- 
kins, were killed. General Clark's cavalry, together with the Windsor 
Guards, were under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel James P. 
Major, who did good service. They lost six killed, and five wounded. 

Brigadier-General McBride's division (605 men), lost twenty-two 
killed, sixty-seven severely wounded, and fifty-seven slightly wounded. 
Colonel Foster and Captains Nichols, Dougherty, Armstrong and Mings, 
were wounded Avhile gallantly leading their respective commands. 

General Parson's brigade, 256 infantry and artillery, — under command 
respectively of Colonel Joseph Kelly, of St. Louis, and Captain Guibor, 
— and 406 cavalry. Colonel Brown, lost, the artiller3% three killed, and' 
seven wounded ; the infantry, nine killed, and thirty-eight wounded ;. 
the cavalry, three killed, and two wounded. Colonel Kelly was wounded 
in the hand. Captain Coleman was mortally wounded, and died. 

General Rains' division was composed of two brioades. The first, under 
Colonel Weightman, embracing infantry and artillery, 1,306 strong, lost, 
not only their commander, but thirty-fonr others killed, and 111 
wounded. The Second Brigade, mounted men, Colonel Cauthorn com- 
manding, about 1.200 strong, lost twenty-one killed, and seventy-five 
wounded. Major Charles Rogers, of St. Louis, Adjutant of the brigade, 
was mortally wounded, and died the day after the battle. 

The forces of Missouri State Guard consisted of 5,221 officers an(J 
men. Of these no less than 156 died upon the field, while 517 were 
wounded. The total Confederate loss in the engagement, as reported by 
General McCuUoch, was 265 killed, 800 wounded, and thirty missing. 

Brigadier-General John B. Clark, (Senior), for fifty years past a well 

1 A native of Howard County, a gi-adnate of Bonne Femme Academy, in Boone Coun- 
ty, and the author of "Doniphan's Expedition." At the opening of the war and for 
many years before, he was a citizen of Clinton County. He was liilled in a charge on 
Independence, Mo., on Aug. 11th, 1863. 



KEPOETS OF THE BATTLE. 389 

known lawyer and politician of Fayette, Missouri, and commandant of a 
division of the Missouri State Guard, also made a report. His command 
consisted of one regiment of intantry, commanded by Colonel J. Q. Bur- 
bridge and Major ^Jolm B. Clark, (Jr. ),^ with 376 men, rank and file, 
and one battalion of cavalry, commanded by Lieutenant-ColonelJames P. 
Major, with 250 men, rank and file. Eeceiying, while at breakfast, an 
order from General Price to form his command upon the crest of the hill 
under which he was encamped. General Clark immediately dispatched 
Colonel Richard H. Musser, (of BrOnswick), one of his staff, to Colonel 
Major, who was encamped a mile and a half distant, to report his com- 
mand at his headquarters immediately, which was done. General Clark 
moved about 300 yards, when he discovered the enemy strongly posted 
in his front, upon the heights, engaging the commmand of Brigadier- 
General W. Y. Slack, upon whose left his forces of infantry were formed. 
In a few minutes after, Colonel Kelly, of General Parson's command,^ 
formed upon his left, and rapidly following came the command ot 
General J. H. McBride, who formed upon the left of Colonel Kelly, and 
commanded a flank movement upon the right of the enemy. In this 
position the entire line, led by General Price in person, advanced m the 
direction of Lyon's forces, under a continuous and heavy fire of artillery 
and musketry," until they approached near enough to make their rifle guns 
effective, when they returned the enemy's fire with such terrific effect as 
to drive him from his position, and cause him to make a rapid retrograde 
movement. Heavy cannonading was then heard immediately in the rear 
of Clark's command, which seemed to be directed at his line, producing a 
momentary confusion, and a suspension of the pursuit until General Mc- 
Culloch came up and employed a portion of the force against the batteries 
in the rear. General Parson's battery now moved forward in line with 
the remaining column on the right, and upon the left of General Slack. 
General Pierce, with a portion of the Arkansas troops, also came up and 
formed on the left of the line. After rapidly advancing a short distance 
in the direction in which the Union troops had retired, they were again 
found in great force and opened a brisk fire. An incessant fire of artillery 
and small arms ensued, and was continued on both sides for about an 
hour, when the Federal forces fled with consternation and confusion. 
The First battalion of Clark's cavalry was attacked upon the rear, 
and so hotly pressed that Colonel Major was forced to retire under cover 

1 A son of General Clark, and at this time (1877), member of Congress from the Elev- 
enth District. 



390 HISTOEY OF MISSOUKI. 

of the woods to form his line. After forming, he marched in the direc- 
tion he had been ordered, when large bodies of rebel horsemen, who had 
been ent oft* from their comijanies, rushed through and divided his force, 
leaving Major with but a single company. Nevertheless, Colonel Major, 
aided by Colonel Casper W.Bell (of Brunswick), Assistant- Adjutant 
General, and Caj)tain Joseph Finks (now Clerk of the Circuit Court of 
Howard County), one of Clark's aids, succeeded in gathering some 300 
mounted men and attacked the forces in the rear, commanded by Gen- 
eral Sigel, capturing 157 prisoners and killing 64 men. 

The news of the Federal defeat at Wilson's Creek, and of the death of 
Lyon, reached General Fremont on the loth of August. It greatly grat- 
ified and emboldened the secessionists, and in a corresponding degree 
depressed and rendered indignant the friends of the Union. Neverthe- 
less, Governor Gamble, realizing the imminence of the crisis and the 
need for a larger force in the field to protect the lives and property of 
the citizens of the State, issued a proclamation on August 24fch, calling 
into service 42,000 men of the militia — 10,000 cavalry and 82,000 
infantry, — to serve for six months, " unless peace in the State be sooner 
restored." And such was the spirit of disorder and turbulence in the 
State, that General Fremont, on the 30th of August, inaugurated anew, 
and to our people, an untried remedy for the lawlessness which prevailed 
and the almost absolute impotency of the civil authority. He declared 
Martial Law, and appointed J. McKinstry, Major U. S. A., Provost- 
Marshal-General of the State. In his proclamation he stated that the 
lines of the Army of Occupation extended from Leavenworth, in Kansas, 
by way of the posts of Jefferson City, Rolla andlronton, to Cape Girard- 
eau on the Mississippi river. He also declared that all persons within 
those limits, taken with arms in their hands, should be tried by court- 
martial, and if found guilty, should be shot ; that the property, real and 
personal, of all persons in Missouri, who should be proven to have taken 
an active part with the enemies of the Government in the field, should 
be confiscated to the public use, and their slaves, if they had anj^, 
should be thereafter declared free men ; and that all persons engaged in 
the destruction of bridges, railway tracks, and telegraphs, should suffer 
the extreme penalty of the law. All persons who, by speech or corres- 
pondence, should be found guilty of giving aid to the insurgents in any 
way, were warned of ill consequences to themselves ; and all who had 
been seduced from their allegiance to the National Government were 
required to return to their homes forthwith. The declared object of the 
proclamation was to place in the hands of the military authorities the 



MARTIAL LAW IN ST. LOUIS. 391 

power to give mstantaneous eflect to existing laws, while ordinary civil 
authority would not be suspended where the law should be administered 
in the usual manner. 

Of even date with this proclamation, was an order from the Provost- 
Marshal-General (McKinstry), to this effect: 

[Order No. 107. ] 
Office OF Provost Marshal, St. Louis, Mo., August 30, 1861. 
It appearing to this Department, by satisfactory evidence, that individuals are daily 
leaving this city for the purpose of treasonably communicating with the enemy, and 
giving them information, aid and comfort, in violation of law, it is hereby directed that, 
from and after this date, all persons are peremptorily forbidden to pass beyond the lim- 
its of the City and County of St. Louis, vdthout first obtaining a special permit from 
this ofiice. All ferry, steamboat and railway officers and agents, and all other carriers 
-of passengers, are hereby forbidden to sell or transfer any tickets entitling the holder to 
go beyond the limits of this county, to any person, or to carry, or allow to be carried, 
any person not exhibiting a permit from this office. J. McKinstrt, 

Major U. S. A., Provost Marshal. 

The proclamation of martial law, and the rigid enforcement of this 
order, greatly embarrassed the transactions of commerce and business, 
and the egress of the people from the county of St. Louis. In fact, it 
afforded the people at large, of both sexes, and of all opinions and sympa- 
thies, conclusive evidence that war existed in the State, For the pur- 
pose of preserving in an enduring form a specimen of the "permit" or 
pass required by the order, the following is a copy of one issued to the 
author of this "sketch," he desiring to return from St. Louis to his 
home in Columbia : 

Office oI? Provost Marshal, St. Louis, Mo., Sept. 1st, 1861. 
Permission is granted to Wm. F. Switzler to pass beyond the limits of the City and 
County of St. Louis, to go to Columbia, Mo. ' J. McKinstry, 

Major U. S. A., Provost Marshal. 

Description of Person: Name, Wm. F. Switzler; age, forty-two ; height, five feet 
ten inches; color of eyes, gray; color of hair, sandy. It is understood that the vnthin 
named and subscriber, accepts this pass on his word of honor that he is and will be ever 
loyal to the United States ; and if hereafter found in arms against the Union, or in any 
way aiding her enemies, the penalty will be death. Wm. F. Switzler. 

The confiscation and manumitting portions of General Fremont's pro- 
clamation occasioned no little excitement and alarm in the State ; and 
these were greatly augmented when, on the 12th of September, he caused 
to be executed under his own hand, and published, deeds of manumission 
to Frank Lewis and Hiram Reed, two slaves belonging to Colonel 
Thomas L. Suead, General Sterling Price's Chief of Staff. So extraor- 



392 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

dinary, indeecl, was this portion of the proclamation, that it met with 
President Lincoln's prompt disapproval ; and he at once, (Sep. 2), wrote 
to General Fremont to modify the clause relative to the confiscation of 
property and the liberation of slaves, for its non-conformity to the act 
of Congress passed on the 8th of August, 1861. Fremont preferring that 
the President make the order of modification himself, he did so on the 
11th of September. 

No sooner did General Jeflf. Thompson, (who by this time had 
acquired the soubriquet oi "The Swamp Fox"), meet with Fremont's pro- 
clamation of martial law, than he (September 2d) issued from " Camp 
Hunter" a counter-irritant — a brutum fulmen — in his peculiar grandilo- 
quent diction, in which he declared "to all whom it may concern" "that 
for every member of the Missouri State Guard or soldier of our allies, 
the armies of the Confederate States, who shall be put to death in pur- 
suance of the said order of General Fremont, I will hang, draw and 
quarter a minion of said Abraham Lincoln." Also that "if this rule is 
to be adopted, (aud it must first be done by our enemies,) I intend to 
exceed General Fremont in his excesses, and will make all tories that 
come within my reach rue the day that a difierent policy was adopted by 
their leaders. Already mills, barns, warehouses and other private 
property have been wastefully and wantonly destroyed by the enemy in 
this district, while we have taken nothing except articles strictly contra- 
band or absolutely necessary. Should these things be repeated, I will 
retaliate ten-fold, so help me God ! " 



CHAPTER XXX. 

Battle at Athens.— McCulloch's Proclamation of August 12, 1861.— Price's Procla, 
MATiON.— Skirmish at Drywood.— Battle op Lexington.— Heroic Defense of Mul- 
ligan and his Final Surrender.— Gen. Fremont again severely Criticised.— He 
resolves to take the Field in Person.— Musters an army op 20,000 Men and 
STARTS for Springfield.— Price Abandons Lexington.— Ma j. White's Bold Dash 
into the Town.— Fremont's Army across the Osage.— The Magnitude of His 
Plans.— Zagonyi's Brilliant charge into Springfield.— Errors in regard to it 
Corrected.— Justice done the "Prairie Scouts." — Very expressive, if not ele- 
gant, remark of " Old Pap."— Battle at Belmont.— Heroism of a Lad.— Fremont 
Superseded by Gen, Hunter, and he by Gen. Halleck.— The Union Army re- 
turns FROM Springfield to St. Locjcs.- Gen. Price's 50,000 Men and $200,000,000 
Proclamation.— A E-emarkable Paper.— Gen. John Pope.— Gex. Halleck assumes 
Command of the Department. — if artial Law. — Stringent Orders against 
Railroad Destroyers.— Campaign Summary. 

August 5tli, 1861, quite a battle took place at the village of Athens, in 
Clark County, Missoun, on the right bank of the Des Moines River, 
about twenty miles northwest of Keokuk, Iowa, between some eight 
hundred (some say as high as 1,800) Secessionists, mostly cavalry, under 
command of Colonel Martin E. Green, (a brother of Honorable James S. 
Green,) of Lewis County, and some four hundred Union Home Guards of 
Clark County, assisted by two companies of United States volunteers from 
Keokuk. The Home Guards were commanded by Colonel David Moore, 
of Clark County. The Secessionists had two pieces of artillery, a nine 
and a six pounder. The Union forces had no cannon. Colonel Green 
commenced the attack at 9 o'clock A. m. The fight continued with 
much bravery on both sides, for about an hour, when the secessionists 
retreated, leaving nine dead upon the field, besides many wounded. The 
Union men lost three killed and eighteen wounded, several dangerously. 

Contrary to the general expectation of both armies, McCulloch and 
Price did not pursue their victory at Wilson's Creek by following Sigel in 
his retreat upon Rolla. McCulloch, however, contented himself with 
issuing a proclamation to the people of the State, dated August 12th, 1861, 
in which he recited that he had been called by Governor Jackson "to assist 
in driving the National forces out of the State and in restoring the peo- 
ple to their just rights," that he had come to "give the oppressed an 
opportunity of again standing up as freemen and uttering their true sen- 
timents," and that "the true sons of Missouri," together with his force, 
had "gained over the mercenary hordes of the North a great and signal 
victory." He also called upon "the true men of Missouri" to rise up and 



394 HISTOEY OF MISSOURI. 

rally around his standard, promising if they did so to redeem the 
State, and declaring that "Missouri must be allowed to choose her own 
destiny — no oaths binding your consciences.'" 

Soon after the issuing of this proclamation, his assumptions and de- 
portment becoming oifensive to General Price and his soldiers, aliena- 
tion ensued, and McCuUoch abandoned Missouri to its fate and with his 
army left its borders. 

On the 20th of August, ten days after the battle of Wilson's Creek, 
General Price issued a proclamation to the people of the State, in which 
he informed them that his army had been organized under the laws of 
the Commonwealth for the maintenance of the rights, dignity, and honor 
of Missouri, and was' kept in the field for these purposes alone; that a 
glorious victory had just been achieved over "the well-appointed army 
which the usurper at Washington has been more than six months gather- 
ing for their subjugation and enslavement"; and that all good citi- 
zens were invited to return to their homes and the practice of their 
ordinary avocations, with the full assurance that they should be protected 
in person and property. He also warned "all evil-disposecl persons" who 
might " support the usurpations of any one claiming to be provisional or 
temporary governor of Missouri," or who should in any other w^ay give 
aid or comfort to the enemy, that they would be held as enemies and 
treated accordingly. 

In response to the call of General Price, the citizens of Missouri in 
large numbers flocked to his standard, and in a few weeks he had gath- 
ered a formidable force. With this force, about the close of August, he 
moved (in a curve bending far towards Kansas) in the direction of Lex- 
ington on the Missouri River. JEn route, at Drywood Creek, in Vernon 
County, and about fifteen miles from the eastern border of Kansas, he 
had a skirmish on the 7th of September with some Kansas-Union 
troops under Colonel James H. Lane, drove them across the line and 
pursued them to Fort Scott. Resuming his march he reached Warrens- 
burg, Johnson County, September 11th, and immediately moved 
towards Lexington, and encamped the same night Avithin a few miles of 
the city. 

Lexington occupied an important position ; it commanded the approach 
by water to Fort Leavenworth, and was now brought into great prominence 
as the theatre of a desperate struggle. Advised of General Price's 
movement towards it, and appreciating its stragetic value as a frontier 
position. General Fremont ordered a small force there to take charge of 
the money in the bank and to garrison the place. This force was 



SIEGE OF LEXINGTON. 395 

increased from time to time, during Price's northward march, until the 
nmnber of Union troops was nearly 3,000, commanded by Colonel 
James A. Mulligan, of the. "Irish Brigade" of Chicago — the force being 
composed as follows : 

Irish Brigade, (33d 111.,) Colonel J. A. Mulligan 800 men. 

Home Guards, Colonel White 500 " 

Thirteenth Missouri, Colonel Peabody 840 " 

First Illinois Cavahy, Colonel J. M. Marshall 500 " 

' Total 2,640 " 

In anticipation of Price's attack, Colonel Mulligan threw up entrench- 
ments on Masonic College Hill, an eminence which comprised about fifteen 
acres adjoining and northeast of the city, and overlooking the Missouri 
Eiver. On this hillw^as a large brick building erected by the Masons for a 
college, which Mulligan occupied for military purposes. His first line ol 
works was in front of this building ; outside of his embankments was a 
broad and deep ditch, and beyond this were pits into which, in case of 
charge or ordinary advance, his assailants, foot or horse, might fall. 
Outside of the fortifications the ground was also skillfully mixed with 
gunpowder and suitable trains. But Mulligan's men had only about 
forty rounds of ammunition each, and six small brass cannon and two 
howitzers, the latter of which Mveve useless because of the lack o^ shells. 

At early dawn on September 12th, General Price drove in the Union 
pickets, and, taking position within easy range of the college building, 
opened a cannonade from four different points with Bledsoe's Battery, 
which in the absence of that officer, who had been wounded at Drywood, 
was commanded by Captain Emmitt McDonald, and with Parson's Bat- 
tery, under Captain Guibor. The assault and defense were kept up dur- 
ing the entire day, when Price, after sunset, finding his ammunition and 
his famished men — thousands of whom had not eaten or slept for thirty- 
six hours — ^were nearly exhausted, withdrew to the Fair Grounds to await 
the arrival of his wagon train and re-inforcements. 

Mulligan's men immediately resorted to the trenches, to complete their 
preparations for a siege. 

Having, on the 10th, dispatched a courier to Jefferson City, asking for 
re-inforcements, he was now anxiously expecting them, while his men 
worked night and day to strengthen their fortifications. But his courier 

1 General Sterling Price in his report of the battle estimates Mulligan's force at be- 
tween 3,000 and 4,000. 



396 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

was captured on the way, and of course no relief came.^ Yet bravely 
and hopefully Mulligan's men worked on until, on the morning of 
the 18th, General Price, who had been reinforced, and now had 
in command a force variously estimated at from 15,000 to 25,000 
men, began a final attack upon Mulligan's works, which resulted in cut- 
ting off the communication of the besieged garrison with the city, stop- 
ping their supply of water, seizing a steamboat laden with stores, and 
occupying the fine residence of Colonel Thomas B. Wallace, which 
commanded the position of the Union forces. This residence was 
destroyed during the fight. 

The siege and assault and heroic resistance continued for fifty-two 
hours. ^ During the forenoon of the 20th, General Price ordered from the 
factory of McGrew Brothers, near the steamboat landing, bales of hemp ; 
and with these, wetted so as to resist hot shot, movable breastworks, two 
bales deep, were constructed, behind which, as an advance was made up 
the hill, the Confederate forces opened a terrific fire upon Mulligan's 
men, and pressed up within ten rods of the works, along a line of forty 
yards in length. From this device of the Confederates there was no 
escape, and Mulligan looked with alarm on the steadily approaching and 
impenetrable rampart, along the crest of which ran an incessant sheet of 
flame. Farther resistance was madness. Retreat was impossible. The 
supply of water was cut off, excepting that which, during a passing 
shower of rain, was caught in camp blankets and wrung into camp 
dishes. The stench of the killed horses and mules within the intrench- 
ments was insufferable. The doom of the garrison was sealed ; and on 
the afternoon of the 20th, Major Becker, of the Home Guards — Colonel 
White having been killed — raised a white flag, the firing ceased, and the 
siege of Lexino;ton ended. 

About 3,000 men laid down their arms and surrendered as prisoners 
of war.^ The loss in killed and wounded on either side, considering the 

1 Lieutenant Rains, of the Irish Brigade, with twelve men, had been dispatched on the 
steamer ''Sunshine," hut forty miles below Lexington it was captui'ed and those on 
board made prisoners. 

2 At the beginning of the siege, Genral Price sent a summons to Colonel Mulligan to 
surrender, to which he replied: " If yon vvant us, you must take us." 

3 The visible fruits of the victory, which fell into the hands of General Price, were 
sis cannon, two mortars, over 3,000 stand of infantry arms, a large number of sabres, 
about seven hundred and fifty horses, wagons, teams, ammunition, and $100,000 worth 
of commissary stores. Also, " the great seal of State, and the public records, which had 
been stolen from their proper custodian, and about $900,000 in money of which the bank 
of this place had been robbed, and which I have caused to be returned to it." See Gen- 
eral Price's report to Governor Jackson, September 23d, 1861. 



FKEMONT TAKES THE FIELD IN PEESON. 397 

numbers engaged and the desperate character of the conflict, was incon- 
siderable — forty liilled and one hundred and twenty wounded on the Union, 
and twenty killed and seventy-five wounded on the Confederate side. 
Amono- the Union wounded, by a ball through the calf of the leg, and a 
flesh wound on the right arm, was Colonel Mulligan ; and Colonel Mar- 
shall,, by a ball in the chest. 

In the'desperate and protracted assault upon Lexington, the following 
forces bore a conspicuous part : Bledsoe's, Clark's, Kelly's, and Parsons' 
batteries, and the divisions and smaller commands, respectively, under 
General James S. Eains, Colonel Congreve Jackson, Colonel Rives, Gen- 
eral McBride, General Thomas A. Harris, General Steen, Colonel Boyd, 
Major Winston and Colonel Green. 

The fall of Lexington was a serious blow to the Union cause in Mis- 
souri, and, as in the case of Wilson's Creek, General Fremont was 
severely censured for failing to re-inforce it. He was assailed with 
charges of incapacity, extravagance in expenditure, and a penchant for 
grandiloquent proclamations and display.^ 

Feeling very keenly the losses of Lyon and the battle at Wilson's 
Creek, and the surrender of Lexington, General Fremont, apprehend- 
ing that General Price would now march to Jeflerson City, or seek ta 
establish himself somewhere on the Missouri River in the center of the 
State, avowed a determination to take the field in person, with the hope 
of circumventing and destroying Price before McCulloch, who had been 
gathering troops in Arkansas, could return to his aid. With this view,, 
on the 27th of September, he put in motion, for Southwest Missouri, an 
army of more than 20,000 men, (of whom 5,000 were cavalry), 
arrano;ed in five divisions, under the command of Generals David Hunter, 
John Pope, Franz Sigel, J. McKinstry and H. Asboth, and accompa- 
nied by eighty-six pieces of artillery, many of which were rifle cannon. 
On the 28th of September, Fremont, with his famous body-guard, under 
Major Charles Zagonyi, a Hungarian, had reached Jefferson City, where 
he sought to adopt vigorous measures not only to forestall Price's 
expected march to the Capital, but to drive him from the State, 

On the 30th of September, Price abandoned Lexington, marching 
south towards Arkansas, but leaving a guard of five hundred men there, 

1 One of the Union papers of the State (the Missouri Statesman) , commenting at the 
time on the fall of Lexington, said : "It ought by this time to be very apparent to Gen- 
eral John Charles Fremont, and other band-box Generals, that the Eebels are not to be 
' driven in dismay from the State ' by dress parades on simshiuy afternoons, high-sounding 
proclamations, freeing negroes,- and orders from the Provost Marshal." 



308 mSTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 

in charge of the officer-prisoners (the private soldiers had been paroled) 
taken at jMuUigan's surrender. On the 16th of October, by a bold dash. 
Major Frank J. AMiite, of the "Prarie Scouts," a cavalry force of one 
hundred and eighty-iive men, surprised the guard, took seventy of them 
prisoners, and dispersed the rest, releasing the Union prisoners, and 
marched to join Fremont, who by this time had reached Warsaw, on 
the Osage River. Recent heavy rains had so swollen the stream that its 
passage for so large an army was very difficult. Sigel, who led the 
advance, crossed in a single flat-boat, but this was inadequate for the 
transportation, to the opposite shore, of 30,000 troops, baggage trains, 
cavahy horses, and nearly one hundred heavy guns. Therefore, under 
the direction of Captain Pike, of the engineers, a rude, strong bridge 
Avas constructed, over which the entire army and its accompaniments 
passed in safety, and moved on in the direction of Springfield, by the 
way of Bolivar. 

General Fremont's plan was reasonably magnificent in its proportions, 
to-wit : To capture or disperse the forces of Price, march to Little 
Rock and take it, and so completely turn the position of the Confeder- 
ate forces under Polk, Pillow, Thompson, and Hardee, as to cut off their 
supplies from that region, and compel them to retreat ; when a flotilla of 
guur-boats then in preparation near St. Louis, in command of Captain 
Foote, could easily descend the river and assist in military operations 
against Memphis, which, if successful, would allow the army to push on 
and take possession of New Orleans. "My plan is, New Orleans 
straight," he wrote, Oct. 11th, 1861, from Tipton, to his wife, who was 
then in Jefferson City. "It would precipitate the war forward, and end 
it soon and victoriously." ^ All the while, however, Fremont was appre- 
hensive of interference with his plans, by orders from Washington ; for he 
knew that the Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, and the Adjutant- 
General, E. D. Townsend, were en route from St. Louis to overtake him. 

When within about fifty miles of Springfield, Fremont ordered for- 
ward to that place the combined Cavalry forces — about three hundred 
strong — of Major Charles Zagonyi, of his "Body Guard," and Major 
Frank J. White, of the "Prairie Scouts," (led by the former) to recon- 
noiter the Confederate position there, and, if possible, to capture it. 
Major Zagonyi executed the order with great intrepidity and heroism, 
renderino; his brilliant charo;e one of the most notable events of the cam- 
paign in Missouri. And yet no event of the war has been more misrep- 

1 See " The Civil War in America," by Lossing. Yol. 2, p. 79. 



ZAGONYI'S BRILLIAI^T CHAEGE INTO SPEINGFIELD. 399 

resentated and exaggerated, chiefly in two respects ; (1) as to the num- 
ber of Confederates at Springfield, and (2) tlie injustice done the squad- 
ron of "Prairie Scouts" belonging to Major White's command. These 
exaggerations, for the most part, owe their paternity to the vain- 
o-lorious reports made at the time by Major Zagonyi himself, and which 
without contradiction, so far as we know, have gone into all previous 
histories of the event as true. The truth — not stopping to point out in 
detail the inaccuracies of other accounts — is substantially as follows : 

On October 24, 1861, after Major White's return from Lexington, 
he was ordered by General Sigel to reconnoiter in the vicinity of Spring- 
field, and if advisable to attack the Confederate force in camp there. 
Although sufl'ering from a severe illness, and unable to mount his horse, 
Major White (himself in a carriage) immediately pushed forward his 
command; and on the evening of the same day (24th) was overtaken 
by Major Zagonyi, with the "Body Guard," who, under orders from 
General Fremont, took command of the combined force. When within 
a few' miles from Springfield the next day, (25th) Major Zagonyi cap- 
tiM'ed some Confederate foragers from whom he learned, but it was untrue, 
that the Confederate force garrisoning the town numbered between 2,000 
and 3,000 infantry and cavalry. Nevertlieless he dashed forward rapidly, 
leaving Major White very ill in his carriage, under escort of a lieutenant 
and five men. ^ The Confederates, 400 or 500 cavalry and 150 infantry — 
and not 2,200 men, as stated by Major Zagonyi, nor 1,200 as claimed by 
Major White — were encamped about one mile west of Springfield, on 
the Mount Vernon road, and were in command of Lieutenant-Colonel 
Lee Cloud, of Webster County, in the absence of Colonel Frazer. 

Notice of Zagonyi' s approach was received by them almost simultane- 
ously with his appearance, and therefore it may be said it was a com- 
plete surprise. Delivering encouraging words to his officers and men, 
Zagonyi led the charge. He said: "Let the watchword be, the Union 

•■ When Major White was near the borders of Sprmgfield, he and his escort were sur- 
rounded and captured by two companies of Confederate cavahy. Major White broke 
his sword in preference to surrendering it, but gave up liis papers and other effects. He 
remained a prisoner during the fight, which commenced within an hour after his capture ; 
and when tlie Confederate stragglers retreated from Springfield, they took Major White 
with them, and encamped for the nigh-t twelve miles distant, at the house of a Union 
man. Watching his opportunity, he communicated "the situation" to the host, who 
secretly sent a message to some Home Guards in the vicinity. These came, surrounded 
the house, and took Major White's captors prisoners, and released him and his escort. 
Kext morning he returned to Springfield in charge of those, as prisoners, who the eve- 
■ning previous had held him as a prisoner. 



400 / HISTORY OF I^nSSOURI. 

ana Fremont ; draw sabers ! By the right flank — quick trot — march 1 " 
arm away clashed Zagonyi and his men with a shout, down a lane, under 
the fire of the Confederates, with which on the north side it was lined. 
At the first dash a large number of the Confederates — one eye-witness 
says a third — ran and scattered in every direction, the remainder stand- 
ing their OTound. 

In the first charge Zagonyi swept by the Confederate camp, and 
scattering an intervening rail fence, passed into the enclosure where the 
Confederates were, and formed his men in a ravine about two hundred 
yards from them. Here again he charged with drawn sabres in handsome 
style, some of his men breaking through the Confederate line, and being 
made prisoners, owing to the fact that the Confederates were formed in 
an almost impenetrable thicket of scrubby haw trees, and immediately 
in their rear was a strong fence. This charge was repulsed with con- 
siderable slaughter. Zagonyi, falling back again to the ravine and reform- 
ing his men, repeated the charge a second and third time, with the 
same result. In these several charges the "Prairie Scouts," (Major 
White's men), although completely ignored in Major Zagonyi's oflacial 
reports, did gallant service under the immediate command of their senior 
Captain, Charles Fairbanks, and Lieutenant Connelly, the latter of whom 
was killed on his horse by a shot from the gun of a youth only fourteen 
years of age, John Wickersham, of Lebanon. 

The Union loss in the engagement was : Zagonyi's "Body Guard," 15 
killed, 27 wounded and 10 taken prisoners, — 52; White's "Prairie 
Scouts," killed, wounded and prisoners, 33 ; total 85. The Federal 
dead, with five Confederates, were turned over to the citizens of Spring- 
field for burial, and at eight o'clock that night, the Confederates, not 
deeming it prudent to remain in the vicinity, left for Price's headquarters 
at Neosho. 

Zagonyi also left Springfield the same night, deeming it unsafe to 
remain, and fell back until he met Sigel's advance, between Springfield 
and Bolivar. 

As already stated, on the first charge of Zagonyi, quite a large number 
of the mounted Confederates sought safety in flight, and at once pro- 
ceeded to Price's army, then stationed at Neosho, reporting to " Old 
Pap " that the remainder of the force had been killed or captured, they 
only being left to tell the tale. Price at once ordered Colonel Rives 
with all his cavalry to proceed to Springfield to retrieve the disaster. 

When the Confederates under Colonel Cloud reached Price's outposts, 
from the Zagonyi charge, and reported the true condition of affairs to 



HEKOISM OF A LAD. 401 

General MeBride, that officer ordered one of the majors who was en- 
gao;ed in the fight to proceed at once to General Price and report ta 
him. The officer met General Price on the prairie near Neosho, and 
stated to him that instead of a defeat, it was a victory, and that they had 
prisoners, arms and horses to show for it. " Old Pap " was in his car- 
riage, and when he heard this statement dropped his head on his breast 
in thought for a moment, when he brought down his fist on his knee witl 
the laconic expression " Damn a man with six legs/" alluding to the 
frightened stragglers who had the four legs of their horses in addition tc 
their own, on which to escape. 

About the time of the order of his supercession, Fremont directed 
General U. S. Grant, then at Cairo, to execute some co-operating move- 
ments. On September 6th, hearing of the invasion of Kentucky bj 
General Leonidas Polk, of Mississippi, Grant took possession of Padu- 
cah, and, a half mile below the town, threw across the Ohio river an 
immense pontoon bridge. Having thus closed an important gateway of 
supplies for the Confederates in interior Kentucky and Tennessee, he 
determined to cut off" reinforcements from Polk to Price by the way of 
Columbus. With this view he menaced Columbus by attacking Belmont 
(Nov. 7, 1861), a small village opposite on the Missouri shore. This he 
did successfully, by the wooden gunboats Tyler and Lexington, and by 
cavalry and infantry on shore. The fighting was desperate, both sides 
displaying great gallantry. 

The total loss (as reported at the time) on the Federal side, in killed, 
wounded, missing and prisoners, was 717 ; of whom 91 were killed, 278 
wounded, 206 missing, and 142 taken prisoners. The Confederates ac- 
knowledged a loss of 350 in killed alone, and many hundred in wounded 
and missino;. 

Many acts of heroism on both sides were related, among them that of 
a mere youth, a little boy, who was attached to Tappan's Arkansas Eeg- 
iment, and carried two mimic flags, one in each hand. The regiment 
was driven to the water's edge, and the Federals poured in a terrific 
volley, killing many, who fell into the river, and such as were not in- 
stantly killed met a watery grave. Among those struck was the little 
boy who bore the flags. Giving one last hurrah, which was cut short by 
the ebbing flood of his young life, he waved the flags over his head* 
tottered into the river, and was seen no more. The incident was wit- 
nessed by a whole regiment crossing the river at the time, and there was 
not one member of it who did not shed a tear at the sight. 
26 



402 HISTOEY OF MISSOUEI. 

Although Fremont's arm}' airived safely at Springfield at the begin- 
vii ag of November, the month provioiisi}^ closed up gloomily for his 
administration of the department. There was deep dissatisfaction every- 
where — at Washington and in Missouri. Even his old and fast friends, 
and the friends of his father-in-law (Colonel Benton), the Blairs — Frank 
P Blair and his brother Montgomery — could sustain him no longer. 

The national administration at Washington had sent the Secretary of 
W"ar and Adjutant General to Missouri to make personal observations of 
■lis army and to look into the affairs of his Department. These officers 
< /ertook Fremont, October 13th, at Tipton, the then western terminus 
of the Pacific railroad. Their personal interview was courteous and 
■undid. On their return to Washingion, the Adjutant General made a 
vsry unfavorable report of the condition of affairs in Missouri, which 
i.icreased and intensified the dissatisfaction with Fremont ; and the con- 
r^equence was that an order was issued, which reached him at Springfield 
ly special courier on November 2d, relieving him of his command, and 
iiirecting that he turn over the Department to General David Hunter, 
then some distance, in the rear. At the time of its receipt, Fremont was 
amid active arrangements for making a direct '^ forward movement" upon 
Price, who, first going to Neosho to protect Governor Jackson's se- 
cession legislature, pushed on to Pineville, McDonald countjs in the 
extreme southwestern corner of the State. Notwithstandino; the 
order relieving Fremont, one hundred and ten of his officers requested 
him, as General Hunter had not arrived, to lead the army against Price, 
who, it was reported, reinforced by McCulloch, was moving on Spring- 
field with 40,000 men to give him battle. With this request he prom- 
ised to compl}'^, provided General Hunter did not reach them by sunset 
of that day. Hunter failed to do so. Fremont issued marching orders, 
and the' entire army was alive with preparations for the movement ; but 
at midnight Hunter arrived, was informed of Fremont's plans, which he 
disapproved and countermanded, and the Union forces laid upon their 
arms. Five days afterwards, Hunter himself was superseded, and Ma- 
jor-General Henry Wager Halleck was appointed to the command of the 
Department. 

On November 4th, Fremont and his staff left Springfield for St. Louis, 
and the arm}' about the middle of the month commenced a retrograde 
march, followed by a large number of Union refugees. 

It was untrue that Price and McCulloch had marched from Pineville to 
give battle to Fremont. But after the Federal army left Springfield, the 



• GEj^EKAL PEICE'S peoclamation. 403 

Confederates under these two generals returned to the interior counties 
of the Southwest, and from time to time occupied differentpoints, as the 
best means for subsistence and recruiting were presented. Tlie near 
approach of winter seemed to forbid extensive military operations, and 
the campaign was practically ended for the season on both sides. 

Near the close of the month of November, from his headquarters at 
Neosho, Newton county. General Price issued "To the people of Central 
and North Missouri" a remarkable proclamation, in the form of an 
Extra Missouri Army Argus, a paper which was occasionally issued by- 
officers of his command, on a printing press and materials which accom- 
panied the army. It was melodramatic in style, and an importunate and 
stirring appeal for fifty thousand men. In fact it was much more 
than this — a virtual promise to all who should rally to his standard and 
suffered losses of property in consequence, that he would indemnify 
them "with interest" when he came in possession of the State, out of 
"two hundred million dollars' worth of Northern means in Missouri 
which could not be removed." 

This extraordinary paper is here copied in full, just as it was originally- 
issued : 

peoclamatio:n". 

To the People of Central and North Missouri: 

Fellow-Citizens : In the month of June last I was called to the command of a 
handful of Missourians, who nobly gave up home and comfort to espouse, in that gloomy 
hour, the cause of your bleeding country, struggling with the most causeless and crael 
despotism known among civilized men. When peace and protection could no longer he 
enjoyed but at the price of honor and liberty, your Chief Magistrate called for fifty 
thousand men to drive the ruthless Invader "from a soil made fruitful by your labors 
and consecrated by your homes ". 

To that call less than Jive thousand responded ; out of a male population exceeding two hun- 
dred thousand men, one in forty only stepped forward to defend with their persons and their 
lives, the cause of constitutional liberty and human rights! 

Some allowances are to be made on the score of a want of military organization ; a 
supposed want of arms ; the necessary retreat of the army southward ; the blockade of 
the river, and the presence of an armed and organized foe. But nearly six months have 
now elapsed; your crops have been tilled, your harvests have been reaped, your prepar- 
ations for winter have been made; the army of Missouri, organized and equipped, 
fought its way to the river. The foe is still in the field ; the country bleeds, and our 
people groan under the inflictions of a foe, marked with all the characteristics of bar- 
barian warfare — and where now are the fifty thousand to avenge our wrongs and free our 
country ? Had fifty thousand men flocked to our standard, with their shot guns in their 
hands, there would not be a Federal hirehng in the State to pollute our soil. Instead of 
ruined communities, starving families, and dessolated districts, we should have had a people 
blessed with protection, and with stores to supply the wants and necessities and com- 
forts of life. Where are those fifty thousand men? Are Missourians no longer true to 



404 IIISTOEY OF MISSOURL 

themselves? Are they a timid, time-serving, craven race, fit only for subjection to a des- 
pot? Awake, my countrymen, to a sense of what constitutes the dignity and true great- 
ness of a people ! Kfew men have fought your battles. A few men have dared the dan- 
gers of the battle-field. A few men have borne the hardships of the camp— the scorch- 
ing suns of summer, the privations incident to our circumstances — fatigue, and hunger, 
and thirst — often without blankets, without shoes, ^^•ith insufficient clothing, with the 
cold wet earth for a pillow — glad only to meet the- enemy on the field, where some paid 
the noblest devotion known among men on earth to the cause of your country and your 
rights with their lives. 

But where one has been lost on the field, three have been lost by diseases induced by 
privation and toil. During all these trials we have murmured not; we ofi"ered all we 
had on earth at the altar of our common country — our own beloved Missouri — and we 
onlj' now ask our fellow-citizens — our brethren, to come to us and help us to secure what 
we have gained, and to win our glorious inheritance from the cruel hand of the spoiler 
and the oppi-essor. Come to us! — brave sons of Missouri — rally to our standard. I must 
have fifty thousand men ! — I call upon you, in the name of your country for fifty thous- 
and men! Do you stay at home to take care of your property? Millions of dollars 
have been lost because you stayed at home! Do you stay at home for protection? 
More men have been murdered at home than I have lost in five successful battles! Do 
you stay at home to secure terms with the enemy? Then T warn you, the day may soon 
come when you may be surrendered to the mercies of that enemy, and your substance 
be given up to the Hessian and the jayhawker! I cannot, I will not attribute such mo- 
tives to you, my countrymen. But where are our Southern-rights friends? 

We must drive the oppressor from our land. I must have 50.000 men. ISTow is the 
crisis of your fate — now the golden opportunity to save the State ! Now is the day 
of your political salvation ! The time of enlistment of our brave band is beginning 
to expire. Do not tax their patience beyond endurance. Do not longer sicken tlieii' 
hearts by hope deferred. They begin to enquire, " Where are our friends?" Who shall 
give them answer? Boys and small property holders have, in the main, fought the bat- 
tles for the protection of your property. And when they ask. " Where are the men for 
whom we are fighting?" how shall I — how can I explain? Citizens of Missouri, I call 
upon you by every consideration of interest, by every desire ' of safety, by every tie that 
binds you to home and country, delay no longer. "Let the dead buiy the dead.'' Leave 
3'our property to take care of itself. Commend your homes to the protection of God, 
and merit the admiration and love of childhood and womanhood, by showing your- 
selves MEN", the sons of the brave and free who bequeathed to us the sacred trust of free 
institutions. Come to the army of Missouri, not for a week or month, but to free your 
country. 

" Strike, till each armed foe expires. 
Strike for your altars and your fires. 
Strike for the green graves of your sires^ 
God and your native land." 

The burning fires of patriotism must inspire and lead you or all is lost — ^lost, too, just 
at the moment when all might be forever saved. Numbers give strength. Numbei'S in- 
timidate the foe. Numbers save the necessity, often, of fighting battles. Numbers 
make our arms irresistible. Numbers command universal respect and insure confidence. 
AVe mwsif have men. 50,000 men! Let the herdsman leave his folds. Let the farmer 
leave his fields. Let the mechanic leave his shop. Let the lawyer leave his ofiice till we 
restore the supremacy of the law. Let the aspirant for office and place know they will 
be weighed in the balance of patriotism and may be found wanting. K there be anjr 



HALLECK ASSUJIES COMMAls^D OF THE DEPAETMENT. 405 

■craven, crouching spirits, who have not greatness of soul to respond to their country's 
call for help, let them staj^ at home, and let only the brave and true come out to join 
their brethren on the tented field. 

Come with supplies of clothing and with tents, if you can procure them. Come with 
your guns of any description that can be made to bring down a foe. If you have no 
arms, come without them, and we will supply you as far as that is possible. Bring cook- 
ing utensils, and rations for a few weeks. Bring blankets, and heavy shoes, and extra 
bed clothing, if you have them. Bring no horses to remain with the army except those 
necessary for baggage transporation. We must have 50,000 men. Give me these men, 
and by the help of God, I will drive the hireling bands of theives and marauders from 
the State. But if Missourians fail now to rise in their strength, and avail themselves of 
this propitious moment to strike for honor and liberty, you cannot say that we have not 
done all we could to save you. 

You will he advised in time at what point to report for organisation and active service. 
Leave your property at home. What if it he taken— all taken'i We have $200,000,000 
WORTH OF Northern means in Missouri vthich cannot be removed. When we 
are once free the amount will indemnify every citizen who may have lost a dollar by adhesion 
to the cause of .his country. We shall have our property or its value, with interest. But in 
the name of God and the attributes of manhood, let me appeal to you by considerations 
infinitely higher than money ! Are we a generation of driveling, sniveling, degraded 
slaves? Or are we men, who dare assert and maintain the right which cannot be sur- 
rendered, and defend those principles of everlasting rectitude, pure and high, and 
sacred like God, their author? Be yours the oflice to choose between the glory of a free 
country and a just government, and the bondage of your children! I will never see the 
chains fastened upon my country ! I will ask for six and a half feet of Missouri soil in 
which to repose, but will not live to see my people enslaved ! 

Do I hear your shouts ! Is that your war cry which echoes through the land ! Are 
you coming! Fifty thousand men ! Missouri shall move to victory with the tread of a 
giant! Come on my brave boys, fifty thousand heroic, gallant, unconquerable Southern 
men ! We await your coming, 

STEELDfG PEICE, 

Major General Commanding. 

The earnestness with which this call was made, and the inducements 
presented to incite a favorable response to it, aroused many of the citi- 
zens of the State to fly to Price's standand. To prevent their joining 
him, General John Pope was ordered to reconnoitre the country west oi 
Jefi^erson Citv and soutli of the Missouri river: and it was in this region, 
on the west side of Blackwater creek, in Johnson county, about the middle 
of December, that Colonel Jeff. C. Davis and Major Lewis Merrill captured 
a large body of them. 

When General Halleck, November 9, 1861, was appointed to the com- 
mand of the Department of Missouri, ^ he iiad but a few days previous 
reached Washington City, on the call of the President, from California. 
On the 19th he took the command, with headquarters in St. Louis, and 

iJt included Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Arkansas, and that por- 
tion of Kentucky west of the Cumberland Eiver. 



40 () 



HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 



proceeded to establish the most perfect discipline in the army, and to 
adopt measures designed to overcome the secessionists, and to protect 
the persons and property of Union citizens, and the railways and bridges 
■of the State from the depredations of roving bands of "bushwhackers". 
The city of St. Lonis being crowded with Union refugees from the dis- 
turbed sections of the interior, on December 12th he issued an order of 
assessment upon certain wealthy " southern " citizens for feeding and 
clothing them. On the 23d December, he declared martial law in St. 
Louis, and two days afterwards, by proclamation, extended it to all the 
railroads and the countr}- adjacent to them. The last order was inspired 
by the destruction, on the 20th of December, of about 100 miles of the 
North Missouri railroad by (it was charged) returned soldiers from 
Price's army and citizens acting in preconcert. The order fixed the pen- 
alty of death for the crime, and required the towns and counties along 
the line of any road thus destroyed to repair the damages or pay the 
cost of the repairs. 

During the year 1861, in addition to those already noticed, quite a 
large number of raids, surprises and skirmishes — some of them assuming 
the proportion of battles — occurred on both sides of the Missouri river. 
But the limits of this sketch forbid a detailed account of them ; and a 
brief mention, in chronological order, must suffice as a close of our account 
of the military campaign of 1861. 

May 14, Potosi, Washington County. July 10, Monroe Station, Hannibal and St. 
Joseph Eaih-oad. July 17, Fulton, or " Overton's Kun." August 20, Moreton, Missis- 
sippi County. September — , Bennett's Mills. September 10, Norfolk. September 17, 
Blue Mills Landing. September 20, Glasgow mistake, a second Little Bethel aftau-. 
September 25, Osceola. October 13. Shanghai. October 13, Lebanon. October 15, 
Linn Creek. October 15. Big River Bridge. October 21. Fredericktown. November 8, 
Piketon. November 10, Little Blue. November 11, Clark's Station, Pacific raih-oad. 
December 28, Mt. Zion Church, Boone County. 

Thus closed the campaign in Missouri in 1861. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

1862-1863-1864-1865— Missouri River AS A Rampart.— General Curtis Moves upon Spring- 
field, AND General Price Retreats to Cross Hollows, Ark.— Battle of Pea Ridge. 
—Provost Marshal General Farrar's Order about Newspapers.— New St. Louis 
Chamber of Commerce.— General Halleck's Order to the Officers of the Mer- 
cantile Library Association, and Officers of the State University.— Courts 
Martial at Palmyra and Columbia.— Prisoners Condemned and Shot.— Sentences 
Commuted.— The Boone County -'Standard" Confiscated.— General J. M. Scho- 
FiELD Succeeds General Halleck.— Colonel H. S. Lipscomb's Fight with Colonel 
Porter's Forces, at Cherry Grove.— MxUOr Jno. Y. Clopper at Pierce's Mill.— 
Porter's Flight to Moore's Mill, Callaway County.— Fight at Moore's Mill.— 
Fight at Kirksville.— Colonel Guitar's Pursuit of Ported in the Chariton 
Valley.— Fights at Compton's Ferry and Yellow Creek. — Battle at Indepen- 
dence. — Death of General Jno. T. Hughes.— Battles at Lone Jack and Newtonia. 
— Military Executions at Macon and Palmyra. — Cane Hill and Prairie Grove. — 
Battles at Springfield and Cape Girardeau.— Capture of Jeff. Thompson.— 
General Ewing's Order No. 11.— General Schofield's Letter, and General 
Bingham's Reply.— President Lincoln's Proposed Pardon of General Price.— 
Colonel Shelby's Raid upon Boonville. — General Rosecrans Assumes Command 
of the Department.— a large Confederate Force invades the State and threat- 
ens St. Louis and the Capital.— Shelby and Clark Capture Glasgow.— Rev. 
Wm. G. Cables killed.— Brutal treatment op Major Wm. B. Lewis by Bill 
Anderson.— Price's Forces driven out of the State into Arkansas.— The Cen- 
tralia Massacre.— Defeat and Horrible Butchery of Major Johnson by Bill 
Anderson's Guerrillas.— Execution in St. Louis of James M. Utz.— Lee's Sur- 
KBMDER.-LiNCOLN's Assassination.— Jeff. Davis' Capture— Close of the war. 

During the year 1861, as we have seen — that is, from the capture of 
Camp Jackson m May till the fight at Mount Zion Church, in Boone 
"County, hite in December, not less than sixty skirmishes and battles 
occurred in the State between the Federal and Confederate forces. 
More than half of these conflicts, and all of those which assumed the 
proportions of pitched battles, occurred on the south side of the Missouri 
Eivcr, because, throughout the war, for prudential and very apparent 
reasons, the Confederates did not peril the safety of their troops by organ- 
izing them in large bodies north of that stream. Therefore, the large 
armies of both sides, and the bloodiest battles, were south of it. Hence 
the Missouri Elver was a greater protection to the people north of it, 
from the desolations and untold horrors of the mighty conflict, than a 
military force of one hundred thousand men could have been. 

Nevertheless, the first year of the war, the continued presence of 
large or fragmentary armies, recruiting or organized, and in hostile array, 
■with their off-hand and sharp collisions or more premeditated battles, 
and the angry conflicts of opinion between the people themselves, seri- 



408 HISTOEY OF MISSOUKI. 

ously periled the peace of the State and airected disastrously every 
department of hidiistry. 

Although military operations were conducted on a large scale in other 
States, and were anticipated iu the southwestern portion of our own, the 
commencement of the year 1862 found Missouri comparatively quiet. 

Relieved, by the withdrawal of the Federal army from Springfield, of 
immediate danger, and encouraged by the promise of reinforcements 
from Arkansas under General Mcintosh., General Price concentrated 
about 12,000 men at Springfield, with the intention of remaining there 
all winter. But General Halleck very seriously interfered with this pur- 
pose by massing his forces at Lebanon, in Laclede County, under the 
command of General Samuel E. Curtis, and composed of the troops of 
Generals Asboth, Sigel, Davis and Prentiss. On February 11th, in the 
midst of very inclement weather, this force moved upon Springfield in 
three columns, and on the night of February 12-13, General Price folded 
his tents and retreated to Cassville with his whole army. Curtis closely 
pursued him to Cassville, and still southward, across the Arkansas line 
to Cross Hollows, thence to Suo-ar Creek near a rano;e of hills called 
" Boston Mountains," where Price — reinforced by McCuUoch — delivered 
battle, and was defeated, Februarj^ 20th. ^ He again retreated to Cove 
Creek where on the 25th he halted, thus leaving Missouri with no large 
organized Confederate force within its borders. 

Notwithstanding these repeated repulses and retreats, it was evident 
that General Price was preparing for a great and decisive battle. Occu- 
pying a strong position amid the defiles of the "Boston Mountains," and 
rapidly increasing in numbers behind the sheltering hills. Price became too 
formidable for further pursuit ; and therefore Curtis, realizing that pru- 
dence was the better part of valor, retraced his steps and fell back from 
Fayetteville to Sugar Creek, not far from Bentonville, Benton County, 
Arkansas. 

Yery soon Curtis received the intelligence that Price and McCulloch 
had been re-inforced, March 2d, by General Earl Van Dorn, but recently 
appointed commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department, and also by 
General Albert Pike, the lawyer-poet of Arkansas, at the head of a con- 
siderable body of Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw and other Indians — 

1 Some of Curtis' cavalry, under Colonel Ellis and Majors McConuell, Wright and 
Bolivar, made a chai'ge on a Louisiana brigade under Colonel Hubert, supported by two 
regiments of infantry under Colonel John S. Phelps, the present Governor of Missouri, 
and Colonel Heron, and Captain Hayden with his Dubuque batterj^ The fight was 
sharp and short, defeating the Confederates. 



BATTLE OF PEA ETDGE. 409 

the Confederate force aggregating about 25,000 men, as follows : McCul- 
loch's (Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas troops,) 13,000: Pike's Indians, 
with white troops in same command, 4,000; Price's Missouri troops, 
8,000. Total, 25,000.1 Force under Curtis, as per report of that 
officer, 10,500 men, inckiding cavalry and infantry, 49 pieces of artillery 
and one mountain howitzer. 

Yan Dorn was one of the most courageous and darino; of the Confed- 
ate officers, and his arrival was hailed with demonstrations of the liveliest 
joy. He assumed the chief command, and at once adopted vigorous 
measures for offensive action, with the view of drivino- Curtis back across 
the Missouri border. His presence inspired the whole Confederate army 
with enthusiasm, and they were "eager for the fray. " At the head of 
willing troops, Van Dorn marched rapidly on Curtis' encampment, and 
by the dash and celerity of his movements placed the Federal army in 
great and imminent peril. Early on the morning of March 6th, 1862, 
he marched vigorously to the attack, and there succeeded one of the 
most skillfully fought, desperate and sanguinary battles of the war ; 
and one which, with the laurel wreath of victory resting with fickleness 
first on this standard, then on that, continued with varying fortune 
through three entire days. Victory was finally awarded to the Union 
side, but after a loss of 1,351 in killed, wounded and missing, the divis- 
ion commanded by Colonel E. C. Carr suffering the greatest. Among 
the Federal dead was Colonel Hendricks of the 25th Indiana. The loss 
of the Confederates has never been officially reported, but it must have 
been large. Among the killed were Generals Ben. McCuUoch and Mcin- 
tosh and General Wm. Y. Slack, of Chillicothe, Missouri. The latter was 
found on the field mortally wounded, and was carried by Federal soldiers 
to a hospital, but lived only four hours. Colonels Conley and Eives of 
Missouri were also killed. McCulloch and Mcintosh were buried at Fort 
Smith. General Price was wounded in the arm below the elbow by a 
minio ball. 

Thus ended the battle of Pea Kidge, sometimes called the battle of 
Elk Horn Tavern. Each party conceded that the other displayed the 
greatest gallantry ; but the Union side charged, and the other denied, 
that the Indians employed under Pike were guilty of the savage atrocity 

1 Curtis in his ofScial report estimates the number "at least 30,000 or 40,000." 
Taylor's Eebellion Kecord, vol. 4, p. 417. An olticer of Price's army, in a letter to 
Honorable George C. Vest places it at 30,000 to 35,000. The 25th Missouri was gallantly 
led in this battle, on the Union side, by Colonel John S. Phelps, the present Governor 
■of the State. 



410 HISTOEY OF MISSOURI. 

of scalping unci otherwise mutilating the bodies of the wounded Federal 
dead upon the field. 

After the battle, Yan Dorn withdrew to the interior of Arkansas; 
and Curtis, after resting his army on the field, marched leisurely south 
and reached Batesville on May 6th. 

From the bloody field of Pea Ridge we return to Halleck's headquar- 
ters in St. Louis, and resume our narrative. 

Earnest protests having been made against the injustice of the assess- 
mieuts on wealthy Southern sympathisers by General Halleck's "Order 
No. 24," of December 12th, 1861, he appointed a new board of assess- 
ors to revise the lists and make such modifications as they deemed proper 
and right. 

On January 8th, 1862, Bernard G. Farrar, Provost-Marshal General, 
issued the following order in regard to the newspapers published in the 
State : 

Office of the Provost Marshal General, ") 

Department op the Missouri, [ 

[General Order No. 10.] St. Louis, January 8, 1862. J 

It is hereby oixlered that from and after this date, the publishers of newspapers in the 
State of Missouri, (St. Louis city papers excepted,) furnish to this office, immediately 
upon publication, one copy of each issue for inspection. A failure to comply with this 
order will render the newspaper liable to suppression. 

Local Provost Marshals will furnish the proprietors of newspapers with copies of 
this order, and attend to its immediate enforcement. 

Bernard G. Farrab, 
Provost Marshal General. 

On the same day on which this order was issueci, much excitement 
was occasioned in the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce by the refusal of 
a majority of the members, who were Southern sympathisers, and who 
had just elected officers reflecting their own views of the Avar, to admit a 
number of Union men as members. In consequence of their action, the 
Union members withdrew from the Chamber and a Union Chamber of 
Commerce was established. 

This event inspired General Halleck to the issue of an order (No. 81^ 
January 26th, 1862), requiring the officers of the Mercantile Library 
Association and of the Chamber or Chambers of Commerce to subscribe 
and file in the office of the Provost-Marshal General, within ten days, 
the oath prescribed by Article 6 of the Convention Ordinance of Octo- 
ber 16th, 1861. (See page 335.J In default of doing so, said officers 



PKISONEES CONDEMNED TO BE SHOT. 411 

would be deemed to have resigned ; and in the event of their exercising 
the functions of their several offices without having taken the oath, they 
would do so at the peril of arrest and punishment. The same order for- 
bade the display of secession flags in the hands of women or on carriages 
in the vicinity of the military prison in McDowell's College — the car- 
riao-es to be confiscated and the off'ending women arrested. ^ 

On the 4th of February a similar order was issued to the presidents 
and directors of all railroads in the State, and to the president, profes- 
sors, curators and other officers of the State University at Columbia — 
declaring in regard to the University that " this institution having been 
endowed by the government of the United States, its funds should not 
be used to teach treason or to instruct traitors." The same order 
required all clerks, agents and civil employes in the service of the United 
States to take the oath prescribed by Act of Congress, approved August 
6th, 1861 ; and recommended that all clergymen, professors and teach- 
ers, and all officers of public or private institutions for education or 
benevolence, and all engaged in business and trade, who were in favor 
of the perpetuation of the Union, voluntarily to take the convention 
oath, in order that their patriotism might be known and recognized. ^ 

At a military commission Avhich convened at Palmyra pursuant to 
special order No. 97, and dated December 27th, 1861, from General 
Halleck's headquai-ters — Colonel John Groesbeck, Thirty-Ninth Ohio 
Yolunteers, President — the following persons were arraigned and tried 
on the charge of bridge, railroad and car burning on the North Missouri 
Railroad, on the night of December 20th and 21st, 1861, and being 
found guilty were condemned "to be shot to death at such time and 
place as the Major-General Commanding the Department shall direct," 
namely: John C. Thompkins, Wm. J. Forshey, John Patton, Thomas 
M. Smith, Stephen Stott, George H. Cunningham, Richard B. Crowder 
and George M. PuUiam. General Halleck approved the finding of the 
court, thus condemning to death the prisoners at a time and place there- 
after to be designated by him, and deputed General B. M. Prentiss to 
notify them of his decision and warn them to prepare for the execution. 
The time and place were never designated. Hence the condemned men 
were never "shot to death," for on February 20th, 1862, General Halleck 
issued an order, No. 44, in which he declared that "in consideration of 
the recent victories won by the Federal forces, and of the rapidly increas- 
ing loyalty of the citizens of Missouri, who for a time forgot their duty to 

1 " Eebellion Eecord," Vol. 4, p. 52. 
2 ''Eebellion Eecord," Vol. 4, p. 129. 



412 HISTOEY OF MISSOUEI. 

their flag and country, the sentences of John C. Thompkiiis, Wm. J. 
Forshey, John Patton, Thomas M. Smith, Stephen Stott, George H. 
Cunningham, Richard B. Crowder and George M. Pulliam, heretofore 
condennicd to death, are provisional!}^ mitigated to close confinement in 
the militar}^ prison at Alton. If rebel spies again destroy railroads and 
telegraph lines, and thus render it necessary for us to make severe exam- 
ines, the original sentences against these men will be carried into exe- 
cution." 

A similar commission, Colonel Lewis Merrill, of " Merrill's Horse," 
president, pursuant to special orders No. 160, of February 20th, 1862, 
sat in Columbia, in March of the same year, and tried James Quiesen- 
berrj'-, James Lane and William F. Petty, on the charge of railroad and 
brido-e burning on the North Missouri railroad, on the night of December 
20-21, 1861, found them guilty and sentenced them to be shot at sucb 
time and place as the General commanding the department shall desig- 
nate ; in the meantime to be confined in Alton military prison. Nor 
were these men ever shot; but on recommendation of the commission, 
the sentence was mitigated by General Halleck in the cases of Quiesen- 
berry and Lane to final release on condition of their taking the oath of 
allegiance and giving bond in the sum of $2,000 each, for future loyalty 
to the government. Petty was also finally released. 

The same commission, at the same sitting, tried Edmund J. Ellis, of 
Columbia, editor and proprietor of " The Boone County Standard,''^ 
for the publication in said paper of information for the benefit of the 
enemy, and encouraging resistance to the Government of the United 
States, and inciting persons to rebellion against the same. Ellis was 
found guilty and sentenced to banishment from Missouri during the war, 
and that his printing materials be confiscated and sold, all which was 
done. 

Early in April, General Halleck left for Corinth, Mississippi, leaving 
Major-General John M. Schofield in command of the greater part of the 
State ; and on June 1st he assumed command of the entire Department 
of Missouri, establishing his headquarters at St. Louis. On July 22d, 
Governor Gamble, desiring to repress the numerous guerrilla outbreaks 
in the State, authorized General Schofield, whom he appointed Brigadier- 
General of the Missouri Militia, to organize the State Militia into com- 
panies, regiments and brigades, and to call such portion of it into active 
service in the field as might be required to put down all the marauders 
and secure the peace of the State and the safety of the people and their 
property. Measures Avere at once adopted by him to accomplish these 
objects. 



MAJOK CLOPPEK AT PIEKCE'S MILL. 413 

Oar limits forbid that we should follow the guerrilla bands of the State 
under Porter, Cobb, Poindexter, Quantrel, CoiFee and others, or to note 
the active steps taken by the Union troops under various commanders to 
circumvent their designs and capture or drive them from the State. 

After a series of desultory skirmishes, north and south of the Missouri 
liiver — at Silver Creek, Howard County, January 15th, between the 
Union forces under Major Hunt of " Merrill's Horse," Major Hubbard 
of the First Missouri, and Major Torrence ol the First Iowa, and South- 
ern troops under Colonel Poindexter; at New Madrid, New Madrid 
Comity, February 28th, between General John Pope and Jeff. Thompson ; 
at Neosho, Newton County, April 22d, between Major Hubbard and 
Colonel Stainwright's regiment of Indians; at Rose Hill, Cass County, 
July 10th, between Captain Kehoe and Lieutenant Wright and Colonel 
W. C. Quantrel ; north of Keytesville on the Chariton Eiver, Chariton 
County, July 30th, between Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander M. Woolfolk 
and eight}' guerrillas — we come to the extraordinary pursuit of, and 
brilliant skirmishes and bloody fights with, the partisan bands of seces- 
sionists led by Colonel Jo. C. Porter.^ 

This band was first encountered the latter part of June, at Cherry 
Grove, in Schuyler County, by Colonel H. S. Lipscomb with about 450 
State Militia, who, after repulsing them in a sharp fight, pursued them 
to New Ark, Knox Count}', where the pursuit was abandoned. Next 
they were discovered in a heavy ambuscade at Pierce's Mill on the 
south side of the Middle Fabius, Scotland County, where Major John Y. 
Clopper, with a detachment of "Merrill's Horse," made three unsuccess- 
ful charges to dislodge them. Reinforced by Major Rogers, the object 
was accomplished, after heroic resistance by Porter's men. Driven from 
their ambush, Porter's men retreated south, and in less than twenty-four 
hours were at Novelty, Knox County, sixty-four miles distant. Still 
pursuing a southern direction, they swept by Warren, Marion County, 
thence (July 22nd) to Florida, in Monroe, where they surprised and fired 
upon a small detachment of Federal troops under Major H. C. Caldwell 
of the Third Iowa (now on the Suj^reme Court Bench of Arkansas,) and 
dashed on to the heavily timbered region about Brown's Spring, ten 
miles north of Fulton, Callaway County. Hearing of their encampment 
there, Colonel Odon Guitar, of the Ninth Missouri State Militia, left 
Jefferson City on Sunday morning, July 27th, with about 200 men and 



1 Colonel Porter, 3d Missouri Cavalry, C. S. A., died February IS, 1863, and was bulled 
about eigbt miles from Little Kock, Arkansas. 



^^^ HISTORY OF MISSOUEI. 

two pieces of artillery i for the purpose of attacking them. On Saturday 
(the day before) Lieutenant-Colonel W. F. Shaffer, of "Merrill's Horse," 
left Columbia Avith about 100 men, and, taking Sturgeon in the way, was 
there joined by Major Clopper with a hundred more. Major Caldwell, 
with a detachment of the Third Iowa and a part of Colonel J. M. Glover's 
regiment, also left Mexico ; and the two columns, believing Porter to be 
encamped there, marched for Mt. Zion Church, in the northeast part 
of Boone County. Not finding him, on Monday, July 28th, they pur- 
sued their way into Callaway County, until, about 2 o'clock p. m., they 
heard Gruitar's cannon four or five miles distant ; for, before their arrival 
on the field, Guitar had furiously engaged the enemy in the thick under- 
brush and heavy timber near Moore' s Mill . Shaffer and Caldwell hastened 
to the scene of conflict, and arrived in time very materially to aid in 
achieving the victory so heroically wrung from men who fought with 
desperation to the last. Many were killed and wounded on bo^h sides. 
After the fight at Moore's Mill, the forces under Porter and AlvinCobb 
retraced their steps and retreated north, joining a large body of troops 
under J. A. Poindexter near Kirksville, the county-seat of Adair, 
where, on August 6th, General John H. McNeil, with detachments of the 
Ninth Missouri State Militia under Captain Leonard, and of '« Merrill's 
Horse" under Lieutenant-Colonel Shaffer, attacked the joint force, 
numbering from 1,500 to 2,000 men, completely routing them. Porter 
and Poindexter reached Kirksville a few hours before their pursuers, and, 
ordering the citizens to evacuate the town, posted their troops in the 
court house, seminary, stores and private residences, the better to 
protect them in the coming battle. The Missouri Statesman of August 
22d, 1862, giving an account of the battle, derived from persons who 
participated in it, says that — 

Colonel McNeil, approaching from the eastern side of town, drew up his forces 
before it. Not knowing the exact position of the enemy, he ordered ten men of 
Merrill's Horse to charge through the town and discover their places of concealment. 
They obeyed the order, and the rebels, in their eagerness, fii-ed upon them from houses, 
stables, and other places affording them protection from the missiles which were shortly 
to be poured upon the town. Captains Samuel A. Garth and Beeves Leonard, of 
Guitar's regiment were then ordered to get their men in line and make another charge. 
The captains, getting their men in motion, charged through the centre of the town, 
attacking the rebels in their strongholds and at every step routing and pursuing them 
with great slaughter. They and their men behaved with the greatest coalness and 
bravery; and when the rebels saw their determination and courage they fled precipi- 
tately to the brush on the western side. Captain Henry N". C >ok, of Guitar's Eegiment, 

1 Parts of companies A, Captain Eeeves Leonard; B, Captain Saml. A. Garth; 0, 
Captain John D. McFarlane; G, Captain Thomas B. Eeed; L, Captain H, N. Cook. 



FIGHTS AT COMPTOK'S FEEKY AUD YELLOW CEEEK. 415 

was also in the engagement. He and his company made a furious charge on some 
houses in the northern part of the town, and acting with undaunted bravery, captured 
and liilled a great many rebels. 

Lieutenant Colonel Shaffer commanded a detachment of Merrill's Horse, which 
rendered gallant and efficient services. 

Whilst the Federal troops were posted in selected portions of the town, the artillery 
was playing with terrific effect. Houses were riddled and torn to pieces, and the fleeing 
rebels, when they could escape, sought safety in the woods. 

In three hours the town was in possession of McNeil, aad the force of 
Porter and Poindexter in fnll retreat toward the Cliariton River, The 
rebel loss m the battle — killed, wounded and prisoners — was between 
200 and 300. i McNeil's loss, eight Idlled and a large number wounded. 
Colonel Guitar, having returned to Jefferson City from Moore' s Mill 
on account of serious illness, immediately entered upon preparations for 
the pursuit of Porter, and on Friday, the 8th, landed from a steamer at 
Glasgow a considerable force. Continuing the pursuit, he overtook 
Porter at 9 o'clock on Monday night, at Compton's Ferry on Grand River 
in Carroll County. A portion of Porter's men had crossed before his 
arrival, but a large number, with all their baggage, horses, wagons, etc., 
were yet to cross. Guitar ordered his troops, portions of his own regi- 
ment and portions of "Merrill's Horse" under Major C. B. Hunt, to 
charge, which they did, at the same time opening upon the demoralized 
and fleeing guerillas with two pieces of artillery. The effect was terrible. 
Many, in their eagerness to escape, threw away their guns and plunged 
on their horses into the river, but many of the horses became unman- 
ao-eable and returned to the shore from whence thev started. Some were 
drowned. A large number of prisoners, all their baggage, together with 
a great number of horses, mules, guns and wagons, were captured. 
Poindexter continued hurriedly in a northern direction, crossing the 
Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad at Utica on Tuesday morning. Near 
here he was intercepted and driven back by General B. F. Loan. In his 
retreat south, Guitar met him, on the 13th, at Yellow Creek in Chariton 
County, again routing him, and scattering and breaking up his band. 
Guitar then returned with his command to Jefferson City.^ 

1 After the battle at Kirksville, seventeen prisoners were condemned to death, and 
shot by order of Colonel McNeil, for violation of their parole; they having been 
caught in arms after taking the oath of allegiance. Among the number was Lieutenant - 
Colonel McCulloch, second in command under Poindexter, who met his fate courage- 
ously, giving the order himself for the executioners to fire. 

2 After the several engagements at Moore's Mill, Kirksville, Compton's Ferry and 
Yellow Creek, Governor Gamble promoted Colonel Guitar to Brigadier-General of 
Enrolled Missom-i Militia. 



416 HISTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 

The next engagement of any considerable interest in the State was at 
Independence, before the break of day on the morning of Monday, Au- 
gust 11th. The town was garrisoned by battalions of Missouri Infantry 
and Cavalry imder Lieutenant-Colonel J. T. Buell, Seventh Missouri 
Volunteer Cavalry, about 450 strong. The Eebel forces, in command of 
General John T. Hughes, of Clinton County, (author of "Doniphan's 
Expedition," and an old school-fellow of the writer,) numbered 600 to 
800 men, and, ►entering town by the Harrisonville and Big Spring roads, 
commenced a vigorous attack, and were in almost every part of town be- 
fore the Federal force had any notice of their approach. One portion of 
Hughes' command at once surrounded Colonel Buell's headquarters, 
thus cutting him off from communication with his men, another por- 
tion attacked the provost-guard at the jail, while the larger portion took 
possession of the gardens, orchards, fields and buildings which com- 
manded the camp. The Federal forces fought with daring courage, and 
the same is true of their assailants; but completely surprised and 
taken at disadvantage, and enfiladed on all sides, as many of them as 
were able to do so retreated from the streets into the pasture of Hon. 
Samuel H. Woodson, and formed behind a stone fence. It was here 
that General Hughes was shot dead from his horse, leading his men to a 
desperate charge. Colonel Buell, observing that his camp was evac- 
uated, and that further resistance was useless, ran up a white flag and 
surrendered the post. The loss was heavy on both sides. 

The united forces of the Rebel commanders — Coffee, Hunter, Tracy, 
Jackman and Cockerhills — attacked Major Foster with 800 State Militia, 
at Lone Jack, a small village in the southeastern corner of Jackson 
County, on August 16th, defeating him and capturing two piece of artil- 
lery.^ The loss on each side was about fifty killed and from seventy-five to 
one hundred womided. Among the wounded was Major Foster. Hearing 



lAmong the remarkable incidents of the battle, the following is worthy of record : 
When the Federal forces had fallen back and taken refuge in a large hotel, and were 
pouring from its windows a death-lire upon the Confederates, causing them to lie down 
and take shelter behind the plank fencing that surrounded the hotel, news came to the 
head-quarters of General Coffee that his men had exhausted their cartridges. Volun- 
teers were called for, to risk their lives in that terrible storm of minie balls, and supply 
the soldiers jjehind the fencing with the needed ammunition. David K. Boneton, a son of 
Judge Jesse A. Boneton, of Boone County, responded ; and filling a carpet sack with the 
deadly missiles, mounted his fuie charger (named " Sterling Price") , and dashed forward 
on his mission. He sat on his horse and distributed the cartridges amid a storm of 
bullets, coming out unscathed. 



MILITARY EXECUTIONS AT MACON AND PALMYEA. 417 

of the approach of General James G. Blunt, the Rel)els, 3,000 strong, 
immediately commenced a retreat south under cover of the night. ^ 

'■'^1 September 13th, 1862, at Newtonia, a small village about twelve 
east of Neosho, the county seat of Newton County, a desperate en- 
,r ■'ut occurred between a large body (about 5,000) of Kansas, Wis- 
-I'l Missouri and Indian troops — infantry, cavalryaud artillery — under 
the command of General F. Salomon, and a Confederate force of 8,000 
or 10,000, under Colonels Cooper and Jo. Shelby, in which the Union 
forces were repulsed and compelled to retreat back to Sarcoxie, a dis- 
tance of fifteen miles. Large numbers were killed and wounded on 
both sides. 2 

At this point we make a divergence from the record of skirmishes and 
battles between contending forces in the field, and from the pursuits, re- 
treats, surprises and captures to which we have been giving attention, 
to two of those atrocities which unhappily blacken the history of the 
civil war in Missouri. Personally, and for the fair fame of the State, we 
would prefer to omit them altogether, and allow the insetting tide of 
oblivion to conceal them from mortal memory forever. But justice to 
" the truth of history " demands that the facts be recorded in regard to 
them, and we will not shrink from the duty. 

One of these atrocities was the execution, at Macon, Mo., on Friday, 
the 25th of September, 1862, of ten Rebel prisoners, on the triple charge, 
of treason, perjury and murder; and the other the execution, at Pal- 
myra, Mo., on Saturday, October 18th, 1862, of a similar number to 
expiate the abduction and probable murder, by some of Porter's band, 
of one Andrew Allsman, a Union citizen of Marion County. 

On the day previous to the execution at Macon, 144 prisoners, who had 
been confined in the " Harris House," in that place, were sent by rail- 
road to St. Louis for imprisonment during the war. The ten retained 
had been condemned by General Lewis Merrill, or by a drum-head 
court-martial, to be " shot to death," because, as it was claimed, " each 
one of them had for the third time been captured while engaged in the 
robbing and assassination of his own neighbors," and therefore were the 
most depraved and dangerous of the gang. It was also charged, and 
we take it for granted established by competent proof, that " all of them 
had twice, some of them three, and others had four times made solemn 
oath to bear faithful allegiance to the Federal Government, to never take 

1 General Blunt's report, "Eebellion Record," Vol. 5, p. 582. 
^ See reports of General P. Salomon, Colonel George H. Hall (of St. Joseph) , Colonel 
4tli Cavalry M. S. M., and General Jas. S. Eains, "RebeUion Record," Vol. 5, pp. 620-22. 
27 



418 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

up arms in behalf of the Eebel cause, but in all respects to deport 
thcniselvesas true and loj^al citizens' of the United States." And it was 
further charged that " every man of them had perjured himself as often 
as he had subscribed to this oath, and at the same time his hands were 
red with repeated murders." The names of the condemned men were 
Frank E. Drake, Doctor A. C. Kowe, Elbert Hamilton, William Searcy, 
J. A. Wysong, J. H. Fox, Edward Kiggs, David Bell, John H. Oldham 
and Jas. H. Hall. 

The ceremonies attending their execution were exceedingly impressive. 
On the morning of the 25th the condemned were separated from their 
comrades and confined in a freight car on the Hannibal and St, Joseph 
railroad, and were at the same time informed of the doom that awaited 
them. The next day Keverend Doctor R. W. Landis, Chaplain of the 
cavalry regiment known as " Merrill's Horse," was present to attend to 
the spiritual interests of the condemned. He called on them on the 
evening of the 25th, and found them all deeply penitent and apparently 
making earnest preparations for death. They confessed they had 
wronged the Government, wronged the State, wronged their neighbors 
and themselves, yet they declared they were not wholly responsible for 
their own acts. They had been led into evil — so they pleaded — through 
the influence of others. 

The prisoners spent most of the night in prayer. Next morning 
urgent appeals were made to General Merrill, who was present in Macon, 
to spare their lives ; to have them tried by the civil courts ; to imprison 
'them till the end of the war ; but he did not modify their sentence. 
One of these appeals came in the shape of a letter, written by the young- 
est of the ten — about twenty or twenty-one years of age — and simply 
claimed mercy for the writer. It was received early on the morning of 
the execution, and as the General was still in bed, the note was placed 
in the hands of his Adjutant. The following is a verbaiim copy : 

" general for god sake spare my life for i am a hoy i was perswadecl do what i have 
done and forse i will go in service and figt for you and stay with yon douring the war i 
wood been figting for the union if it had bin for others. 

"J.A. WXSONG." 

At 11 o'clock, A. M., the procession was formed, and the silent multi- 
tude, civil and military, moved at the signal of the muffled drum, toward 
the field of execution near the town. 

The executioners were detailed from the Twenty-third Missouri In- 
fantry, and numbered sixty-six men. They marched six abreast, with a 



MILITAKY EXECUTIONS AT MACON AND PALMYEA. 419 

prisoner in the rear of each file. A hollow square, or rather parallelo- 
gram, was formed on a slightly declining prairie a half mile south of the 
town. The executioners formed the south line of this square, the bal- 
ance of the Missouri Twenty-third the east and west lines, and Merrill's 
Horse the north. The executioners were divided off into firing parties 
of six for each prisoner, leaving a reserve of six that were stationed a 
few paces in the rear. General Merrill and staff were stationed close 
within the northeast angle of the square. The firing parties formed a 
complete line, but were detached about two paces from each other. 
Each prisoner was marched out ten paces in front, and immediately 
south of his six executioners. 

This order having been completed, the prisoners were severally blinded 
with bandages of white cloth, and were then required to kneel for the 
terrible doom that awaited them. At this time every tongue was silent, 
and nothing was more audible than the heart-throbs of the deeply moved 
and sympathizing multitude. At a signal from the commanding- 
officer, Rev. Dr. Landis stepped forward to address the Throne of Grace. 
His prayer was the utterance of a pitying heart, brief and impressive. 
It was an earnest appeal for pardoning mercy for those who were about 
to step into the presence of G(jd and Eternity. And then followed the 
closing scenes of this bloody drama. The prisoners remained kneeling, 
while sixty muskets were pointed at their palpitating hearts. The sig- 
nal is given and the fatal volleys discharged, and the ten doomed men 
make a swift exit from time to eternity !^ The bodies of five of the 
deceased were claimed by their respective friends; the balance were 
interred by military direction. 

Whatever may be said to excuse, extenuate, or justify this execution, 
what can be pleaded to mitigate the horrible butchery at Palmyra a few 
weeks thereafter? The record of that event is, briefly, that on the 
occasion, a short time previous, of Porter's descent upon Palmyra, he 
oaptnred, among other persons, an old resident and a Union man by the 
name of Andrew Allsman. He had formerly belonged to the Third Mis- 
souri Cavalry, though too old to endure the more active duties of the 
service. He was therefore detailed as special or extra Provost-Marshal's 
guard ; and being an old resident and widely acquainted with the people 
and localities of the county, he was frequently called upon to give infor- 
mation touching the loyalty of men, and the way to difi'erent places ; often 
accompanying scouting parties into the surrounding country. He there- 

I D. S. Washburne was on the same day executed at Huntsville. 



420 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

fore became specially oljuoxious to the " Southern element" in Marion 
County, and encountered the bitter hatred of the guerrillas and bush- 
whackers. All other prisoners captured by Porter were released but 
him, and nothing having been heard of him, it was supposed, and is yet 
supposed, for he has not since been seen — he was murdered by them. 

Soon after the capture of Allsman, General John H. McNeill garri- 
soned Palmyra w ith Federal troops, and issued and had published in the 
papers the following order : 

Palmyra, Mo., October S, 1862. 
Joseph C. Porter : — Sir : Andrew Allsman, an aged citizen of Palmyra, and a non- 
combatant, having been carried from his home bj^ a band of persons nnlawf ally arrayed 
against the peace and good order of the State of Missouri, and which baud was under 
yom* control ; this is to notify you that unless said Andrew Allsman is returned unharmed 
to his family within ten days from date, ten men who have belonged to your band, 
and unlawfully sworn by you to carry arms against the government of the United States, 
and who are now in custody, Mali be shot as a meet reward for their crimes, among 
which is the illegal restraining of said Allsman of his liberty, and, if not returned, pre- 
sumably aiding in his murder. Your prompt attention to this will save much suffering.. 

Yours, etc., W. R. Strachan, 

Provost Marshal General District jST. E. Missouri^ 
Per order of Brigadier General commanding McNeill's column.. 

A duplicate in writing of this notice was placed in the hands of the 
wife of Colonel Porter, at her residence in Lewis County, in addition to 
its wide circulation in the newspapers. Yet the ten days elapsed, and 
no tidings came of the abscfnt (and perhaps murdered) Allsman. There- 
fore on the day previous to the day of execution, ten prisoners were 
selected to render the forfeit of their lives, at the musket's nuizzle, for 
the continued and unexplained absence of a man for whose capture, im- 
prisonment, or death — as the case might be — they were not responsible. 
The names of the prisoners so selected were as follows 

Willis Baker, Thomas Hurnston, Morgan Bixler and John Y. McPheeters, of 
Lewis County; Herbert Hudson, John M. Wade and Marion Lair, of Ralls County; 
Captain Thomas A. Snider, of Monroe County ; Eleazer Lake, of Scotland County, and 
Hiram Smith, of LcAvis County.^ 

Most of the condemned men received the solemn announcement with 
composure or indifference. Rev. James S. Green, of Palmyra, remained 

1 It has been reported and occasionally published in the newspapers since the war, 
that Hiram Smith, of Lewis County, was not one of those originally selected for this 
sacrifice; that he — a young lad of seventeen, and an orphan without relatives — 
volunteered to take the place of Mr. Humphreys, of Knox, an old man with a wife and 
eight children, and that finally Smith was substituted for Humphreys and suffered death 
in his stead. This remarkable story may be trae ; nevertheless the writer of this sketch 
has never been able, after some effort, to confirm it by indisputable evidence. 



MILITARY EXECUTIOlSrS AT MACON AND PALMYEA. 421 

witli them during the night, as spiritual adviser, endeavoring to point 
the way to that "better country" where they would hear of war — its 
rio-ors and injustice and scenes of blood — no more forever. 

Teh Palmyra Courier gives this account of the closing drama : 

A little after eleven o'clock, A. M., three Government wagons drove to the jail. One 
contained four and the others three rough board coffins. The condemned men were 
conducted from the prison and seated in the wagons — ^one upon each coffin. A sufficient 
guard of soldiers accompanied them, and the cavalcade started for the fair grounds 
(half a mile east of the town), and driving within the circular amphitheatrical ring, 
paused for the final consummation of the scene. 

The ten coffins were removed from the wagons and placed in a row, six or eight feet 
apart, forming a line north and south, about fifteen paces east of the central pagoda oi 
music-stand in the centre of the ring. Each coffin was placed upon the ground with 
its foot west and head east. Thirty soldiers of the Second M. S. M. were drawn up in 
a single line, extending north and south, facing the row of coffins, leaving a space 
between them and tire coffins of twelve or thirteen paces. Reserves were drawn up in 
line upon either flank. 

The arrangements completed, the doomed men knelt upon the grass between their 
coffins and the soldiers, while the Reverend R. M. Rhodes offered up a prayer. At the 
'Conclusion of this, each prisoner took his seat upon the foot of his coffin, facing the 
muskets, which in a few moments were to launch them into eternity. Tliey were nearly 
all firm and undaunted. Two or three only showed signs of trepidation. 

The most noted of the ten was Captain Thos. A. Snider, of Monroe County, Avhose 
capture at Shelbyville, in the disguise of a woman, we related several weeks since. He 
was now elegantly attired in a suit of black broad-cloth, with white vest. A luxurious 
growth of beautiful hair rolled down upon his shoulders, which, with his fine personal 
appearance, could not but bring to mind the handsome but vicious Absalom. There 
was nothing especially worthy of note in the appearance of the others. One of them, 
Willis Baker, of Lewis County, was proven to be the man who last year shot and killed 
Mr. Ezekiel Pratte, his Union neighbor, near Williamstown, in that county. All the 
others were rebels of lesser note, the particulars of whose crimes we are not familiar 
with. 

A few minutes after one o'clock, Colonel Strachan, Provost-Marshal General, and the 
Rev. Mr. Rhodes, shook hands with the prisoners. Two of them accepted bandages 
for their ej^es — all the rest refused. A hundred spectators had gathered around the 
amphitheatre to witness the impressive scene. The stillness of death pervaded the 
place. 

The officer in command now stepped forward and gave the word of command: 
"Ready; aim; fire!" The discharges, however, were not made simultaneously — 
probably through want of a perfect previous understanding of the orders and of the 
time at which to fire . Two of the rebels fell backward upon their coffins and died 
instantljr. Captain Snider sprang forward and fell with his head toward the soldiers, 
his face upward, his hands clasped upon his breast, and the left leg drawn half way np. 
He did not move again, but died instantly. He had requested the soldiers to aim at his 
heart, and they obeyed but too implicitly. The other seven were not killed outright; 
so the reserves were called in, who dispatched them with their revolvers. 

The lifeless remains were then placed in coffins, the lids, upon which the name of 
each man was written, were screwed on, and the direful procession returned to town by 
the same route that it pursued in going. 

Friends came and took seven of the corpses. Three were buried by the military ia 
the public cemetery. The tragedy was over. 



422 HISTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 

The great battle at Cane Hill, neai Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Sunday, 
December 6tli, 18(52, between the Confederate troops under General 
Thomas Hindman of Arkansas, and General John S. Marmaduke of Mis- 
souri, and the Federal forces commanded by General James G. Blunt of 
Kansas, in which the former were defeated, was the last great engage- 
ment of the year in which Missourians participated. Among the Confed- 
erate killed was General Steine, Brigadier-General Missouri State Guard. 
The following is a brief official report of General Blunt to Major-Gen- 
eral S. E. Curtis, Commandant of the Department of Missouri : 

Prairie Grove, December 10, 1862. 
Major General 8. B. Curtis: The enemy did not stop in their flight until they had 
crossed the Boston Mountains, and are probably ere this across tlie Arlvansas river. 
The enemy's killed and wounded is between 1500 and 2000 — a large proportion of 
them killed. One hundred of their wounded have died since the battle, and a large 
proportion of the others are wounded mortally, showing the terrible effects, of my 
artillery. My casualties will be about 200 wounded. Most of the wounded will 
recover. The enemy have left their wounded on m}^ hands, and most of their dead, 
uncared for. They are being buried by my command. Hindman admitted his force 
to be 28,000. Major Hubhard, who Avas a prisoner with them all day of the fight, 
counted twenty regiments of infantr}^ and twenty pieces of artillery. They had no 
train with them, and muffled the wheels of their artillery in making their retreat. 
Four cassions filled with ammunition were taken from the enemy. The Twentieth 
Eegiment Wisconsin Volunteers, in addition to those mentioned yesterday, suffered 
severely in charging one of the enemy's batteries, which they took, but were unable 
to hold. 

James G. Blunt, 

Brigadier General. 

On the night of December 20th, 1862, some of the returned soldiers 
from Price's army, aided by citizens, destroyed or rendered useless for 
the time about one hundred miles of the North Missouri (now St. Louis, 
Kansas City and Northern) railroad. Commencing a few miles south of 
Macon, (then called Hudson, i) they burned the bridges, water tanks, 
ties and piles of wood, and tore up the rails for many miles, and 
destroyed the telegraph. 

1863. — The third year after the rebellion, 1863, was opened by an attack, 
January 8th, by General John S. Marmaduke, on the Federal stockade 
forts at Springtield, under General E. B. Brown, commander of the 
Southwestern department of Missouri. General Brown being severely 
wounded in the action, turned over the command to Cok)nel B. Crabb, 
who reported to General Curtis as follows : 

1 Called Hudson in honor of the late Thomas B. Hudson, of St. Louis, one of the 
early presidents of the North Missouri Eailroad. 



CAPTUEE OF JEFF. THOMPSON. 423 

Springfield, January 10, 1863. 

Major General Curtis : — General: The enemy attacked us on the 8th. They were 
about 5000 to 6000 strong, with three pieces of artillery, under command of Marmaduke, 
Burbridge, Shelby, McDonald, and others. They fought from one o'clock until after 
dark, with desperation, but were repulsed at every advance. 

General Brown was severely wounded in the left arm near the shoulder, about 5 
o'clock p. M. He turned the command over to me. 

The enemy withdrew to a safe distance under cover of darkness. On the morning of 
the 9th, they made demonstrations, in full force, from another point. We made such 
preparations to meet them as we had at our command, but finally they concluded 
discretion was the better part of valor, and retreated. 

They divided their forces. One portion went to Sand Spring — the other went on 
the Bock Biver road. We did not have force sufficient to follow. 

Beinforcements of enrolled militia arriving during the day and night, I sent, early 
this morning, what force could be spared to follow them, and harrass their rear, and 
report their movements. General Brown was ' constantly in the front, superintending 
every movement. By his coolness and bravery, he has endeared himself to all under 
his command. 

Your most obedient servant, 

B. Crabb, Colonel Commanding. 

The Cavalry, (M. S. M.), engaged in the fight on the Union side were 
commanded by Colonel Edward S. King, of JeiSerson City, and Colonel 
George H. Hall, of St. Joseph, both of whom charged the Confederates 
with great bravery on their advance to the town. A battalion of cavalry 
in charge of Lieutenant-Colonel Pounds, 14th M. S. M,, also did efficient 
service. In the detailed official report of Colonel Crabb, honorable 
mention is also made of Lieutenant Hofi'man, of Backhoff's First Mis- 
souri Light Artillery, Lieutenant-Colonel Cook and Captains Landes, 
Blue, Vanmeter and Stonaker, and Lieutenant Wilson, of the 18th Iowa 
Infantry, Lieutenant Root of the 19th Iowa, and Colonel Sheppard of the 
72d E. M. M. Doctor S. H. Mercher mustered some 300 convalescents — 
the " Quinine Brigade" — from the hospitals, and Captain C. B. McAfee, 
(a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1 875 from Greene County, 
and the law partner of Governor Phelps,) organized about 100 soldier* 
who had recently been discharged, and engaged in the fight. Captains 
B'lue and Yanmeter were killed. The General loss was fourteen killed 
and 144 wounded. Confederate loss not known. 

On Sunday morning, April 26th, Federal John H. McNeill, then sta- 
tioned at Cape Girardeau, having first received and declined a demand 
to surrender, was attacked by a large Confederate force under Generals 
Marmaduke and Burbridge, which was repulsed. 

During the last week in August, Colonel R. G. Woodson, 3d Cavalry, 
M. S. M., with a force of about 600 strong, moved from Pilot Knob to 
Greenville, thence by rapid marches to Pocahontas, Arkansas. When 



424 HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 

within four miles of the latter place he ascertained that General Jeff. 
Thompson, "the Swamp Fox," — he who had " cattle on ten thou. i... ' 
iiills,"~was there with little or no force. Being very desirous to cap- 
ture him, Colonel Woodson ordered Captain Gentry, of the 2d Cavalry, 
M. S. M., to hasten with all possible dispatch, with the adrance, and 
surprise and arrest him, which he did, finding Thompson quietly sitting 
in his office tracing a mnp of Southeast Missouri, having no idea there 
were Federal troops within ahimdred miles of him. General Thompson 
accompanied by his staff officers — who were also captured, viz : Captain 
Reuben Kay, Adjutant General, Captain Robert McDonald, Assistant 
Adjutant General, and Dr. Marcus Train, Surgeon — were sent under 
guard to St. Louis, and committed to Gratiot prison. 

On the 25th of August, General Thomas Ewing, of the 11th Kansas 
Infantry Volunteers, and at this time, (1877), a Democratic member of 
Congress from the 12th Ohio district, issued the following order : 

[General Orders Ko. 11.] 

Headquarters District of the Border,"! 
Kansas City, Mo., August 25, 1863. / 

First — All persons living in Cass, Jackson, and Bates Counties. Missouri, and in that 
part of Vernon included in this district, except those living within one mile of the 
limits of Independence, Hickman's Mills, Pleasant Hill, and Harrisonville, and except 
those in that part of Kaw Township, Jackson County, north of Brush Creek and west of 
the Big Blue, embracing Kansas City and Westport, are hereby ordered to remove from 
their present phices of residence Avithin fifteen days from tlie date hereof. 

Those who, within that time, establish their loyalty to the satisfaction of the com- 
manding officer of the military station nearest their present places of residence, will 
receive from him certificates stating the fact of their loyalty and the names of the 
witnesses by whom it can be shown. AH who receive such certificates will be permitted 
to remove to any military station in this district, or to any part of the State of Kansas, 
except the counties on the eastern border of the State. All others shall remove out of 
this district. 

Officers commanding companies and detachments serving in the counties named, will 
see that this paragraph is promptlj^ obeyed. 

Second — All grain and hay in tlie field, or under shelter, in the district from which the 
inliabitants are required to remove within reach of military stations, after the 9th day of 
September next, will be taken to such stations and turned over to the proper officers 
there; and report of the amount so turned over made to district headquarters, specify- 
ing the names of all loyal owners and the amount of such produce taken from them. 
All grain and hay found in such district after the 9th day of September next, not conve- 
nient to such stations, will be destroj'^ed. 

Third — The proAasions of General Orders N'o. 10, from these headquarters, Avill be at 
once vigorously executed, by officers commanding in the parts of the district, and at the 
stations, not subject to the operations of paragraph First of this Order, — and especially 
in the towns of Independence, Westport, and Kansas City. 

Fourth — Paragra])h 3, General Orders No. 10, is rcA^oked as to all Avho have borne 
arms against the government in this district since August 20th, 1863. 

By order of Brigadier General Ewing. H. Hannahs, Adjutant. 



GENEEAL EWING'S " OEDER NO. 11.' 425 

As might reasonably have been expected, the publication of so extra- 
ordinary an order from a military commander occasioned the wildest 
excitement and alarm among the people whom it was intended most 
directly to aflfect. The guerrilla warffire which had previously raged 
within the condemned district had already driven many of the people out 
of it, yet the enforcement of the order depopulated the farming territory 
of the three counties. Many and sad, therefore, were the scenes of 
wretchedness which it occasioned. These have been transferred to can- 
vas and rendered immortal by George C. Bingham, "the Missouri 
Artist," in his celebrated painting, entitled "Order No. 11." 

As the Federal military anthorities, and especially Generals Schofield 
and Ewing, were savagely abused for giving the order, it would seem but 
sheer justice that they be heard in their own defence. And that defence 
consists of a letter from General Schofield, written at West Point, N. Y., 
on January 25th, 1877, in reply to one of the previous 31st December, 
from General Evving, Lancaster, Ohio. In this letter General Schofield 
says, in substance, that he took command of the department of the 
Missouri in May, 1863, and assigned General Ewing to command the 
"district of the border." That a savage guerrilla warfare had raged 
there for two years, which had nearly depopulated the farming districts 
on the Missouri side, and that all farmers who remained were, whether 
they sympathized with the guerrillas or not, mere furnishers of supplies 
and temporary shelter for these outlaws. Civilization and humanity alike 
demanded the prompt suppression of this border war, whatever might be 
the means necessary to suppress it. There were only two methods of 
stopping it. One was to largely increase the military force in the district, 
which was impracticable, because of the necessity of sending reinforce- 
ments to Grant's army at Vicksburg. The other was to remove the few 
remaining farmers from the Missouri border, whose crops and stores 
furnished the o-nerrillas with subsistence. The fiendish massacre at Law- 
rence in August, 1863, by Quantrell and his band, made immediate 
action absolutely imperative. He says it is wholly a mistake to charge 
that the order was issued in revenge for that massacre, as its issuance was 
contemplated and discussed some time before the massacre occurred. 
He says the order was an act of wisdom, courage and humanity, by 
which hundreds of innocent lives were saved and a disgraceful and bar- 
barous warfare brought to a summary close. Not a life was sacrificed, 
nor any great discomfort inflicted in executing it. The necessities of all 
the poor people were provided for, and none were permitted to suffer. 

General Schofield adds that, when the order was issued, he went to the 



426 HISTOEY OF MISSOUEI. 

border, and after personal observation approved it, and then sent it, with 
his approval, to President Lincohi, and that humane president never 
littered a word of dissent as to the wisdom, justice or humanit}^ of that 
policy. He sa}S he does not write to vindicate his own conduct or to 
shift the responsibilities, but that it is only justice to General Ewing, who 
has been censured for issuing the order, to say that the responsibility for 
its execution belongs to President Lincoln, to himself and to General 
Ewing in proportion to their resjDective rank and authority. 

General Schotield's letter having appeared in the St. Louis Daily 
Republican, of February 21st, 1877, Hon. George C. Bingham, an old 
citizen of Jackson County, and a strong Union man during the war, 
the next day replied to it, and the reply, at the request of members of 
the Missouri legislature, (then in session,) from the counties of Jackson, 
Cass, Bates and Vernon, was published in the same paper of February 
26th. Mr. Bingham says that General Schofield had exercised a caution^ 
characteristic of all great military commanders, in allowing nearly four- 
teen years to transpire- before venturing upon the defence of a measure 
which, for heartless atrocity, has no parallel in modern annals ; but that he 
would discover there are those yet surviving who will be able to confront 
him in this prudently delaj^ed effort to subordinate history to the service 
of tyranny. General Schofield ventures to assert that "the order was 
an act of wisdom, courage and humanity, by which the lives of hundreds 
of innocent people were saved and a disgraceful conflict brought to a sum- 
mary close." That "not a life was sacrificed, nor any great discomfort 
inflicted in carrvino; out the order," and that "the necessities of all the 
poor people were provided for, and none were permitted to suffer." 
Never did an equal number of words embody a greater amount of error. 
Never was a robbery so stupendous more cunningly devised or success- 
fully accomplished, with less personal risk to the robbers. As an act of 
purely arbitrary power, directed against a disarmed and defenceless 
population, it was an exhibition of cowardice in its most odious and 
repulsive form. As outraging every principle of justice and doing vio- 
lence to every generous and manly sentiment of the human heart, its 
title to be regarded as an act of humanity can only be recognized by 
wretches destitute of every quality usually embraced under that appella- 
tion. It did not bring a " disgraceful conflict to a summary close." It, 
indeed, put an end to the predatory raids of Kansas "red legs and jay- 
hawkers," by surrendering to them all that they coveted, leaving nothing 
that could further excite their cupidity ; but it gave up the country ta 
the bushwhackers, who, until the close of the war, continued to stop the 



GEJ^. SCHOFIELD'S LETTER AND GEN. BLNGHAJVI'S EEPLT. 427 

stages and rob the mails and passengers, and no one wearing the Federal 
uniform dared to risk his life within the desolated district. Mr. Bino-- 
ham says he was in Kansas City when the order was being enforced, and 
affirms, from painful personal observation, that the sutFerings of its 
unfortunate victims, in many instances, were such as should have elicited 
sympathy even from hearts of stone. Bare-footed and bare-headed 
women and children, stripped of every article of clothing, except a scant 
covering for their bodies, were exposed to the heat of an August sun 
and compelled to struggle through the dust on foot. It is well known 
that men were shot down in the very act of obeying the order, and their 
wagons and effects seized by their murderers. Large trains of wagons, 
extending over the prairies for miles in length, and moving Kansasward, 
were freighted with every description of household furniture and wear- 
ing apparel belonging to the exiled inhabitants. Dense columns of 
smoke arising in every direction marked the conflagration of dwellings, 
many of the evidences of which are yet to be seen in the remains of 
seared and blackened chimneys, standing as melancholy monuments of a 
ruthless military despotism which spared neither age, sex, character nor 
condition. There was neither aid nor protection afforded to the banished 
inhabitants by the heartless authority which expelled them from their 
rightful possessions. They crowded by hundreds upon the banks of the 
Missouri River, and were indebted to the charity of benevolent steam- 
boat conductors for transportation to places of safety, where friendly aid 
could be extended to them without danger to those who ventured to 
contribute it. It was true, as represented by General Schofield, that 
a savage guerrilla warfare had been waged for two years in the counties 
embraced hy the order, but it was not true that the counties were nearly 
depopulated by the guerrilhis, or that the few remaining farmers were 
furnishers of supplies for these outlaws. The largest portion of those 
engaged in this warfare were the well-known "jay-hawkers and red-legs" 
of Kansas, acting under the authority of no law, military or civil, yet 
carrying on their nefarious operations under the protection and patronage 
of General Ewing and his predecessors from the State of Kansas. The 
others, constituting the more determined and desperate class, were 
chiefly outlawed Missourians, known as bush-whackers, and claiming to 
act under Confederate authority. Their numbers, however, were at all 
times insignificant in comparison Avith the Federal troops stationed in 
these counties. As the inhabitants had all been disarmed b}^ Federal 
military authority, they were powerless to resist these outlaws, and, as 
General Schofield admits, were compelled to yield to their demands. 



428 



HISTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 



Yet they Avere not mere furnishers of supplies to these outlaws. On the 
coTitrar}^ the supplies furnished by them to the Federal forces, if properly 
estimated, would reach twenty, if not fifty times the amount forced from 
them by bushwhackers. Yet the counties had not, at the date of the 
order, been nearly depopulated. The inhabitants possessed fertile and 
valuable lands. Many of them had become wealthy, and all possessed 
comfortable homes, from which neither the tja^anny of their military 
rulers nor the frequent depredations of Kansas "red-legs" and Con- 
federate bushwhackers had succeeded in expelling them. The sweeping 
and indiscriminate order, therefore, operated in all its diabolical and 
ruinous force upon a population quite as numerous as then inhabited au 
equal number of any other border counties of our State. General 
Schofield ungenerously attempts to make President Lincoln jointly respon- 
sible with himself and General Ewing for the execution of this order. 
It is evident however that the assent and approbation of the President 
were predicated solely on the representations of his General, and not 
upon the actual facts relating to the matter, of which he could have had 
no personal knowledge. 

To this repl}'^ of Mr. Bingham, neither General Schofield nor General 
Ewing made response, and upon this record, therefore, "Order No. 11" 
invokes the judgment of history. cj2&3 

During the months of July and August, 1863, on what authority — if 
any — we know not, the report became quite general in Federal military 
circles in Missouri that General Sterling Price, who, at the inception of 
the rebellion, was known to have been a strong and outspoken Union 
man, had become weary of the unpromising conflict ; indeed, was willing 
to abandon the Rebel cause and return to his home in Chariton County 
and spend the remainder of his life in peace. ^ Believing it at least prob- 

1 Hearing of these reports, as connected with alleged efforts by himself to secure a 
pardon for his father, General Edwin W. Price, who the year previous had returned 
from the army and taken the oath of allegiance, published tlie following letter: 

Farm Place, Chakiton County, Mo.. \ 
July 29, 1863. ' J 

Editor St. Louis Republican: Your issue of the 27th instant, contains an article copied 
from the Fulton Telegraph., in which it is stated that I have been circulating in South- 
western Missouri, a petition to President Lincoln, asking for the pardon of Major Gen- 
eral Price, my father. Upon the strength of that article and a vivid imagination, the 
St. Louis Union indulges in an editorial to which my attention has been called, saying 
that " he (General Price) is penitent, and desires to abandon the rebel cause, return 
home and spend the remainder of his days in peace-" 

I have passed unheeded several articles of a similar character, which have appeared 
from time to time in different eastern publications within the past year, and I would 



PKESIDENT LINCOLN'S PEOPOSED PAKDON OF GEN. PPICE. 429 

able the report was substantially true, and desiring to open tlie wa}^ for 
General Price's safe return, provided subsequent events disclosed a 
desire on his part to do so, the Hon. James S. Rollins, of Columbia, 
voluntaril}^ wrote to President Lincoln, informing him of the prevalent 
reports, and asking a pledge from him that Price would be pardoned if he 
returned, as above, to the State. The following is President Lincoln's 
reply, now for the first time given to the public : 

Executive Mansion, \ 

"Washington, D. C, August, 1863. J 
Hon. James 8. Bollins: — ^Yours in reference to General Sterling Price, is received. 
If he voluntarily returns and takes the oath of allegiance to the United States before 
the next meeting of Congress, I Avill pardon him, if you shall then wish me to do so. 

Yours truly, A. Lincoln. 

As General Price did not return to the State, nor abandon the Eebel- 
lion until the close of the war. President Lincoln was never called upon 
to redeem his promise of pardon. 

After General Blunt, in September, 1863, had driven the Confederate 
forces under Gen. W. L. Cabell, and the Creek chief Stanclwatie, into 
the Choctaw reservation, and taken possession of Fort Smith, these forces 
remained in the Indian country for a time for the purpose of obtaining 
supplies of food. These supplies running low as the autumn advanced, a 
part of Cabell's command, under Colonel Jo. Shelby, undertook a raid 
into Missouri. A little east of Fort Smith, they crossed the Arkansas 
River, and swept rapidly northward into Southwestern Missouri, 
to "Crooked Prairie," where, on October 1st, they were joined 
by a considerable force under Colonel Coifee, thus increasing the 
entire body 2,500 men. Expecting to meet at Boonville a large number 
of recruits, Shelby made a rapid march to that place, but was disap- 

treat this report in the same manner, but for the fact that it implies a correspondence 
between General Price and mj^self which Avould place me in 'the attitude of having 
violated my obligations to the Federal authorities. I therefore beg leave to state that 
the above report, as well as all others purporting to come from me concerning the 
probable " desires " or •' intentions " of General Price are unquestionably false, 

As regards the '• penitence " of General Price, and his desire to return home upon a 
pardon from President Lincoln, I know nothing, having had no communication with 
him since my return from the Southern army. And so far as the matter of "petition" 
is concerned, it is sufficient to state that not only have I not been in Southwestern Mis- 
souri for more than a year and a half, but no "petition" of that character has ever been 
circulated in my own part of the State by the knowledge of myself or any other "son of 
the old man's." I claim to be a private citizen, living a quiet, retired life, and it is not 
at all agreeable to me to have my name paraded before the public in such aiticles as allu- 
ded to above. Yours Truly, Edwin W. Pkice. 



430 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

pointed ; and after his men had phindered the stores and many residen- 
ces of $100,000 worth of property, beat a hasty retreat. Near Arrow 
Eoc'k, however, Genenil E. B. Brown, on the 12th and 13th of October, 
encountered him with a force of militia, repulsing his troops in disorder, 
and occasioning him a loss of .a])()ut 300 men, killed, wounded and pris- 
oners, with all his artillerj^ but one gun.^ 

1864 — Military operations in Missouri during the3^ear 1864 degenerated 
for most part into a savage and merciless guerilla warftire. Roving bands 
of '^bushwhackers," thieves and murderers infested the State on both sides 
of the Missouri river, and the Union troops ^ of the various districts 
were kept busy in the effort, in mau}^ localities imsuccessful, to suppress 
them and preserve the peace and protect the lives and property of the 
l^eople. No important battles were fought. 

Late in Januarj^ General Rosecrans arrived in St. Louis, as commander 
of the Department, and actively entered upon his duties. The first 
formidable danger he was called to confront was General Pi-ice's raid 
into the State in September and October, — a raid inspired by the des- 
peration of the crisis, and one which jDroved to be the dying throe of the 
Confederate cause in the State. Nevertheless, the raid occurred under 
circumstances seemingly favorable to its success. Missouri had been 
stripped of troops for service elsewhere, and the friends of "the South," 
and the bands of guerillas, especially in the western and river counties, 
were bold and defiant. 

Receiving information early in September, from General C. C. Wash- 
burne, at Memphis, of Price's meditated invasion from Northern Arkan- 
sas, with a formidable force. General Rosecrans sent the information to 
AYashington, and Halleck telegraphed to Cairo, directing A.J.Smith, 
then ascending the Mississippi river, with about six thousand troops, 
infantry and cavalry, destined to reinforce Sherman in Northern Geor- 
gia, to be halted there, and, with his command, be sent to St. Louis, to 
reinforce Rosecrans. The strengthening of the troops in Missouri was 
timely, for Price soon crossed the Arkansas river, joined Shelby, and, 
with about twenty thousand men, entered Southeastern Missouri between 
the Big Black and St. Francis rivers, and pushed on to Pilot Knob, more 
than half way to St. Louis from the Arkansas border, almost without a 
show of opposition. Rosecrans had only about six thousand five hun- 
dred mounted men in his Department when this formidable invasion 

' Lossing's "Civil War." Vol. 3, p. 218. 

2 Chiefly Missouri State Militia and Enrolled Missomi Militia. 



A LAKGE CONTEDEEATE FOECE INVADES THE STATE. 431 

beo-an, and these were scattered over a country four hundred miles in 
leno-th, and three hundred in breadth, with only a partially organized • 
force of infantry and dismounted men, guarding from the swarming ouer- 
rillas the greater depots, such as Springfield, Pilot Knob, Jefferson City, 
Rolla and St. Louis, and the railway bridges. These were concentrated 
as quickly as possible, after ascertaining the route and destination of 
Price ; yet so swiftly did that leader move that when it was seen that 
St. Louis was probably his first and chief objective, only a single brigade 
was at Pilot Knob, (which is coimected with the former place by a rail- 
way) to confront him. This was commanded by General Hugh S. 
Ewing, who had for defenses only a little fort and some rude earth-works. 
But he made a bold stand ; fought Price and his ten thousand men gal- 
lantlj^ with his little force of twelve hundred; repulsed two assaults, 
and inflicted on the Confederates a loss of about one thousand men. 
His own loss was about two hundred. His foe, with his superior force, 
soon took positions to command his entire post; so Ewing spiked his 
guns, blew up his magazine, and, finding his chosen line of retreat 
northward, by way of Potosi, blocked, fled westward during the night 
toward Rolla, where General McNeil was in command, and had just been 
reinforced by cavalry under General Sandborn. 

At Webster, Ewing turned sharply to the north, and pushing on, struck 
the Southeastern Railway at Harrison, after a march of sixty miles in 
thirty-nine hours, with an accumulating encumbrance of refugees — 
white aud black. There his exhausted troops were struck by a heavy 
force, under Shelby, which had been chasing him. Ewing's ammunition 
was short, but he held his ground for thirty hours, when the Seven- 
teenth Illinois Cavalry, under Colonel Beveridge, sent by General 
McNeil from Rolla, came to his relief. Shelby was driven off, and 
Ewing and Beveridge marched leisurely to Rolla. 

General A. J. Smith's Infantry, between four and five thousand 
strong, were in St. Louis. Soon, eight regiments of the enrolled mili- 
tia of the State arrived, and these were associated with six regiments of 
Illinois one hundred day's men, whose term of service had expired, but 
who patriotically went to the assistance of Rosecrans. Meanwhile, the 
troops in the central portion of the State were concentrated at the cap- 
ital, Jefferson City, by General Brown, who was reinforced by General 
risk with all available troops north of the Missouri River. The Union 
citizens in that region cordially co-operated with the military, and 
before Price turned his face in that direction, the capital was well forti- 
fied. The invaders advanced by way of Potosi to the Meramec River; 



432 IIISTOEY OF MISSOURL 

crossed it, and took post ut Eichwoods, within forty miles of St. Lou.oy 
when after remaining a day or two, and evidently satisfied that an 
attempt to take that city would be very hazardous, he burned the bridge at 
JMoselle, and then marched rapidly in the direction of Jefferson City, 
followed by General A. J. Smith and his entire command. Price 
burned bridges behind him, to impede his pursuers, and appeared before 
the Missouri capital on the 7th of October, just after Generals McNeil 
and Sandborn, with all the mounted men they could muster, had 
reached there by a forced march from Rolla. 

A slight resistance was offered to Price at the crossing of the Little 
Moreau Eiver, four or five miles below Jefferson Cit}^ when the Federals 
fell back, and the Confederates enveloped the city in a serai-circular line 
nearly four miles in length, the wings resting on the Missouri. Discov- 
ering the defences which the troops of Brown and Fisk and the citizens 
had thrown up. Price sent his trains westward and followed with his 
whole army. 

As early as Thursdaj^, September 29th, it was made known to the cit- 
izens of Jefferson City, that the military authorities regarded the city 
and capitol as in imminent danger, from the long contemplated and then 
progressing rebel rtiicl into the State. The three companies of Citizen 
Guards, organized a week or two before to meet an apparently tem- 
porary emergenc}^ from which only a city guard had thus far been 
detailed, were called in a body into active service; and all able- 
bodied men, white and black, residing in the city, or found in the city 
belonging in the neigborhood, or brought in public conveyances, were 
pressed into service, and set to work digging rifle pits, and building or 
completing fortifications. Military forces began to concentrate there 
from the country west of Jefferson City, and General Fisk's command 
from the Northwest was ordered there. On Thursday, October 5tli, in 
view of imminent danger, strong guards were placed over the com- 
missary and other military stores, and militarj' forces stationed at the 
outer defences. General Fisk's forces came in seasonably, and Generals 
McNeil and Sanborn, from Polla and Springfield, with some three or 
four thousand men and some artillery, arrived just in tlie nick of time- 
Cavalry had been sent to guard the fords and ferries on the Osage, who, 
if they could not prevent the Rebels from crossing, could at least retard 
their progress and give warning of their approach. On Wednesday, the 
railroad bridge across the Osage Eiver, nine miles east of Jefferson City, 
was burned. The force, numbering, it was estimated, about two 
hundred and fifty, with two pieces of artillery, before filing the bridge,. 



THE CONFEDERATES THREATEN ST. LOUIS AND THE CAPITAL. 433 

captured a company of Gasconade militia, stationed at the east end of 
the bridge, and drove off a squad who were guarding it on the west — 
just men enough to invite an attack, and not enough to afford protection 
against a force it was well linown could be easily sent there from the 
Kebels, known to occupy the road at points below. 

On Thnrsday afternoon, October 5th, the ball opened at Prince's Ford, 
on the Osage River, where the great body of the Rebels crossed. A 
part of the First M. S. M., under Major Mullins, were stationed at the 
ford, and some pickets belonging thereto, who had been sent across the 
Osage, were cut off, and four of them, in attempting to swim the river, 
were drowned. Three of his command were also killed in the skirn^ish 
at the ford. 

The cavalry forces at the ford consisted of Major A. W. Mullins' com- 
mand of the First M. S. M., about two hundred of Colonel J. J. 
Gravelly's regiment, the Eighth M. S. M., and Colonel John F. Phil- 
ips' regiment, the Seventh M. S. M. After the skirmish at the ford, 
the Federals fell back and rested for the night near Green C. Berry's 
farm, about four miles from the city; and near the next farm beyond 
(James Gordon's), skirmishing was resumed the next morning, the Fed- 
eral forces gradually retiring till they reached the city. The Federal 
artillery then took position at the fortifications on the ridge south of the 
city (near Cook's, which overlooks the city,),- and thence commenced to 
shell the enemy, who occupied the ridge about a mile southeast of that 
point. Some part of the Sixth Cavalry, M. S. M., under Major Edward 
S. King, and Colonel Gravelly's command, the Eighth M. S. M., were 
engaged. The latter suffered the most severely. Late in the afternoon 
the Rebels planted a piece or two of artillery on the ridge east of the 
city and south of Shott's tarm, from which they fired a few times ; which 
elicited a prompt response from the Federal battery planted east of the 
graveyard. The Rebels were evidently moving westward ; whether pre- 
paratory to an assault in force on the south and west next morning, or 
not, could not be known. If this was their purpose, then the-iittle tights 
on Friday were only feelers. Their camps on Friday night extended 
from about two and a half miles of the city to five or six miles beyond. 
Generals Price and Shelby lodged at Mr. Wallendorff's, about three 
miles southwest of the city. On Saturday morning they sent their trains 
westward, leaving the capital untouched. 

General Pleasonton arrived at Jefferson City on the day after Price 
left; assumed chief command, and sent General Sandborn with his cav- 
alry in pursuit of the fugitive, with instructions to delay his march so 
28 



434 HISTORY OF MISSOUEI. 

that General Smith mi2:ht overtake him. Sandborn struck his rear-ofuard 
at Versailles, and ascertained that Price was marching directly on Boon- 
ville. Shell)y's cavalry quickly enveloped Sandborn, who made a timely 
retreat, and, falling back a short distance, to California, was overtaken 
there b}^ Smith's Cavalry, under Colonel Catherwood, with needed sup- 
plies. In the meantime re-inforcements from the Federals were comin(>- 
fi'om St. Lonis. General Mower had followed Price out of Arkansas, 
and struck the Mississippi at Cape Girardeau, after a fatiguing march of 
three hundred miles in the space of eighteen days. His army was so 
worn, man and beast, that Eosecrans sent steamboats to Cape Girardeau 
for them, and they were taken to St. Louis, whence the infantry were 
conveyed up the Missouri on steamboats, while the cavalry, fifteen hun- 
dred strong, under General Winslovv, marched to Jefferson City by land. 
Price was now moving toward Kansas with a heavy force in pursuit. 
The Federal Cavalry, with Pleasonton in immediate command, led in 
the chase. As the Confederates marched westward they found more 
sympathizers and became bolder. Price sent Generals Jo. Shelby and 
John B. Clark, Jr., to attack Glasgow, on the Missouri River in Howard 
County, then (October 8, 1864,) garrisoned by a part of the Forty- 
third Missouri, and small detatchments of the Ninth Missouri State 
Militia ^ and Seventeenth Illinois Cavalry, under command of Colonel 
Chester Harding. Most of Harding's force was posted in rifle pits on the 
north side of town, and in the City Hall and other large brick buildings 
on one of the business streets. Early on the morning of the 8th October 
the soldiers and citizens were awakened by the thunder of artillery from 
the 02:)posite, or Saline County shore, manned by Shelby's command. 
Shells and shot fell here and there in the town, endangering the lives of 
men, women and children more than the lives of the soldiers. Reverend 
William G. Caples, a distinguished Methodist minister and a resident of 
Glasgow, was mortally wounded by one of these shots, in front of his 
house, and died on the 11th. During the cannonading General Clark's 
cavalry crossed the river below and enveloped the town on the east, and 
his artillery opened fire upon the Federal camp on that side of the town. 
Glasgow was literally between two fires, and while the surging storm of 
battle raged, while Harding heroically sought to defend, and Shelby and 
Clark to reduce the place, some miscreant applied the torch to the City 

1 After the promotion of Colonel Guitar to the office of Brigadier- General of Missouri 
Enrolled Militia, Lieutenant-Colonel John F. Williams, of the 9th M. S. M., was made 
Colonel of the regiment and did gallant service. Colonel "Williams is now a well-kwown 
lawyer and politician of Macon, and was Speaker of the House of Kepresentatives of 
the 29th General Assembly. 



SHELBY AND CLAKK CAPTUKE GLASGOW. ^35 

Hall, and, the flames communicating with adjacent buildings, churches, 
stores and family residences were destroyed. 

Colonel Harding finally surrendered to the opposing force, after which 
the Confederates evacuated the place, recrossed the river and marched to 
join Price's main column, then on its way west.i This temerity would have 
been punished by a serious if not fatal blow upon Price's main body, had 
not the pursning General, Smith, been detained at the Lamine Eiver on 
account of the destruction of the railway bridge at the crossing on his 
route. There he was overtaken by General Mower, when, with a few 
days' provisions and in light marching order, he pushed on directly west- 
ward toward Warrensburg, while Pleasonton, with his cavalry, including 
that under A\ inslow, was sweeping over the country northward to the 
Missouri River, in the direction of Lexington, which Price's advance 
reached on the 20th of October. Blunt, who had come out of Kansas, 
•had been driven back to Independence, near the western border of Mis- 
souri, by Price, and the ranks of the latter were being increased by re- 
cruits. 

General Price left Lexington when Pleasonton' s advance, under McNeil 
and Sanborn, reached that place on the evening of the 20th of October, 
and was moving rapidly westward. At Little Blue Creek he struck 
Blunt's Kansas troops, then under General Curtis, who had just assumed 
command of them. After a sharp contest of a few hours, Curtis, hard 
pressed on front and flank by a superior force, fell back to the Big Blue 
Creek, where he took a strong position and awaited an attack. Meau- 

1 After the abandonment of Glasgow, the guerrilla chief Bill Anderson and his band 
of outlaws came at night to the house of Wilham B. Lewis, in the vicinity, and in the 
presence of his family, and of Mrs. Clark, mother of the Rebel General John B. Clark, 
.Jr., and of Mr. Dabney Garth, brother-in-law of Sterling Price, both connected by mar- 
riage with Mr. Lewis, subjected their victim to the grossest and crudest indignities. He 
was knocked down with the butts of heavy pistols, bruised and battered while helpless 
on the floor, his clothes slashed open, his flesh pricked with knives, and his body singed 
with the flash of pistols fired within a few inches of his face. In their savage cruelty 
the villains stuck the muzzles of their pistols into the mouth of their unresisting victim 
and threatened to blow his brains out, accompanying their threats with ribald oaths and 
imprecations. 

All this was done partly to wreak their fury on a Union man, and partly to extort 
money from him. Mr. Lewis, who was a wealthy citizen, gave his tormentors $1,000, 
which was all the money he had in the house, and was then permitted to go in the 
streets under guard and borrow as much more as he could from his neighbors. Ander- 
son demanded $5,000 for his ransom, and this sum, by the active aid of neighbors and 
personal friends, he was enabled to raise. It was paid over to his greedy persecutors, 
and' he was released. Next day he escaped from the town, together with several other 
citizens, and made his way to BoonviUe. 



436 



HISTOEY OF I^nSSOURI. 



while, Pleasontoii, with all his cavalry, had pushed on after Price with 
great vigor. When he reached the Little Blue, October 20th, he found 
the bridge destroyed and the Confederate rear-guard prepared to resist 
his passage with strong force. The}'' were soon driven, and Pleasonton 
pressed on to Independence, then held by the enemy. He captnred that 
place at 7 o'clock in the evening, by a brilliant charge, by which he drove 
the Confederates and seized two of their guns. 

Instead of twenty-three thousand recruits, which had been promised 
him, the Confederate leader had not received over six thousand ; and he 
felt the necessity of getting out of Missouri, and beyond the grasp of 
his pursuers, as quickly as possible. He lied rapidly southward, and 
passed into Arkansas, not, hoAvever, without receiving some parting 
blows.i 

On Friday, September 23, 1864, a train of fourteen wagons, four 
Government wagons and the remainder pressed from citizens for the 
occasion, started from Sturgeon, in Boone County, to Rocheport, under 
escort of about seventy men of the Third Missouri State Militia, under 
Captain McFadin. The wagons were loaded principally with subsistence 
stores, with some ammunition, clothing and private property. The 
escort and train stopped near sun-set about seven miles northeast of 
Rocheport, at a pond near the roadside, in order that the horses might 
be watered. While here the escort and train were suddenly charged 
u[)()n by about one hundred and fifty guerrillas, under Bill Anderson and 
Geoige Todd. The escort was put to flight and the train captured, 
robbed of everything the guerrillas could carry off, and then burned. 
Eleven Federal soldiers were found dead on the ground, and three 
negroes. 

Emboldened to deeds of danger and to outlawry and plunder on a 
larger scale, the guerrillas of Missouri committed many other outrages 
during the fall. Among these, the wholesale butchery at Centralia, on the 
North Missouri Railroad, in Boone County, by Bill Anderson and his men, 
on Tuesday, September 27th, stands forth with colossal and fearful hor- 
ror. Bill Anderson was one of the most daring, bloodthirsty and 
reveno-fful guerrillas of the western border, and had under his command 
on this occasion a force of several hundred well armed and well mounted 
men, among whom were George Todd, David Pool, Holtclaw and John 
Thrailkill, the latter a former resident of Warren County, Kentucky, 
and all of them the most desperate revolver fighters ever known in 

' For the greater part of the record of Price's Raid, the author acknowledges his 
indebtedness to Lossing's "Civil War in America," Vol. 3, pp. 276-80. 



THE CENTRALIA MASSACEE. 437 

the history of guerrilla warfare. On the night previous to the massa- 
cre at Centralia, the whole band camped on M. G. Singleton's farm, some 
three miles southeast of that place, their number being variously esti- 
mated at from 200 to 400. Early on Tuesday morning, small squads of 
them made their appearance in Centralia, pressing horses and commit- 
ting other depredations. An eye-witness of subsequent events, and a 
gentleman who not only had opportunities of knowledge, but capacity to 
write an account of what transpired, on the next day furnished for the St. 
Louis Republican a vivid (and we have no doubt a truthful) narrative of 
the bloody scene. We adopt his account, chiefly, in making up this 
record. About ten o'clock a. m., from seventy-five to one hundred of 
Anderson's men came into town and commenced an indiscriminate plunder 
of the stores of J. W. Ball and Thomas S. Snead, then the railroad agent. 
They also seized all dry goods and other property in the depot, breaking 
open boxes, trunks, etc., and appropriating whatever suited them. 
About eleven o'clock the four-horse stage-coach arrived from Columbia, 
with eight or nine passengers, among them James H. Waugh, Sheritf of 
the county, Henry Keene, John M. Samuel, James E. Hume, Lewis 
Sharp, Columbus Hickam, Boyle Gordon, Mr. Cole, the driver, and the 
Hon. James S. Rollins. When within about two hundred yards of the 
depot, eight or ten of the guerrillas dashed up on their horses, ordered 
the stage to halt, dismounted, opened the doors of the coach and 
demanded to know whether there were any Federal soldiers in the stage. 
On being answered in the negative, they then said, '•'-Out icith your 
pocket-books,^'' and simultaneously placed a revolver, cocked, against the 
breast of each one of the passengers. These gentlemen, being unarmed, 
surrendered their pocket-books, together with all the money they had. 
The robbers then returned to several of them some of their papers, but 
kept the money and other valuables. In the meantime, the stage horses, 
four in number, belonging to William J. Jordon of Columbia, were taken 
off by the guerrillas, one of them demanding to know the name of Major 
Eollins. Fortunately forhim, he gave a fictitious name, Rev. Mr. Johnson, 
a Southern Methodist minister, and by this means no doubt saved his 
life, as every one believed that they would have killed him instantly had 
they known him. (The passengers after beins: robbed, went to the hotel 
of Mr. Snead, and remained there until what follows occurred.) About 
the usual time, half past eleven o'clock, the passenger train from St. 
Louis came in sight. Immediately the guerrillas, commanded by 
Bill Anderson, formed into lines near the track, and as the train 
approached the depot, connnenced throwing ties and other obstruc- 



438 HISTOEY OF MISSOUKI. 

tions across the road, and also firing npon the engineer. From fifty to 
one hnndred shots were fired at him, none of them taking eff'ect, except 
slightly wonnding one of the firemen. The train being stopped, the 
guerrillas rushed into the cars with pistols cocked, demanding the 
pocket-books and money of all the passengers (men, women and child- 
ren), all of which were promptly delivered or secreted npon the persons 
of the Indies. They also got quite a number of gold watches and other 
valuable articles from the passengers. They also robbed the express 
safe, broke open the boxes filled with dry goods, clothing, etc., and also 
the trunks of the passengers, and rifled them of everything valuable. 
There were twenty-three Federal soldiers on board the train. These 
they put under guard, marched them into the town, placed them in lines, 
-and at the word "fire," commenced murdering them. Several of them 
attempted to escape, and begged for their lives, but they gave no heed ta 
their entreaties and shot most of them dead in their tracks, although, as 
the train approached, white flags were seen flying from many of the car 
windows. Nearly all of the soldiers were shot through the head, and 
two of them brutally scalped. They burned also the depot building with 
all its contents, with six box cars standing near the depot. After mur- 
dering the soldiers, plundering the passengers and the citizens of the 
town generally, they set fire to the box car next to the locomotive, put 
the engine in motion, and without passenger or officer on, started the 
train up the road toward Sturgeon. It ran about three miles, when 
from some cause it stopped, and the four passenger cars and baggage 
car were entirely consumed. Their work of destruction being com- 
pleted, they mounted their horses and left the town with savage yells, in 
the direction of their camp. All these men were splendidly mounted 
and equipped, and most of them had Federal army overcoats and some 
of them were dressed in Federal uniform, with four or five revolvers 
each. They were nearly all of them ^''oung men, stout and athletic, and 
ranging from eighteen to thirty j^ears of age. Never in any country 
was there a more abandoned set of desperadoes. 

The passengers in the train left, some in buggies, some in wagons, 
and others on foot up the railroad and to their respective places of des- 
tination. 

The saddest part of the story is yet to be told. After the above occur- 
rences had transpired at Centralia, Major Johnson, with a part of his 
battalion of mounted infantry, of Colonel Kurtzner's 39th regiment of 
Missouri volunteers, got to Centralia about three o'clock in the afternoon. 
He had from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and seventy-five men ; 



DEFEAT AND HQKKIBLE BUTCHEEY OF MAJOK JOHlffSON. 439 

sixty, under the command of Captain Smilh, Company A, of Adair 
County, Lieutenant Moore; thirty-eight men, under the command of 
Captain Thies, of Hannibal, Lieutenant Stafford, of Clarke County, 
killed, Company H ; fifty men under the command of Lieutenant Jaynes, 
of Shelby County, Company G. Mnjor Johnson's men were rather 
poorly mounted, armed with rifled muskets and bayonets, but no revolv- 
ers. Centralia is situated in the open prairie, about two miles from timl:)er. 
Upon his arrival there. Major Johnson determined to give the guerrillas 
battle, and marched his men out in a southeastern direction, on the prairie, 
towards the timber, where the enemy was encamped. ^ They soon made 
their appearance, when Major Johnson's command, being armed with long 
guns, were ordered to dismount. The engagement at once commenced, 
and the horses of Johnson's command becoming unmanageable, broke 
and fled, (many of them) leaving the soldiers on foot in the open prairie. 
The guerrillas, being finely mounted and heavily armed, with three or 
four revolvers each, charged vehementlj^, producing still greater confu- 
sion and rushing down upon the soldiers in the open prairie, shot them 
down in every direction. Those who remained mounted, finding them- 
selves overborne by numbers and the great advantage of superior horses 
and arms, retreated, the guerrillas in pursuit. Many of them were over- 
taken and killed. They were followed up to within a mile and a half of 
Sturgeon, in the open prairie, directly along the railroad, and the whole 
road and prairie from Centralia was literally strewed with the dead, as 
all who were overtaken were killed and robbed. 

As above stated. Major Johnson had in his command from one hun- 
dred and fifty to one hundred and seventy-five men. Of these one 
hundred and thirty -nine were killed, and some four or five wounded. 
These do not include the twenty-three soldiers taken from the cars and 
killed. Major Johnson himself was killed, also Captain Smith, and sohie 
other oflicers. The ©•uerrillas had two killed and three wounded. 

Sixty-eight of Johnson's men were killed on the field, immediately 
after their first and only fire. The remainder — seventy-one — were killed 
on the prairie, in various places, as they were attempting to escape on 
foot or on horseback. 

After the slaughter and the retirement of the guerrillas, the dead bodies 
were gathered up by the citizens and brought to Centralia and placed on 
the platform of the depot. Many of them the same evening were taken 
to Mexico on a train, for burial. Seventj'-nine were interred in a single 
long trench or grave, near the railroad track in the eastern part of Cen- 

iThe statement has been often made that Major Johnson.'s men marched from Centra- 
lia displaying a black flag. The statement is untrue. 



440 HISTOEY OF MISSOURI. 

trsilia. . Some years afterwards this trench was enclosed by a plank fence, 
and at the head of it was placed a limestone monument fifteen feet high, 
on the base of which was this inscription : 

The remains of Companies "A," "G" and "H,'' Thirty-ninth Kegiment Missouri Vol- 
unteer Infantr}^, who were killed in action at Centralia, Missouri, on the 27th day of Sep- 
tember, 3864, are interred liere. 

Since the close of the war the remains were disinterred, taken to the 
National Cemetery at Jefferson City, and re-buried there in one common 
grave. 

After the dreadful massacre at Centralia, and the subsequent burning of 
the town of Danville, and the destruction by fire of the depots at New 
Florence, High Hill and Rennick, Bill Anderson and a large portion of 
his men made their way to Eay County, where, on the 27th of October, 
just one month after the slaughter at Centralia, Anderson was killed in 
a fight near the little village of Albany, some ten or twelve miles southwest 
of Richmond. On the day previous, Lieutenant-Colonel S. P. Cox, of 
the Thirty-third Enrolled Missouri Militia, then of Richmond, learning 
where Anderson was, made a forced march to encounter him. About a 
mile northeast of Albany he came in contact with his pickets and drove 
them through the village into the woods bej^ond. Here Colonel Cox 
dismounted his men, threw an infantry force into the forest, and sent 
forward a cavalry advance, who soon engaged Anderson's guerrillas, and 
fell back, whereupon Anderson and his men, about 300 strong, raised 
the Indian yell and ^came in full speed upon Cox's lines, shooting and 
yelling all the while. Anderson and one of his men, supposed to have 
been Captain Rains, son of General James S. Rains, charged through 
the lines. In this charge Anderson was killed, falling some fifty steps in 
Cox's rear, having received a ball in the side of the head. Rains 
made his escape, and their forces retreated at full speed, being completely 
routed. Cox's cavalry pursued some two miles, finding the road stained 
Avith blood. Cox had four men wounded, but none killed. The troops 
of the command consisted of a portion of the Fifty-first Regiment 
Enrolled Missouri Militia under command of Major Grimes, and a portion 
of the Thirty-third Enrolled Missouri Militia, from Daviess and Caldwell 
counties. Upon the body of the brigand Anderson was found $300 in 
gold, |150 in Treasury notes, six revolvers and several orders from 
General Price. ^ The following are two of these orders : 

iDangliug from both sides of the bridle of Anderson's saddle horse were several scalps 
of human heads. This statement has been often denied, but it is true. Anderson was 
buried in the old cemetery north of Kichmond, and his remains yet repose there. 



JACKSOI^ JEFFERSON SHOT TO DEATH. 441 

[Special Order.] 

Headquarters Army of Missouri, [ 
BOONVILLE, October 11,1864. [ 
"Captain Anderson, with his command, will at once proceed to the North side of the 
Missouri Eiver, and permanently destroy the North Missouri Eailroad, going as far east 
as practicable. He will report his operations at least every two days. 
"By order of Major-General Price. "Maclean, 

"Lieutenant-Colonel, and A. A. G." 



"October 16, 1864. 
To Officer in charge of Ferryboat: 

"Captain Anderson, with his command, will be crossed to the other side of the river, 
after which the ferryboat Avill await orders on this side. 
"By order of Major-General Price, Maclean, 

" Lieutenant-Colonel, and A. A. G." 

On the same daj^ on which Bill Anderson was killed, near Albany, in 
Eay County, October 27th, 1864, and in the bottom below the Pattee 
House, St. Joseph, Jackson Jefferson, of Boone County, a private in 
Company B, (Captain James A. Adams, of Columbia,) Ninth Missouri 
State Militia, was " shot to death" by order of Court- Martial, for kill- 
ing, by a blow from a club, another Union soldier. Lieutenant Hard- 
ing, Provost-Marshal, commanded the detail of twelve men who acted as 
executioners. Eeverend Mr. Hagerty acted as spiritual adviser; Doctor 
Bruner as surgeon. A rude coffin had previously been placed in the 
center of the hollow square formed by the soldiers, and as the procession 
came to the opening, the guard was marched to the western side of the 
square, the prisoner being conducted to his coffin. Lieutenant Harding 
then read the findings and sentence under which the execution was to 
take place, and manifested considerable emotion as he did so. The 
entire crowd was much affected by the solemnity of the scene, and manv 
shed tears. The prisoner kneeled beside his coffin with Mr. Hao-erty, 
who offered an affecting prayer, the prisoner himself praying audibly. 
The prayer ended, he bid ftirewell to those around him, and kneelino- 
agam by his coffin, was blindfolded, he assisting to adjust the blind. 
Being blindfolded, he first crossed his arms, but quickly threw them to 
his side, and straightened himself on his knees. The guard of twelve, 
detailed from the Forty -third Regiment, were divided into two squads 
of six, each squad commanded by a Sergeant. The word was given, 
"Ready! aim ! fire ! " and with one i-eport the missiles of death were 
sent to do their work, and Jackson Jefferson fell back, dead, not moving 
a muscle. The shots were well aimed, two striking on the chin and 
almost cutting ofl' the neck, while another entered the center of the 
breast, and another strkck the left shoulder. The body and effects of 



442 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

the deceased were turned over to an old acquaintance and neighbor, 
William O. Blanchard, of Boone County, who sent them to his widowed 
mother in that county. 

Early in December, 1864, General Rosecrans was relieved of the com- 
mand of the Missouri Department, and General Granville M. Dodge, of 
Iowa, appointed to succeed him. 

The military operations in Missonri for the year 1864 were closed by 
the execution, in the old jail yard of St. Louis, (on the site of which now 
stands the Laclede-Bircher Hotel) on Monday, December 26th, 1864, of 
James M. Utz. He had been tried by a Military Commission, of which 
Colonel W. A. Barstow, of the Third Regiment of Cavalry, Wisconsin 
Volunteers, was president, and found guilty of "being a sp}^," " recruit- 
ing men for the Rebel army," and "carrying correspondence to Rebel 
enemies," and condemned to be hanged by the neck until dead, at such 
time and place as the General commanding the Department, (then 
General G. M. Dodge), might direct. General Dodge approved the 
sentence, and ordered it to be carried into execution at the time and 
place above stated, and it was done — Lieutenant-Colonel Gustavus 
Heinrichs, Superintendent and Inspector of Military Prisons, officiating 
at the solemn scene. Utz was born and raised near Bridgeton, St. 
Louis County, and at the time of his execution was twenty-six years old. 

We have not space for an account of the closing conflicts of the rebel- 
lion in 1865. Suffice it to say, that on the 29th day of March, a terrific 
struggle of three days began between the two great armies before Peters- 
burg, Virginia, at the close of which Lee's army was compelled to evac- 
uate that place. On the night of April 2d, the Confederate forces and 
the members of the Confederate Government fled from Richmond, and 
on the following morning that cit}^, as well as Petersburg, was entered 
by the Federal arm3^ The warehouses of the Confederate capital were 
fired by the retreating soldiers, and a large part of the city was reduced 
to ashes. At length, on the 9th of April, finding escape from the hot 
pursuit of the Federal troops impossible, Lee surrendered what remained 
of the Army of Noilhern Virginia, about 26,000 men, to Grant, at Appo- 
mattox Court-house. This was the death-blow to the rebellion, and after 
four years of blood-shed, devastation and sorrow, the Civil War in 
THE United States was at an end. 

On the 4th of April, President Lincoln, who had been at the headquar- 
ters of Grant for more than a week, made his appearance in Richmond, 
and, in the mansion of Jefferson Davis, the retreating President of the 
Southern Confederacy, publicly received many army (>fficers and citizens. 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 



443 



111 the midst of the public rejoicing North and South over the return 
of peace, the Nation was called to lament the assassination, in Ford's 
Theatre in Washington City, on the night of April 14th, of President 
Lincoln, by John Wilkes Booth. 

On May 10th, near the village of Irwinsville, Georgia, Jefferson Davis 
was captured by General Wilson's Cavalry, and conveyed as a prisoner 
to Fortress Monroe, and kept in confinement until May, 1867, when he 
was taken to Eichmond to be tried on a charo;e of treason. He was ad- 
mitted to bail, Horace Greeley, of the New York Tribune, hecom'mg one 
of his bondsmen. After remaining untried for a year and a half, the 
case was finally dismissed by the authorities of the United States. 




A Song of Peace. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

« 

1862 TO 1870.— Missouri's Experiknce with the First Test Oath for Voters.— Twenty- 
second General Assembly.— Election for Judges of the Supreme Court in Novem- 
ber, 1863.— Nucleus of Political Parties formed.— The '' Radicals'- and " Conser- 
vatives." — Radical State Convention.— Its Platform.— Co.mmittee of Seventy, C. 
D. Drake, Chairman, visit President Lincoln.— His Reply lO their Addresses.— 
Death of Governor Gamble.— Canvass of 1864.— State Constitutional Contention 
OF 1865.- Charles D. Drake irs Master Spirit.— Its Proceedings.— Slavery in 
Missouri Abolished.— " Iron Clad Oath" for Voters, Ministers, Lawyers and 
Teachers.— Ayes AND Nays.— The Words '• White Male."— The "Drake" Consti- 
tution ADOPTED.— Ousting Ordinance.— Registry Law.— Twenty-fourth General 
Assembly.— Negro Suffrage Amendment proposed to the Constitution. — The 
People reject it.— Burning of the Lindell Hotel.— Impeachment of Walter King. 
—Another Registry Law.— The Great St. Louis Bridge. 

It would perhaps be very difficult at this period of time distinctly to 
recall the political issues which divided the people of Missouri in the 
election of 1862. In no proper sense of the term was there a political 
canvass, for we were in the midst of a bloody civil war, with guerilla 
and other outrages prevailing on every hand, and a test oath for voters, 
for the first time in our history confronting the people at the polls. 
Being an "oft-year" in politics, there was neither a President nor Gov- 
ernor to be elected, but only members of Congress, and of the General 
Assembly, and county officers. Very little general attention was given 
to the subject, until a few weeks before the election, which occurred on 
the first Tuesday in November. The question of Secession, which in 
some form or other so largely engrossed the public mind at the last 
election, cut no figure in this, for it was overwhelmed beneath the waves 
of a bloody revolution. All the candidates for every office professed 
loyalty to the Union, their chief diff'erences arising in regard to the 
emancipation of slaves — whether emancipation should be gradual or 
immediate, with pay to the owner or without it, or w^iether it should be 
adopted in either form. The emancipationists, in some form, carried 
both branches of the Legislature — the House by a large majority. 

For several reasons, the vote in the State was small, largely on account 
of the oath for voters, prescribed by an ordinance of the Convention, ^ 
requiring as a condition precedent to suffrage that each voter swear that 
he would support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United 
States and of this State against all enemies and opposers, and true 

1 Passed June 1 0th, 1862. 




-^7^*, 



'^ '^hrKBi. 




HON. CARL SCHURZ, 
SEKATOR FE.OM MIS S ODRJ 



THE TWENTY-SECOND GENEKAL ASSEMBLY. 445 

allesfiance bear te the same, and that he had not since the 17th of 
December, 1861, Avilfullj taken up arms or levied war agamst the United 
States or the Provisional Government of Missouri, 

The Twenty-second General Assembly met in Jefferson City on 
December 29th, 1862. For Speaker of the Honse there were two candi- 
dates, each the nominee of a previous caucus, namely, L. C. Marvin, 
emancipationist, of Henry, and Joseph Davis, conservative, of Howard. 
Yote — Marvin, 67; Davis, 42. The successful candidate voted for Mr. 
Lincoln in I860, and was a w^ell-known Univeisalist minister. The 
emancipationists elected all the officers of the House, from Speaker to 
pages. Eenewecl impulse was given the policy of immediate emancipa- 
tion by the proclamation of President Lincoln, issued on the 1st of 
January, 1863. Chief Clerk of the House, W. C. Gantt, of St. Louis ; 
of the Senate, I. V. Pratt of Linn, late Colonel of the Eighteenth 
Missouri Volunteer Infantry. Colonel Pratt was in the battle of Pitts- 
burg Landing, where he was taken prisoner and retained as such in 
Southern prisons for more than six months. President of the Senate, 
Lieutenant-Governor Willard P. Hall. Governor Gamble's messno-e 
congratulated the people that the treasonable schemes of the last Legis- 
lature of the State to make war upon the Federal Government were 
thwarted by the very body, the State Convention, created to execute 
them; on the arrangement by which the State Militia were paid, armed 
and equipped by the Federal Government ; on the last year's military 
operations in the State, and on the present condition of the State military 
establishment. The number of volunteers from the State then in the 
service of the United States, nearly all of whom were in distant fields, was 
27,491. Number of State Militia for the war, under the Governor's 
ari-angement with the President, after all casualties, and after the dis- 
banding of battallions, 10,540, showing that the State had in service 
for the war 38,031 men. This was a lai-ge number to be furnished by the 
loyal men of a State where so many of the young men were engaged in 
rebellion against the Government. The militia enrolled and orsfanized 
was seventy-five regiments or 52,056 men, making a grand total of 
90,084. The Governor's statement of the State debt was $27,737,000, of 
which $700,000 consisted of Defense Warrants, authorized by the State 
Ccmvention. Much of the message was devoted to the recommendation 
of the policy of gradual instead of immediate emancip;ition. 

For the proceedings of the General Asseml)l3^ in regard to the election 
of United States Senators for the unexpired terms of Trusten Polk and 
Waldo P. Johnson, expelled, see page 450. 



446 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

On Tuesday, November 3, 1863, an election was held for three Judges, 
at that time a full bench, of the State Supreme Court. The canvass, 
notwithstanding the bloody and rapidly-occurring events of our civil war, 
attracted universal attention and awakened the liveliest interest among 
the people. Its inauguration, issues and incidents will long remain an 
interesting and suggestive chapter of our political annals. 

During the preceding State election little or nothing remained of pre- 
viously existing national political parties. The mad torrents of civil war 
had swept them away. New issues and new combinations, with new ob- 
jects, arose, affording another of the many examples of the pregnant 
truth that "political parties make strange bed-fellows of us all." It 
Avas during the judicial canvass of 1863 that the nuclei of the present 
political parties of the State were formed ; the one known as "Conserva- 
tive," the other as "Radical," and now known as "Democratic" and 
" Republican." Each was, and still is, a new party with an old name — 
new in its organization, new in its measures of policy, and new in its 
elements. All the ante-bellum issues had gone down in the bloody vortex 
of fratricidal war. Elements hitherto antagonistic, now coalesced on 
the living issues of an. all-absorbing present. Voters who in no previous 
canvass had acted together, then, as now, forgetting all j)ast diflferences 
in regard to public questions no longer practically important, because 
settled, occupied the same platform and marched to the polls under the 
same banner. Members of all the old parties were found in the new. 
Old Democrats and old Whigs became " Radicals " or " Conservatives,'* 
as in their judgment duty to the country demanded. Therefore, during 
the notable canvass of 1863, as in every canvass in Missouri and in the 
Nation since that period, voters known as Whigs, Democrats, Confed- 
erates, Federals, Southern men, Union men and Republicans were found 
in one or the other of the new organizations, each vieing with the other — 
but it must be admitted, not at all times on a footing of perfect equality 
as to the honors of office — to advance a common cause. 

The " Radical," or as it was often called, the " Republican" — some- 
times "Charcoal" — State Convention assembled in front of the Capitol 
in Jefferson City on September 1, 1863, and proceeded in a body to the 
Fair Grounds, where it was organized by the election of Judge Robert 
W. Wells, of Cole, as President. The following committee on platform 
was appointed : C. P. Johnson, Erail Pretorius, Albert Jackson, S. H. 
Boyd, B. Bruns, C. A. Winslow, A. L. Gilstrap, William W. Edwards. 
After which it was ao^reed that one additional member for each Consfres- 
sioual District be added to the committee, selected by the delegations 



EADICAL STATE COlSrYENTION.— ITS PLATFOKM. 447 

themselves, and the foUowmg were chosen : H. A. Clover, Judge James 
W. Owens, W. T. Leeper, J. B. Clark, of Dade, L. C. Marvin, Judge 
■Charles Carpenter, R. M. Stewart, Joseph R. Whichell, Frederick 
Muench, W. R. Penick. 

Of the one hundred and thirteen counties in the State, forty-four were 
unrepresented. Fifteen counties were represented by but one person 
«ach ; six by but two ; eight by but three, nine by but four, &c. St. 
Louis county furnished one hundred and seven ; Franklin county forty- 
nine ; Moniteau forty-four ; Cole thirty-seven ; St. Chiu-les thirty-one ; 
Pettis twenty-eight ; Miller and Johnson twenty-four each. The Ger- 
mans were largely represented in the body, there being present two hun- 
dred and forty-three German delegates. 

During the retirement of the Committee on Platform , the Convention 
was addressed at great length, la a' bitter speech, by the Hon. Charles 
D. Drake, of St. Louis. 

The platform reported hy the Committee and adopted by the Conven- 
tion denounced the military policy pursued in the State, and the dele- 
gation by the General Government of military powers to a provisional 
State organization, the whole tendency of which, it was maintained, was 
to throw back our people under the control of pro-slavery and reaction- 
ary influences, and to paralyze the Federal power in suppressing the re- 
bellion. It also most heartily endorsed the principles first enunciated 
by General Fremont in his proclamation of freedom of August 31st, 
1861, and afterwards sanctioned and embodied in the President's procla- 
mations of September 22d, 1862, and January 1st, 1863. The fifth res- 
olution of the series was a long and solemn arraignment of the Provis- 
ional (Gamble) Government of the State, as untrue to the loyal people ; 
as having usurped and exercised power for sinister ends ; as having im- 
prisoned loyal men for expressing sentiments in opposition to the State 
Government ; as having disarmed the loyal population in disturbed dis- 
tricts and tolerated avowed and enrolled disloyalists everywhere ; as 
having refused to permit enlistments into the United States volunteer 
forces by disqualifying orders ; as having used persistent efi'orts to have 
removed from command officers displaying energetic action in the sup- 
pression of the rebellion, and to have suspended all orders levying 
assessments against disloyalists, finally refusing to co-operate in their ex- 
ecution ; as having enrolled, commissioned and brought into active ser- 
vice known and avowed disloyalists, etc., etc. The platform also de- 
manded immediate emancipation in Missouri, and a constitutional enact- 
ment for the disfranchisement of all those who had taken up arms 



448 HISTOKY OF :^^SSOURL 

or levied war against the Government, or adhered to the enemies thereof, 
in the present rebellion. It also demanded (resohition eight) of the 
General Assembly that it call a Convention of the people to take into 
consideration the grievances under which the State labored, and to 
redress the wrongs which had been inflicted upon it by usurped authority ; 
and declared that, if the General Assembly should refuse so to do, such 
measures should be taken as would elicit the voice and the action of the peo- 
ple of the State. The ninth resolution, like the conclusion of the eighth, 
was of immense significance in declaring "that conventions are in the 
nature of sovereign remedies, applied by the people for the redress of 
grievances ; that they are extra constitutional, and while the custom has 
been to signify the will of the people for such call through their General 
Assembly, yet in the default of action on the part of the General Assem- 
bly, or in case of their refusal to obey instructions, nothing can dero- 
gate from the right of the people to act in their capacity." 

In two supplementary resolutions, the Convention requested Governor 
Gamble and Lieutenant-Governor Hall to vacate their positions, and 
urged President Lincoln to remove General Schofield from command of 
the department. 

After nominating as candidates for Judges of the Supreme Court Henry 
A. Clover, Arnold Krekel and David Wagner, and appointing a com- 
mittee of seventy, Charles D. Drake, Chairman, to visit President Lin- 
coln and present to him their grievances, the Convention adjourned. 

This committee made the pilgrimage to Washington pursuant to 
instructions, and on the 30th of September presented to the President 
an address, and on the 3d of October four supplementary addresses, in 
which were ably and fully stated the several matters whereof they com- 
plained in regard to the military policy of the National administration, 
and of General Schofield and Governor Gamble, touching Missouri. 
The platform of the Convention presents a fair epitome of the addresses 
of the Committee. On the 5th of October President Lincoln replied in 
writing to the several addresses. These papers, framed for a common 
object, consisted of the things demanded, and the reasons for demand- 
ing them. The things demanded, as epitomized in the President's rieply, 
were : 

First, That General Schofield should be relieved, and General Butler be appointed as 
Commander of the Military Department of Missouri ; 

Second, That the system of Enrolled Militia in Missouri should be broken up, and 
national forces substituted for it, and 

Third, That at elections, persons might not be allowed to vote who were not entitled 
by law to do so. 



COMlSnTTEE OF SEVENTY VISIT PKESIDENT LINCOLN. 449 

President Lincoln did not doubt that Union men in Missouri had suf- 
fered wrong, bnt the case as presented by the Committee failed to con- 
vince him that General Schofield, or the Enrolled Militia, was responsible 
for thiit suffering and wrong. The whole could be explained on a more 
charitable, and he thought, on a more rational hypothesis. He said : 

We are in civil war. In such cases there always is a main question ; but in this case 
that question is a perplexing compound— Union and Slavery. It thus becomes a ques- 
tion not of two sides merely, but of at least four sides, even among those who are for 
the Union, saying nothing of those who are against it. Thus, those who are for the 
Union with, but not without slavery — those for it without, but not with — those for it with 
or without, but prefer it with, and those for it with or without, but prefer it without. 

Among these again is a subdivision of those who are for gradual, but not for immediate, 
and those who are for immediate, but not for gradual extinction of slavery. 

It is easy to conceive that all these shades of opinion, and even more, may be sincerely 
entertained by honest and truthful men. Yet, all being for the Union, by reason of 
these differences, each will prefer a different way of sustaining the Union. At once, 
sincerity is questioned, and motives assailed. Actual war coming, blood grows hot, and 
blood is spilled. Thought is forced from old channels into confusion. Deception breeds 
and thrives. Confidence dies, and universal suspicion reigns. Each man feels an im- 
pulse to kiU his neighbor, lest he be killed by him. Eevenge and retaliation follow. 
And all this, as before said, may be among honest men only. But this it not all. Eveiy 
foul bird comes abroad, and every dirty reptile rises up. These add crime to confusion. 
Strong measures deemed indispensible, but harsh at best, such men make worse by mal- 
administration. Murders for old grudges, and murders for pelf, proceed under any cloak 
that will best cover for the occasion. ' 

These causes amply account for what has occurred in Missouri, without ascribing it to 
the weakness or wickedness of any General. 

In short, after carefully examining all the charges against General 
Schofield, President Lincoln expressed his disbelief of them and declined 
to remove him from command. He also declined to break up the sys- 
tem of Enrolled Militia in the State and substitute National troops for 
them. In regard to elections, he concurred with the Committee, and 
directed General Schofield accordingly, adding in President Lincoln's 
peculiarly terse and pointed style : 

The Kadicals and Conservatives each agree with me in some things and disagree in 
others. T could wish both to agree with me in aU things ; for then they would agree 
with each other, and would be too strong for any foe from any quarter. They, however, 
choose to do otherwise, and I do not question their right. I, too, shall do what seems 
to be my duty. I hold whoever commands in Missouri or elsewhere responsible to me, 
and not to either Eadicals or Conservatives. It is my duty to hear all, but, at least, 
I must, within my sphere, judge what to do and what to forbear. 

President Lincoln's response, as a matter of course, very materially 
cooled the ardor and excited the opposition of the Radicals, and in a 
corresponding degree quickened the enthusiasm and elicited the approval 



450 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

of the Conservatives. What is of fai- more value than either, however, 
is the fact that su})sequent events in Missouri demonstrated the consum- 
mate wisdom— for it was nothing less — of the President's course. 

The Conservjitives held no State Convention, but united in the sup- 
port of Biirton Bates, of St. Charles, William V. N. Bay, of St. Louis, 
and John D, S. Dryden, of Marion, for Supreme Court Judges; and 
durin*>- the canvass, in the articles of their editors and the speeches of 
their orators, antagonized the policy enunciated in the several resolu- 
tions of the Radical Platform, notably and with emphasis the sentiments 
of the eighth and ninth resolutions, as revolutionary and subversive of 
all leo-al o-overnment. The election resulted in the choice of Bates, 
Bay and Dryden, the Conservative candidates — as follows: Bates, 
47,229 ; Bay,' 47,180 ; Dryden, 47,171 ; Clover, 46,518 ; Krekel, 46,346 ; 
Wagner, 46,385. Bates' majority over Clover, 681; over Krekel, 883; 
over Wagner, 844. Whole number of votes cast, 93,777. 

On November 13th, 1863, the General Assembly being in adjourned 
session, a joint convention was held to elect a United States Senator to 
fill out the unexpired terms of Trusten Polk and Waldo P. Johnson, 
expelled, the vote being, for the term expiring March 3d, 1867, (ballot 
32d) B. Gratz Brown, 74 ; James O. Broadhead, 6Q ; H. M. Yoorhees, 2. 
For the term expiring March 3d, 1869, John B. Henderson, 84; John 
S. Phelps, 42 ; Ben. Loan, 7 ; William A. Hall, 3 ; James O. Broadhead, 
1; H. M. Voorhees, 1. 

Governor Gamble having died January 31st, 1864, in the 67th year of 
his ao-e, Lieutenant-Governor Hall succeeded to the office. His mantle 
could not have fallen on an abler or more patriotic citizen. Few men 
have ever lived or died with a more spotless reputation than Hamilton 
R. Gamble. Eminent and profound in his profession as a lawyer, a just 
Judge, a sincere Christian and an able man, he left a record behind 
him, personal, professional and ofiicial, which the wisest and best of 
earth might covet. His was been eventful and his career illustrious ; 
yet his last days were the most useful to his country. To Governor 
Gamble, more than to any other man in Missouri, were the people of 
this State indebted for whatever of prosperity and peace the war left 
them. Opposed in principle, and from the beginning, to the Rebellion, 
characterizing it as utterly causeless and indefensible, he consistently 
pursued his way, often amid storms of falsehood, obloquy and reproach; 
but always jealous of the peace of the people and laboring with ardent 
patriotism for the restoration of law and order. 

The Presidential campaign of 1864 Avas prosecuted in Missouri, by 



STATE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION". 



451 



both sides, in the midst of the intolerance, intimidation and violence 
more or less incident to all civil Avars. A general canvass was not 
attempted, for the prevalence of armed men, the raids and outrages of 
predatorj^ bands of giiei-rillas, and the bitter feeling engendered by the 
war, tended to repress the ardor of political orators and the importunities 
of political candidates. 

The proposition to hold a State Constitutional Convention having been 
adopted by the people at the November election, 1864, by about 29,000 
majority, the delegates (^66) chosen to that body assembled in Mercantile 
Library Hall, in the city of St. Louis, on Friday, January 6, 1865, as 
follows : 



William B. Adams. Danville. 

Adam J. Barr Richmond. 

Alfred M. Bedford Charleston. 

David Bonham Empire Prairie. 

Oeorge K. Budd St. Lonis. 

Harvey Bunce Boonville. 

Isidor Bush St. Louis. 

Eobert L. Childress Marshfield. 

Henry A. Clover St. Louis. 

Elves C. Cowden Halfway. 

John H. Davis Hall's Ferry. 

Samuel T. Davis New Madrid. 

Isham B. Dodson Kirksville. 

William D'Oench St. Louis. 

John H. Ellis Chillicothe. 

John Esther Lebanon- 
Ellis G. Evans Cuba. 

Chauncey T. Filley St. Louis. 

John W. Fletcher DeSoto- 

William H. Folmsbee Gallatin- 

Emory S. Foster Warrensburg- 

F^red. M. Fulkerson Marshall- 
John W. Gamble Mexico - 

Archibald Gilbert Mt. Vernon- 

Samuel A- Gilbert Weston- 

Abner L. Gilstrap Macon City. 

Joel M. Grammer Cassville. 

Moses P. Green Hannibal. 

Thomas B. Harris Concord. 

David Henderson Dent Court House. 

Ethan A. Holcomb Keytesville. 

John H. Holsworth Lono- Branch. 



Willis S. Holland Calhoun. 

Benjamin F. Hughes Sedalia. 

Joseph F. Hume Cahfornia. 

George Husmann Hermann. 

Wyllys King St. Louis. 

Eeeves Leonard Fayette. 

Moses L. Linton St. Louis. 

John F. McKernan Osage City. 

Arcibald M. McPherson Altenberg. 

John A. Mack Springfield. 

Alexander H. Martin Troy. 

Ferdinand Meyer St. Louis. 

James P. Mitchell Primrose. 

William A. Morton Liberty. 

Andrew G. Newgent Kansas City. 

Anton P. Nixdorf Pleasant Farm. 

James W. Owens Washington. 

Dorastus Peck Ironton. 

Jonathan T. Eankin Greenfield. 

Philip J. Eoher Lebanon. 

Gustavus St. Gem Ste. Genevieve. 

Eli Smith Smithton. 

Knight G. Smith Princeton. 

George P. Strong St. Louis. 

James T. Sutton Coldwater. 

John E. Swearingen Independence. 

William F. Svvitzler Columbia. 

George C. Thilenius Cape Girardeau. 

Lewis H. Weatherby Maysville. 

Jeremiah Williams Kingston. 

Eugene Williams Memphis. 



The Convention v/as organized on the second day of its session by the 
election of Arnold Krekel as President; Charles D. Drake, Yice- 
President; Amos P. Foster, Secretary; Thomas Proctor, Assistant 
Secretary ; H. J. Stierlin, Door-keeper ; John W. Stevens, Sergeant-at- 
Arms, and L. L. Walbridge, Phonogi-aphic Reporter. 

The act of the General Assembly, approved February 13th, 1864, 
authorizing the Convention to assemble, provided (section 5) that after its 
organization it should proceed to consider, first, such amendments to 



452 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

the Constitution of the State as might be by them deemed necessary for 
the emancipation of slaves; second, such amendments to the Constitu- 
tion of the State as might be by them deemed necessary to preserve in 
purity the elective franchise to loyal citizens, and such other amendments 
as might be by them deemed essential to the promotion of the public 

good. 

The first object which engaged the attention of the members of the 
Convention was emancipation ; and before the appointment of the usual 
standing committees, or the special committee of five on emancipation, 
several ordinances were introduced to provide for it. Said committee 
having been appointed, with Mr. Strong of St. Louis, Chairman,! all the 
ordinances were referred to it; and on the fifth day of the Convention 
(January 11th) Mr. Strong reported from the Committee the following 
ordinance and recommended its adoption : 

AN ORDINANCE ABOLISHING SLAVERY IN MSSOURI. 

Be it ordained by the People of the State of Missouri, in Convention assembled: 
That hereafter, in this State, there shall be neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude, 
except in punishment of crime, w^hereof the party shall have been duly convicted; and 
all persons held to service or labor as slaves are hereby declared free. 

As it was generally known the ordinance would be reported on that 
da\^, quite a large number of the military, ofiicers and soldiers, then in 
the city, and citizens, crowded the hall of the Convention ; and these 
were supplemented by "the Hutchinson Family," celebrated vocalists 
from New England, then visiting the city. It was an imposing array, 
rendered quite suggestive by the fact that the Hutchinson Family were 
invited on the platform to favor the Convention and its visitors with a 
patriotic song. They of course complied. 

Various amendments, all of which were rejected, were offered to the 
ordinance ; and the vote being taken, it was adopted by yeas and nays as 
follows : 

Ayes^W. B. Adams, of Montgomery ; A. M. Bedford, of Mississippi; David Bonham, 
of Andrew; George K. Budd, of St. Louis; Harvey Bunce, of Cooper; Isidor Bush, of 
St. Louis; K. L. Childress, of Webster; Henry A. Clover, of St. Louis; R. C. Cowden, 
of Polk; Samuel T. Davis, of ISTew Madrid; John H. Davis, of Nodaway; IshamB. Dod- 
son, of Adair; William D'Oeneh, of St. Louis; Charles D. Drake, of St. Louis; John H. 
Ellis, of Livingston; John Esther, of Laclede; Ellis J. Evans, of Crawford; Chaunceyl. 
Filley, of St. Louis; J. W. Fletcher, of Jefferson; WiUiam H. Folmsbee, of Daviess; 
Emory S. Foster, of Johnson; F. M. Fulkerson, of Saline; JohnW. Gamble, of Audrain; 
Archibald Gilbert, of Lawrence; Abner L. Gilstrap, of Macon; Moses P. Green, of 

> The Journal fails to show who were the other members. 



SLAYEKY IN MISSOUKI ABOLISHED. 453 

Marion; J. M. Grammer, of Bany; David Henderson, of Dent; E. A. Holcomb, of 
Chariton; Jolin H. Holdsworth, of Monroe; W. S. Holland, of Henry; E. F. Hughes, 
of Pettis; J. F. Hume, of Moniteau; George Hussman, of Gasconade; "Wyllis King, of 
St. Louis; E. Leonard, of Howard, M. L. Linton, of St. Louis; J. F. McKernan, of 
Cole; E. F. McPherson, of Perry; John A. Mack, of Green; A. H. Martin, of Lincoln; 
Ferdinand Meyer, of St. Louis ; James P. Mitchell, of Lewis ; A. G. Newgent, of Jack- 
son; A. P. Nixdorf, of Miller; James W. Owens, of Franklin; D. Peck, of Iron; J. T. 
Eankiu, of Dade; Philip Eohrer, of Cedar; G. St. Gem, of St^. Genevieve ;K. G. Smith, 
of Mercer; Eli Smith, of Worth; George P. Strong, of St. Louis; Joseph T. Sutton, of 
Wayne; JohnB. Swearingen, of Jackson; J. C. Thilenius, of Cape Girardeau; S. B. 
Weatherby, of Buchanan; Jeremiah Williams, of Caldwell; Eugene Williams, of Scot- 
land; Arnold Krekel, of St. Charles — 60. 

Nays — Samuel A. Gilbert, of Platte; Thomas B. Harris, of Callaway; WiUiam A. 
Morton, of Clay; William F. Switzler, of Boone — 4. 

Absent — A. J. Barr, of Eaj^; James F. Eogers, of Putnam — 2. 

The emancipation of the slaves in Missouri was thus in law accomplished 
— an emancipation which as a practical fact existed for some time pre- 
vious. 

On the day of the final vote on the ordinance, and while it was pend- 
ing, Mr. Smith, of Mercer, offered the following resolution, which was 
adopted : 

Besolved, That a committee of five be appointed by the Chair, whose duty it shall be 
to ascertain whether there is any member, or members, elected to this Convention who 
have, in any way, identified themselves in favor of the Eebellion, and report as soon as 
possible. 

The Committee appointed was as follows : Smith, of Mercer, Weath- 
erby, Folmsbee, Martin and Leonard. The object of this movement, 
as it was interpreted at the time by many of the people, was to "weed 
out" of the Convention, through the instrumentality of this Committee, 
and on the pretence of their disloyalty to the Union, a few refractory 
and irrepressible members who were suspected, and that not without 
reason, of "disloyalty" to the extreme measures of a majority of the 
body. 

The Convention was not long in session before it became apparent that 
mere "amendments" to the organic law would not be satisfactory to 
its leading spirits, prominent among whom, and abler than any of those 
who shared his convictions, stood Mr. Drake, of St. Louis, ^ but that the 
entire organic law would be thoroughly remodeled and a new constitution 

iCharlesD. Drake was the Ajax Telemon of the Convention, and left upon the Con- 
stitution the impress of his spirit and ability. Owing to this ftvct the body was known 
as "the Drake Convention," and the Constitution as ''Drake's Constitution," and the 
disfranchising portions of it as the "Draconian Code." 



454 HISTOKY OF MISSOUKE. 

submitted for the ratiticr.tion or rejection of the people at the polls. The 
purpose to inaugiiriite reforms so sweeping, was a source of regret to 
many of the most honored and able citizens of the State. They seri- 
ously questioned, in the first place, the authority of the Convention, under 
the law calling it into existence, and which simply delegated the power 
of amendment, to frame and submit an entire new instrnment. More- 
over, their convictions were quite clear and decided that delegates fresh 
from scenes of bitter strife and popular turbulence, chosen in the midst 
of civil war, and holding their sessions while it was in progress, were illy 
fitted for that dispassionate consideration and statesmanlike judgment 
demanded by the gravity of the crisis. 

Nevertheless, the Convention proceeded with its wholesale work of 
reform, and through the agency of various committees evolved new pro- 
visions in every article of the fundamental law. Of course it will not be 
expected that a tithe of these will be brought to view in this sketch. 
Some of them, however, are of such significance, as showing the temper 
and purposes of the Convention, that they merit brief record in this 
volume. Prominent among these is the article on "the right of 
suffrage." Tliis subject, concerning most vitally the liberties of the 
people, and directly affecting their right to participate at the polls in the 
choice of those who were to make, administer and expound the laws for 
their government, elicited the earnest attention of the Convention, and 
was the source of the most angry and exciting debate. Early in the session, 
a special committee " on Elective Franchise" — Bonham, Folmsbee, Clover, 
Foster, Evans, Adams and Drake — was appointed, and to them every pro- 
position and ordinance on the subject were referred. And these were very 
numerous; and all of them, in some form or other, and in provisions 
more, or less sweeping, disclosed the purpose to hedge in the ballot-box 
by expurgatory oaths as tests of loyalty. It is needless to follow the 
devious trail of the various amendments proposed in the Committee of the 
Whole and in the Convention ; or to attempt a synopsis of the protracted 
debate. Suffice it to say, that on the 29th of March, on motion of Mr. 
Bonham, the article (Article II) on the "Eight of Suffrage," as 
amended, was engrossed for a third reading, — ^yeas 29 ; nays 8, the 
third section of which is as follows : 

Section 3. At any election held by the people luicler this Constitution, or in pursu- 
ance of any law of this State, or under any ordinance or by-law of any municipal cor- 
poration, no person shall be deemed a qualified voter who has ever been in armed 
hostility to the United States, or to the lawful authorities thereof, or to the Government 
of this State; or has ever given aid, comfort, countenance or support to persons engaged 
in any such hostility ; or has ever, in any manner, adhered to the enemies, foreign or 



THE "lEON^-CLAD OATH." 455 

domestic, of the United States, either by contributing- to them, or by unlawfully sending 
within their lines money, goods, letters or information; or has ever disloyally held com- 
munication with such enemies ; or has ever advised or aided any person to enter the 
service of such enemies; or has ever, by act or word, manifested his adherence to the 
cause of such enemies, or his desire for their triumph over the arms of the United States, 
or his sympathy with those engaged in exciting or carrying on rebellion against the 
United States; or has ever, except under overpowering compulsion, submitted to the 
authoritjr, or been in the service of the so-called ''Confederate States of America"; or 
has ever left this State and gone witliin the lines of the armies of the so-called "Confed- 
erate States of America," with the purpose of adheriug to said States or armies; or has 
ever been a member of. or connected with, any oi'der, society or organization inimical 
to the Government of the United States, or to the Government of this State ; or has ever 
been engaged in guerrilla warfare against loyal inhabitants of the United States, or in 
that description of marauding commonly known as "bushwhacking"; or has ever know- 
ingly and willingly harbored, aided or countenanced any person so engaged; or has 
ever come into or left this State for the purpose of avoiding enrollment for or draft into 
the military service of the United States; or has ever, with a view to avoid enrollment 
in the militia of this State, or to escape the performance of duty therein, or for any other 
purpose, enrolled himself, or authorized himself to be enrolled, by or before any officer, 
as disloyal, or as a Southern sympathizer, or in any other terms indicating his disaffec- 
tion to the Government of the United States in its contest with rebellion, or his sympathy 
with those engaged in such rebellion; or, having ever voted at any election by the peo- 
ple in this State, or in any other of the United States, or in any of their Territories, or 
under the United States, shall thereafter have sought or received, under claim of 
alienage, the protection of any foreign government, through any consul or other officer 
thereof, in order to secure exemption from military duty in the militia of this State, or 
in the army of the United States ; nor shall any such person be capable of holding, in. 
this State, any office of honor, trust or profit under its authority; or of being an officer, 
councilman, director, trustee or other manager of any corporation, public or private, 
now existing, or hereafter established by its authority; or of acting as a professor or 
teacher in any educational institution, or in any common or other school; or of holding 
any I'eal estate or other property in trust for the use of any church, religious society or 
congregation. But the foregoing provisions in relation to acts done against the United 
States shall not apply to any person not a citizen thereof, who shall have committed 
such acts while in the service of some foreign country at war with the United States, 
and who has, since such acts, been naturalized, or may hereafter be naturalized, under 
the laws of the United States; and the oath of loyaltyhereinafterprescribed, when taken 
by any such person, shall be considered as taken in such sense. 

Section four made it the duty of the General Assembly to provide 
by law for a registration of the names of tlie qualitied. voters of the 
State, and section five that after this system should have been established 
the oath indicated in the third section should be taken and subscribed bv 
the voter at such time of his registration. Any person declining to take 
said oath should not be allowed to vote, or to be registered as a qualified 
voter. The taking thereof should not be deemed conclusive evidence of 
the right of the person to vote or to be registered as a voter ; but such right 
might, notwithstanding, be disproved. It also provided that all evidence • 
for and against the right of any person as a qualified voter should be heard 



456 HISTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 

and passed upon hij the registering officer or officers , and not by the judges of 
election. The registering officer or officers were required to keep a register 
of the names of persons rejected as voters, and tlie same to be certified 
to the judges of election ; and they were to receive the baUot of any such 
rejected voter offering to vote, marking the same, and certifying the vote 
thereby given as rejected ; but no such vote sliould be received unless the 
party offering it should take, at the time, the oath of loyalty. 

During the pendency of the third section in Committee of the Whole 
on January 27th, Mr. Switzler, of Boone, offered an amendment, which 
on the 29th of March was renewed in the Convention by Mr. Bush of 
St. Louis, to strike out the word " ever" and insert the words " since 
the 17th December, 1861," the object and effect of which were very 
materially to abridge the disfranchising sweep of the section. The 
friends of this amendment — numerous among the people, but few and 
far between in the Convention — maintained that the pregnant words, 
" who has ever," violated the plighted honor of both the State and 
Nation — in this, that on the 3d of August, 1861, Governor Gamble made 
proclamation to those who at the call of Governor Jackson took up arms 
against the Government, that if they would voluntarily return home to 
the peaceful pursuit of their occupations he would afford them security, 
and that they should not be molested. This proclamation was endorsed 
by President Lincoln, who pledged that the National Government would 
cause the promise to be respected. The " Gamble" Convention, by an 
Ordinance passed October 16th, 1861, in the name and by the anthority 
of the people of Missouri, became a party to this arrangement, 
'•respected" the promise, and provided that all who by the 17th 
December, 1861, took the oath set out in the ordinance should be 
"exempt from arrest or punishment for offences previously committed." 
This amnesty was proclaimed by the highest authority in the State and 
nation, by the Governor, by the Convention, and by the President of the 
United States. It was claimed that the third section disregarded and 
violated this faith, and sought to dishonor the State by committing it to 
a breach of its solemn word. Nevertheless, the amendment, Avhen it was 
renewed in the Convention by Mr. Bush, was (on motion of Mr. Drake) 
laid on the table — yeas 34, na3''s 11 ; the nays being Bedford, Bush, 
D'Oench, Esther, Gilbert of Platte, Husmann, Linton, Meyer, Eohrer, 
Switzler, and Mr. President (Krekel).^ 

Not only were disqualiii cations provided for voters, and for those who 

1 Journal of the Convention, page 200. 



THE AYES AND NOES. 457 

mio-bt hold or aspire to hold any office of honor, tfust or profit under 
the authority of this State, or of any corporation, or as professor or 
teacher in any educational institution, or in any common or other school, 
but the 9th section went beyond this and invaded the religious, charita- 
ble, social and business relations of the people, and sought to provide an 
expurgatorial oath for ministers of the gospel, attorneys and teachers in 
our schools, male and female. Under that section,' no person was per- 
mitted to practice law, " or be competent as a bishop, priest, deacon, 
minister, elder, or other clergyman of any religious persuasion, sect, 
or denomination, to teach, or preach, or solemnize marriages, unless 
such person shall have first taken, subscribed, and filed said oath." 

When the section was before the Convention, Mr. Folmsbee, of Daviess, 
moved to amend it by the insertion of the words "to teach or preach," 
and the amendment was adopted, April 1st, as follows : 

Ayes — ^Messrs. Adams Bonham, Bunce, Childress, Davis of Nodaway, Dodson, Ellis, 
Esther, Evans, Folmsbee, Gilbert of Lawrence, Holcomb, Holdsworth,, Holland, Hume, 
Leonard, Eankin, Eoher, Smith of Mercer, Smith of Worth, Strong, Sutton, Weatherby, 
Williams of Caldwell, and Willians of Scotland — 25. 

Noes — Messrs. Barr, Drake, Fulkerson, Gamble, Henderson, King, Linton, McPherson, 
Swearingen, and Switzler — 10. 

Absent with leave — Messrs. Bush, Fletcher, Foster, Gilbert of Platte, Hughes, Husmann, 
Morton, Newgent, St. Gem, and Thilenius — 10. Absent without leave — Messrs. Bedford, 
Budd, Clover, Davis of New Madrid, D'Oench, Filley, Gilstrap, Grammer, Green, 
McKernan, Mack, Martin, Meyer, Nixdorf, Owens, and Mr. President — 16. Sick — ^Messrs. 
Cowden, Mitchell, and Peck — 3. 

Finally, all efibrts to defect the second article or to mollify its rigors 
having been exhausted, it was read a third time on the 1st of April, and 
adopted — yeas 30, nays 7 — as follows : (Journal, p. 212). 

Ayes — ^IMessrs. Barr, Bonham, Bunce, Childress, Clover, Davis of Nodaway, Dodson, 
Drake, Esther, Folmsbee, Fulkerson, Gamble, Gilbert of Lawrence, Henderson, Hols- 
worth, Holland, Hume, King, Leonard, McKernan, McPherson, Mack, Smith of Mercer, 
Smith of Worth. Strong, Sutton, Swearingen, Weatherby, Williams of Caldwell, and 
Williams of Scotland— 30. 

Noes — ^Messrs. Bedford, Bush, Holcomb, Linton, Meyer, Eohrer, and Switzler — 7. 

Absent with leave — Messrs. Evans, Fletcher, Foster, Gilbert of Platte, Hughes, Hus- 
inann, Morton, Newgent, St. Gem, and Thilenius — 10. Absent without leave — ^IMessrs. 
Adams, Budd, Davis of New Madrid, D'Oench, Ellis, Filley, Gilstrap, Grammer, Green, 
Martin, Nixdorf, Owens, Eankin, and Mr. President — 14. Sick — Messrs. Cowden, 
Mitchell, and Peck.— 3. 

The following is the 2d section of the article on the "Executive 
Department:" 



458 HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 

Section 2. The Governor shall be at least thirty-five years old, a white male citizen 
of the United State ten j'-ears. and a resident of the State of Missouri seven years, next 
before his election. 

When under coii.sideration on March 8tli, Mr. Holland, of Henry,— now 
a citizens of Marshall, Mo. — moved to strike out the words "white male," 
the effect of which would have been to make any citizen, of any color or 
sex, eligible to the office of Governor. On the next day, the question 
beino' on the adoption of the amendment, Mr. Switzler of Boone de- 
manded the ayes and noes, and the vote being taken, stood as follows : 

Ayes — Messrs. Budd, Bush, D'Oench, Drake, Ellis, Evans, Eilley, Foster, Gilbert of 
Lawrence, Holcomb, Holland, Husmann. King, Linton, McKernan. McPherson, Meyer, 
Nixdorf, Owens, Rohrer, St. Gem, Thilenius, Williams of Caldwell, Williams of Scot- 
land, and Mr. President— 25. 

Noes — Messrs. Bonham, Bunce, Childress, Clover, Cowden, Davis of New Madrid, 
Davis of Nodaway, Dodson, Fletcher, Folmsbee, Fulkerson, Gamble, Henderson, Holds- 
worth, Hume, Mack, Martin, Newgent, Peck, Kankin, Smith of Mercer, Strong, Sutton, 
Swearingen, and Switzler — 25. 

Absent with leave — Messrs. Adams, Bedford, Esther, Gilbert of Platte, Gilstrap, Gram- 
mer. Green, Hughes, INIorton, Smith of Worth, and Weatherby — 11. Absent without leave 
— ^Messrs. Barr and Leonard. Sick — ^Mr. Mitchell. 

So the amendment was rejected, the vote being a tie — 25 to 25. 

On an amendment proposed by Mr. Husmann, of Gasconade, March 
11th, to strike out the words "white male" in sections 3 and 5 of the 
article on "Legislative Department," whereby any person, male or 
female, black or white, if otherwise qualified, would be eligible to a seat 
in either branch of the General Assembly, the vote was likewise a tie — 
21 to 21. 

In the interests of brevity, the proceedings of the Convention in regard 
to other subjects — the vacating of the seat of Thomas B. Harris, of Cal- 
lawa}^, on charges of disloyalty ; the ordinances in regard to railroad 
indebtedness ; for vacating certain civil offices in the State and filling the 
same anew by appointment of the Governor; and the provisions for put- 
ting the Constitution into force — are omitted.^ Suffice it to say that an 
election was appointed on the 6th of June, 1865, to ascertain the sense 
of the people in regard to the adoption or rejection of the Constitution, 
it being at the same time provided that at said election no person should 

^Notwithstanding the violence with which the Constitution was assailed on account of 
many objectionable features, it was not wholly destitute of wise and valuable provis- 
ions. The article on " Education," for example, the enemies of the Constitution them- 
selves now agree, provided a broad foundation for our system of public instruction, 
high, low and intermediate. 



THE "DEAKE" CONSTITUTION ADOPTED. . 459 

be allowed to vote " who would not be a qualified voter according to the 
terms of this Constitution, if the second article thereof were then in 
force." That is to say, no person should be allowed to vote on the ques- 
tion of adoption or rejection unless he should have previously taken the 
oath indicated by the third section of the second article. 

On April 8th, the question then being on the tinal adoption of the Con- 
stitution, Mr. Drake demanded the ayes and noes thereon ; and the vote 
being taken stood as follows : 

Ates— Messrs. Adams, Barr, Bonham, Bucld, Bunce, Childress, Davis of Nodaway, 
Dodson, Dralve, Ellis, Esther, Evans, Filley, Folmsbee, Fulkerson, Gamble, Gilbert of 
Lawi-ence, Henderson, Holcomb, Holdsworth, Holland, Hume, King, Leonard, McKer- 
nan, McPherson, Mack, Martin, Peck, Rankin, Smith of Mercer, Strong, Sutton, Swear- 
ingen, Weatherby. Williams of Caldwell, Williams of Scotland, and Mr. President— 38. 

Noes— Messrs. Bedford, Bush, D'Oench, Fletcher, Foster, Gilstrap, Green, Husmann, 
Linton. Meyer, Eohrer, Smith of Worth, and Switzler— 13. 

Absent with Leave— Messrs. Gilbert of Platte, Hughes, Morton, Newgent, Nixdorf and 
St, Gem— 6. Absent without Leave—Messrs. Clover, Davis of New Madrid, Grammer, 
Owens and Thilenius— 5. >S'ic^— Messrs. Cowden and Mitchell— 2. 

So the Constitution was finally adopted, and on ^tonday, April 10th, 
1865, the Convention adjourned sine die. 

The canvass which succeeded was one of great bitterness. ■ Although 
the war was practically over— the Confederate armies having surren- 
dered and the Federal troops occupied Richmond, Petersburg and all the 
strongholds of the Rebellion ; and just before the close of the canvass, 
the President of the Confederate States, Jefferson Davis, was a prisoner 

fi-ao-mentary guerrilla bands continued in existence, to the detriment of 

the peace and safety of various sections. Battalions of State Militia 
were kept in the field in many counties to hold these bands in check and 
to punish them for disorders. Nevertheless, a spirit of unrest and 
malevolence, of hatred and ill-will, prevailed among the people, and the 
character of the issues discussed, to say nothing of the acerbity of the 
discussions themselves, was not calculated to reduce "the ragged edge" 
of the canvass. Tens of thousands of tax-payers of the State, many of 
whom were old and honored citizens and non-combatants during the war, 
and men of education and influence, were disfranchised by the third sec- 
tion, and denied the privilege of the ballot in the decision of the great 
issue before the State- that issue being the adoption or rejection of an 
oro-anic law which was to govern them and their children after them; On 
the other hand, it was stoutly maintained that citizens who had attempt- 
ed to destroy their government ; who had either by overt acts of rebellion, 
committed treason, or in words and sympathy had given aid and 



460 HISTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 

comfort to the insurgents, had forfeited the privilege of the ballot — the 
more extreme devotees of this view maintaining that their only remain- 
ing riglit was the right to pay taxes, work the roads, and hold their 
peace. Only 85,478 votes (including soldiers' votes) were cast at the 
election, as follows: For the new Constitution, 43,670; against it, 
41,808. Majority for the Constitution, 1,862. The announcement of 
this vote Avas accompanied by a proclamation of Governor Fletcher, 
officially declaring that the new Constitution would take effect on July 
4th, 1865. 

The General Assembly met in Jefferson City on November 1st, 1865, 
— Andrew J. Harlan, of Andrew, Speaker of the House — and proceeded 
to enact a registry and other laws to enforce the provisions of the new 
Constitution. The registry law was very stringent, and its enforcement 
occasioned many scenes of disorder and violence, and great excitement 
in the State. 

The attempt to enforce the ordinance properly known as "the 
oustino" ordinance " — for vacating certain civil offices, was attended with 
difficulty and unpleasant collisions. David Wagner and Walter E. 
Lovelace were appointed Judges of the Supreme Court in place of Wm. 
V. N. Bay- and John D. S. Dryden. The latter gentlemen believed 
there was no legal validity in the ordinance, and declined to vacate their 
places. Governor Fletcher issued an order to expel them from the 
bench, and they were taken from their seats by the police of St. Louis 
City, and escorted as prisoners to the office of Eecorder Wolff. A. W. 
Mead, the Clerk of the Court, also declining to yield his office, with the 
records and papers, was also summarily ejected. 

That portion of the ninth section of the second article of the Consti- 
tution, in regard to ministers of the gospel, lawyers and teachers, was a 
fruitful source of turbulence and trouble, and many indictments were 
found and arrests made for refusal to take "the iron-clad oath " pre- 
scribed. So great was the popular clamor against the voters', ministers', 
lawj^ers' and teachers' oath, that in December, 1866, a movement was 
set on foot in St. Louis by leading Republicans, prominent among whom 
Avere B. Gratz Brown and Carl Schurz, which had for its object univer- 
sal amnesty and univers:d enfranchisement. This movement rapidly 
acquired volume and strength, and very soon was felt throughout the 
State. In his annual message to the Twenty-Fourth General Assembly, 
which convened in Jefferson City on the 2nd of January, 1867, Gov- 
ernor Fletcher recommended an amendment to the Constitution, striking 
out the ninth section of the second article. 



NEGEO SUFFEAGE AMENDMENT PROPOSED TO CONSTITUTION. 461 

During this session, and on Januaiy 15th, Charles D. Drake, Eepub- 
lican, was elected to the United States Senate for six years from the 
fourth of March ensuing, the vote being — Senate: Charles D. Drake, 
23 ; F. P. Bkir, 6 ; N. Hohnes, 3. House : Charles D, Drake, 86 ; F. 
P. Blair, 33; Ben. Loan, 3; Henry T. Blow, 3; H. M. Voorhees, 1; 
John S. Phelps, 1. 

It was at this session of the Legislature that an amendment to the 
Constitution was submitted to the people, on the first Tuesday in 
Noveml)er, 1868, proposing to strike the word "white" from the 
eighteenth section of the second article, whereby negro suflrage would be 
inaugurated in Missouri. The proposition originated in the Senate, and 
was submitted to that body by Mr. Winters, of Marion, on the 12th of 
February. On Monday February 25th, it passed the Senate, as follows : 

Ayes — Messrs. Adams, Boardman, Bonham, Bruers, Cavender, Clark, Conrad, Ellis, 
Evans, Ewell, Ooebel, Harbine, Headlee, Hubbard, Human, Parks, Rea, Shelton. and 
Winters— 19. 

Noes — ^Messrs. Dodson, Filler, Holland, King, Morse, Spaunhorst, and Williams — 7. 

Absent or not voting — Messrs. Deal, Fish, Graham, McCormack, Reed, Ridgley, and 
Townsley — 7. 

On Tuesday, February 26th, in the Senate, Messrs. Fisher, Ridgely 
and Townsley obtained leave to record their votes on the proposition of 
Mr. Winters, passed the day before, during their absence. They voted 
Aye. 

On Monday, March 4th, the constitutional amendment from the Senate, 
being under consideration in the House, Mr. Orrick, of St. Charles, pro- 
posed not only to strike out the word "white," but also the word 
"male" ; thus seeking to commit the body not only to black male suf- 
frage, but also to female suffrage, black and white. Rejected — 39 to 51. 

On Thursday night, March 7, the subject again came up in the House, 
and the amei)dment passed — ayes 74; nays 46 — as follows (Conserva- 
tives in italic) : 

Ayes — Messrs. Akard, Bennett, Betz, Birch, Blodgett, Branscombe, Brock, Brown of 
Dallas, Brown of Daviess, Bulkley, Burch of Jasper, Buzick, Cartmel, Cosgrove, Dall- 
nieyer, DeLand, Downey, Drum, Eppstein, Esteb, Ewing, Ferrell, Finkelnburg, Free- 
man, Goodson, Hargrove, Harper, Hathaway, Hewitt, Hickman, Hornbeak, Hoskinson, 
Howard, Howe, Hume, Jaquith, Jerome, Jewett, Jones, Kidwell, Kuhl, Laughlin, 
Leaming, Ledergerber, Long, McElhinney, McGinnis, McMillen, Mitchell, Mullings of 
Green, Mullins of Linn. Orrick, Payne, Pond, Pyle, Quinn, Rinker, Bollins, Rounti-ee, 
Schneider, Schulenburg, Shafer, Stafford, Thompson, Valle, Walker, Waters, Weimuch, 
Whittaker, Willcinson, Wolbrecht, Wyatt and Mr. Speaker— 74. 



462 HISTOKY OF 3IISS0UKI. 

The followiiiir arc the names of those who voted in the negative : 

Messrs. Alexander, Applegate, Beal, Boc/y, Boon. Britton, Camion, Childress, Cockerill, 
Cole, Colman, Drunimoud, Eagle, ^ZZts, Ellison, Eubanks, Farrar, Fletcher, Fox, Griffin, 
Hnff, Keij, Lawson, Legg, Linder, Lyman, McBride, McMurtry, Martin, Monks, Keville, 
Riggs, Ritchie, Robertson, Byland, Scott, Smelser, Smythe, Steele, Sutton, Taylor, Van 
Wagoner, Waide, White of Cole, White of Bandolph, Williams, Wolf and Zevely — 4G. 

On the 13th of March, the Legishiture adjourned till the first Tuesday 
in January, 1868. 

At the general election during the latter year, the proposed amend- 
ment striking out the Avord "white" was defeated, the vote being — 
against striking out, 74,053; for striking out, 55,236. Majority against 
negro sufi*rage, 18,817. 

On Saturday night, March 31, a great calamity befell St. Louis and 
the whole country in the loss, by fire, of the old Liudell Hotel, which 
was first opened to the public October 19, 1863. It was beyond all 
comparison the finest hotel that had, up to that time, been built west of 
iSew York. We avail ourselves of a description of the building and fire 
which appeared in the St. Louis Globe- De^nocr at of April 12, 1877 : 

The Lindell Hotel consisted of two parallel buildings of brick, extending east and west 
the length of the whole front, with a space of forty-five feet between them, and con- 
nected in the center and at both ends by wing buildings running north and south, leav- 
ing between them two courts. The outer-connecting buildings and the two flanks 
extended the full depth of the lot, about 300 feet. The southern or principal front was 
divided into five compartments, with a profusion of ornament on each. 

The Lindell was six stories high, exclusive of both basement and attic, equivalent to 
two stories more. The heigth from sidewalk to cornice was 112 feet. The basement 
^xtehded under the entire building, and comprised the laundries, the bake rooms, the 
store rooms, the coal vaults and ash holes. 

On the fii-st floor were the gorgeous offices, with their variegated marble floors, the 
saloons, the billiard rooms, the grand hall for the Board of Trade, public and private 
offices, and various other necessary rooms. The other stories were reached by two 
grand staircases, running up the entire heigth of the building. Each step was twelve 
feet long, and the walls were of walnut, handsomely carved and beautifully ornamented. 

On the second floor were dining rooms, public and private parlors, I'eading and ynAt- 
ing rooms, club rooms, and public reception rooms. On the remaining stories were 
the sleeping rooms and rooms en suite. Some idea of the size of the establishment may 
be gained from the fact that the. gentlemen's dining-room was 116 feet bj'' 44 feet, and 
none of the private parlors were less than 16 by 17 feet, while the whole structure, from 
basement to attic, had the enormous number of 530 rooms. The brick in the building 
Avould have paved a space of thirty-eight acres, while more than 35,000 feet of cut stone 
were in the fronts. Seven hundred and forty tons of cast and wrought iron were used, 
and 8,240 pounds of copper for gutters. There were 810 windows and 650 inside doors. 
The plate glass used would cover an acre, and the floors seven acres. The wash-boards 



BUENING OF THE LINDELL HOTEL. 463 

laid in a line would reach thirteen miles, while if a boarder desired to walk before 
breakfast, he might travel a mile and three-quarters without retracing his steps or going 
over the same ground twice. Thirty-two tons of sash- weights were used, 16,000 feet 
of gas-pipe, 120,500 pounds of lead and 30,000 pounds of iron pipe to supply the water; 
87,700 feet of steam-pipe for heating, and thirty-two miles of bell-wire were in position. 
The actual cost of the building was $950,000, which, with the ground, valued at $326,400, 
makes the whole value $1,276,400; not to speak of furniture, $500,000 worth of which 
was imported, making the total worth of the establishment $1,759,000. 

How the fire originated was never certainly discovered. One account declares it to 
have come from a defective llue, while another finds its origin in a bursted gas-pipe. 
Another still attributes it to the carelessness of a servant girl, who left a gas-jet turned 
on, and allowed a room [in the sixth story] to become filled with gas, which exploded 
on lighting a match, and thus set fire to the building. Be this as it may, nothing is cer- 
tain, but that on the evening of Saturday, March 31, 1867, the inmates of the house per- 
ceived a strong smell of smoke, Mr. Bart Able, among others, carefully traversed the 
halls and corridors, everywhere smelling the signs of fire, until he traced the scent to a 
bath-room on the sixth floor in the northwest corner. Here he procured an axe, broke 
in the plastering, and the flames burst forth. This appears to have been the first dis- 
covery of the fire in the building, though it is stated that persons outside, squares away, 
smelled the burning pine and paint before the fire became known to anybody in the 
house. 

The alarm was first given at 8 o'clock p. m., though it excited very little feeling in 
the hotel, the guests finishing their suppers at their leisure, having ample confidence in 
the abundant facilities on every hand for the extinguishment of the flames. The build- 
ing was provided with tanks of water on the roof, and with hose on every floor, but at 
the moment of need, the tanks were empty and the hose were useless. The engines 
were sent for, and arrived in good time, but owing to the breaking out of the fire in the 
upper stories they could do nothing. The fiames soon began to appear at the windows 
in the fifth and sixth stories, and though efforts w^ere made to get the hose up through 
the center of the building, they proved utterly abortive, and after a few ineffectual 
attempts, the hope of saving the building was abandoned, and the firemen directed 
their attention to saving all the property they could. It was even found that there was 
not an adequate head of w^ater in the reservoir, and this fact also operated against the 
firemen. The waiters and employes of the hotel were called on to assist in removino- 
property, but these gentry turned their attention with wonderful unanimity to saving 
tliemselves and their own efi"ects, and could not be induced to help save the hotel 
furniture. 

A very few minutes after the fire was discovered, it burst out of the roof, as well as 
■out of all the windows of the two upper stories, and swept round the cornices in wild 
magnificence. After gaining a start, it seemed to develop its strength everywhere at 
once, since although the fii-e started in the western end of the building, the eastern end 
was the one fu-st destroyed. It was fortunate for the city at large that the evening 
was unusually still, since a strong wind blowing from any direction would have infalli- 
bly caused the destruction of several blocks of baildings. As it was, some damage was 
done by the falling of the walls. The conflagration was one of the most splendid on 
record. The whole interior of the building was one mass of flame, which, after the fall 
of the roof, shot up several hundred feet into the air, and was visible to a distance of 
thirty miles from the city. There were, no lives lost, though the panic was extreme, 
and for awhile rumors of persons being burned to death Avere frequent. Losses by indi- 
vidual boarders of jewels, clothing, fm-nitm-e and similar eflects were, in some pases, 
quite serious. 



464 HISTORY OF MISSOUEI. 

On the grouiul floor were a large number of fashionable stores, the stocks of which 
wei-e dainaged by water or removal, or was entirely destroyed by fire. The Young 
Men's Christian Association also occupied rooms on the ground floor, and when the fire 
broke out a prayer meeting was in progress. It is almost needless to say it did not con- 
tinue long, for even then, while the benediction was being pronounced, the flames were 
curling round the cornices. 

On May 15th, 1867, the State Senate assembled in the Capitol as a high 
court of impeachment for the trial of Walter King, of Ray, judge of the 
fifth judicial circuit, for misdemeanors in ofiice. He was found guilty, 
by a vot6 of twenty -three to eight, and deposed. 

The Twenty-fourth General Assembly re-assembled at the Capitol on 
Tuesday, January 7th, 1868, and during its session adopted a new registry 
law more stringent in its provisions than the one it was enacted to supplant. 
Under it the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
was authorized to appoint a superintendent of registration in each Sena- 
torial district, every year in which a general election should occur. As 
the Supreme Court of the United States, January 14th, 1867, in the case 
of John A. Cnmmings vs. the State of Missouri, had pronounced the test 
oath unconstitutional, the new registry law, providing for a more rigid 
enforcement of the celebrated " Third Section," occasioned renewed and 
wide-spread dissatisfaction among the conservative citizens of the State. 
Therefore, the next ensuing State canvass was distinguished by great 
bitterness and party feeling, culminating on some occasions in scenes of • 
personal violence. 

The Twenty-fifth General Assembly convened on January 6th, 1869. 
During the preceding State canvass the new registry law had done its 
w^ork well and to the entire satisfaction of its friends. Hence the Senate 
was composed of twenty-five Republicans and nine Democrats, and the 
House of ninety-two Republicans and thirty-five Democrats ; a Republican 
majority of sixteen in the Senate, fifty-seven in the House, and seventy- 
three on joint ballot. 

On January 19th, Carl Schurz, Republican, was elected to the United 
States Senate for six years from March 4th, 1869 — the vole being : Carl 
Schurz (R.) 114; John S. Phelps (D.) 44. 

On October 27th the foundation of the eastern pier of the grand 
tubular steel bridge at St. Louis was laid, aftording an earnest of the 
vigorous prosecution, till completed, of the work on one of the costliest 
and most valuable railroad bridges in the world — a structure which will 
remain a memorial through all time of the genius and enterprise of James 
B. Eads. 




Mv"^ <b^r'^ 




^1^ 



'^^-n-^7-l1^ 




CHAPTEK XXXIII. 

1870 TO 1877.— Election Returns.— Adjourned Session of XXVth General Assembly.— 
Ratification of XVth Constitutional Amendment.— Ayes and Noes.— Six Amend- 
ments TO THE State Constitution Proposed. — What they were and the vote on 
EACH.— Agricultural College Located at Columbia.— The Republican Party in 
1870 RENT BY discords.— The Democrats adopt the "Passive Policy" and Nomi- 
nate no S [ATE TICKKT.— Two REPUBLICAN STATE CONVENTIONS AND TWO STATE TICK- 
ETS.— THE "Radicals" and " Liberals."— B. Gratz Brown (Liberal) Elected Gov- 
ernor.— The Tes t-oath Abrogated and the Republicans Remanded from Power.— 

F. P. Blair elected United States Senator.— The XXVIth General Assembly.— 
Two more Amendments to the Constitution Proposed and Ratified.— The Gun 
City, Cass County, Massacre.— In 1872 the Democrats and Liberals jointly nomi- 
nate A State Ticket.— Silas Woodson elected Governor.— The XXVIIth General 
Assembly.— Louis V. Bogy chosen United States Senator.— Vote of the People 
authorized on a call for a constitutional convention.— opening of the great 
St. Louis Bridge.— Canvass of 1874.— Charles H. Hardin the Democratic Nom- 
inee FOR Governor.— The " People's" Party.— William Gentry.— Hardin elected. 
—Constitutional convention- of 1875 called.— Its Proceedings.— Constitution 
Adopted.— Whiskey Frauds.— Canvass of 1876.— J. S. Phelps the Democratic and 

G. A. Finkelnburg the Republican candidate for Governor.— Phelps Elected. 
—The XXIXth General Assembly.— Burning of the Southern Hotel, St. Louis. 

election for governor, 1870. 

B. Gratz Brown, Liberal 104,374 

Joseph W. McClurg, Eepublican 63,336 

Brown's majority over McClurg 41,038 

CONSTITUTIONAL AMJENDMENTS. 

No. 1 — ^Abolishing District Courts : 

Yeas 137,874 

Nays 7,389 

Majority 130,485 

No. 2 — Abolishing oath of loj^alty for jurors: 

Yeas 133,702 

Nays 10,809 

Majority 122,883 

No. 3 — ^Abolishing double liability of stockholders in private corporations : 

Yeas 131,470 

Nays 10,790 

Majority 120,680 

No. 4 — ^Abolishing oath of loyaltj?- for voters : 

Yeas 127,643 

Nays 16,283 

Majority 111,360 

30 



466 HISTOKY OF MISSOUEI. 

No . 5— Abolishing certain disqualifications to hold office on account of race, color, or 
previous condition of servitude, and on account of former acts of disloyalty: 

Yeas •• 123,418 

Nays 18,005 

Majority 105,413 

Xo. 6 — In rehition to education, prohibiting the General Assembly, counties, cities., 
towns, townships, school districts or other municipal corporations from making appro- 
priations in aid of any creed, church, or sectarian school: 

Yeas 126,118 

Nays 10,789 

Majority 115,329 

FOR SUPREME JUDGE. 

David Wagner (no opposition) 164,547 

ELECTION FOR PRESIDENT — 1872. 

y. S. Grant, Eepublican 119,196 

Horace Greeley, Independent 151,434 

Charles O'Conor, Democrat 2,429 

Greeley's majority over Grant 32,238 

ELECTION FOR GOVERNOR — 1872. 

Silas Wooc'son, Democrat ; 156,714 

John B. Henderson, Eepublican 122,272 

Woodson's majority over Henderson ■ 35,442 

ELECTION FOR GOVERNOR — 1874. 

Charles H. Hardin, Democrat 149,566 

William Gentry, Peoples' 112,104 

Hardin's majority over Gentry. 37,462 

Whole number of votes cast 261,670 

For holding Constitutional Convention 111,299 

Against holding Constitutional Convention 111,016 

Majority for convention 283 

SPECIAL ELECTION — ^1875. 

For New Constitution 91,205 

Against New Constitution 14,517 

Majority for constitution : 76,688 

ELECTION FOR PRESIDENT — 1876. 

Samuel J. Tilden. Democrat.. 202,687 

E. B. Hayes, Eepublican 144,398 

Peter Cooper, Greenback .' 3,498 

Tilden's majority over Hayes , 58,289 

Whole number of votes cast 356,583 



RATIFICATION OF THE XVth CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. 467 

ELECTION FOR GOVERNOR — 1876. 

J^ohn S. Phelps, Democrat 199,580 

G. A. Finkelnburg, Kcpublican 147,694 

J. P. Alexander, Greenback 2,962 

Phelps' majority ovex Finkelnburg 51,886 

The adjourned session of the Twenty-fifth General Assembly — Joseph 
"W. McClurg, Governor — which met.on January 5th, 1870, and adjourned 
on March 25th following, deserves to be specially noticed because of the 
work accomplished id several directions. Governor McChirg, who in his 
message had recommended the ratification of the xvth amendment to 
the Constitution of the United States, passed by Congress on February 
27th, 1869, transmitted to the General Assembly, on January 7th, 1870, 
a duly attested copy of it from William H. Seward, United States 
Secretary of State, as follows : 

ARTICLE XV. 

Section 1, The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or 
abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous con- 
dition of servitude. 

Sec. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legisla- 
tion. 

Immediatelv on its beino; read in the Senate, Mr. Bruere of St. Charles 
introduced a joint resolution ratifying it, which was adopted by the 
following vote : 

Ayes — Senators Blodgett, Brown, Bruere, Clark, Conrad, Davis, Dodson, Evans, Fil- 
ler. Gottschalk, Graham, Harbine, Headlee, McMillan, Kidgley, Kogers, Shelton, Todd, 
Yandivert, Waters, and Williams — 21. 

Noes — Senators Essex, Morrison, and Morse — 3. 

Absent — Senator Roseberry — 1. Absent with leave — Senators Birch, Buckland, Car- 
Toll, Cavender, Human, Rea, Eollins, Reed and Spaunhorst — 9. 

The resolution was immediately reported to the House, where, on 
motion of Mr. Waters, it was taken up, rules suspended, read three 
times and passed by the following vote : 

Ayes — ^Messrs. Akard, Alsup, AUred, Baker, Becker, Benefiel, Bittman, Bohn, Bore- 
man, Brewster, Browning, Bruihl, Byrne, Clark, Courtright, Crumb, Cundiflf, Davis. 
Denny, Dibble, DoUe, Elliott, Ellison, Eno, Enoch, Fassen, Ferguson, Ferrell, Freeman, 
Gibbs, Gibson, Glenn, Gladney, Hackman, Harper, Hayes, Hayward, Heeley, Howe, 
Ittner, Jennings, Johnson, Jones of Laclede, Keeuey, Kirkham, Laughlin, Lombar, 
Magner, McGinnis, McLane, Mitchell, Moore, Mullings, Munch, Nalle, Neal, Norris, Pyle, 
Peck, PoM'^ell, Pulitzer, Quigley, Rice, Riek, Robertson, Roberts. Roever, Rountree, 
Ruark, Russell, Schulenberg, Simmons, Smith, Southard, Stauber, Stinson, Steele, 
Thompson, Todd, Vickers. Waters, Weiiirich, Yankee, Young, and Mr. Speaker — 86. 



468 



HISTOKY OF MISSOUKL 



Noes— Messrs. xidams, Albert, Bennett, Bogy, Bowles, Brown of Howard, Burton^ 
Byrns of Jefferson, Caldwell, Campbell, Claiborne, Colley, Harris, Hoffman, Hurt, Key, 
Knott. Leeper, Marchand, McElvain, McMicliael, Miller, Murphy, Necly, Plielan, Phil- 
lips, Requa, Salisbury, Salver. Sebastian, Sides, Sloan, Waide, and Warner— 34. 

Absent — Messrs. Donegan, Garth, Jones of Nodaway, King, Lawson, McKernan, 
Ming, Smythe and Webb — 9. Absent with leave — Messrs. Brown of Callaway, Klaine and 
Manville — 3. Sick — Messrs. Burge, Price, Eeed, Snidow, Walser and Winchester — 5. 

According to a proclamation of Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State of 
tlie United States, dated INIarch 30tli, 1870, said amendment was ratified 
by the Legislatures of the following States on the days mentioned : 



Nevada March 1, 1869. 

West Virginia March 3, 1869. 

North Carolina March 5, 1869. 

Louisiana March 5, 1869. 

Illinois March 5, 1869. 

Michigan March 8, 1869. 

Wisconsin March 9, 1869. 

Massachusetts March 12, 1869. 

Maine March 12, 1869. 

South Carolina March 16, 1869. 

Pennsylvania March 26. 1869. 

Arkansas March 30, 1869. 

New York , April 14, 1869. 

Indiana May 14. 1869. 

Connecticut May 19, 1869. 



Florida Jime 15, 1869.- 

New Hampshire July 7, 1869. 

Virginia October 8, 1869. 

Vei'mont October 21, 1869. 

Alabama November 24, 1869. 

Missouri January 10, 1870. 

Mississippi January 17, 1870. 

Ehode Island January 18, 1870. 

Kansas January 19, 1870. 

''Ohio January 27, 1870. 

Georgia February 2, 1870. 

Iowa February 3, 1870. 

Nebraska February 17. 1870. 

Texas February 18, 1870. 

Minnesota February 19, 1870. 



At the date of the proclamation there were thirty-seven States, (Colo- 
rado having since been added,) of which thirty, more than the reqnisite 
constitutional majority of three-fcmrths, ratified the amendment declaring 
that the right to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States 
or by any State on accoinit of race, color or previous condition of servitude. 

Durino- this session of the Leo-isluture, six amendments to the Consti- 
tution of the State were submitted to the people of Missouri for their 
ratification or rejection at the general election to be holden on Tuesda}^,. 
November 8th, 1870, as follows : 

1. Abolishing district courts. Passed the Senate — ayes 22, noes 7. 
House — concm-red in, nem. con. Yote of the people — yeas 137,874, noes 
7,389. Majority, 130,485. 

2. Abolishing oath of loyalty for jurors. Passed the Senate — ayes, 
28 ; noes, none. House — ayes 81 ; noes, 28. Vote of the people — yeas,. 
133,702; noes, 10,809. Majority, 122,883. 

I New York withdrew her consent to the ratification Januaiy 5, 1870. * Ohio had pre- 
viously rejected the amendment, May 4, 1869. New Jerse}'- first rejected the amendment, 
but on Februarjr 21, 1871, subsequent to the date of the proclamation of the Secretary 
of State, ratified it. California, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Oregon and Tennessee- 
rejected it and never reversed the rejection. 



SIX AMENDMENTS TO THE STATE GONSTITUTION PKOPOSED. 469 

- 3. Abolishing double liability of stockholders in private corporations. 
Passed the Senate — ayes, 22 : noes, 1. House — concurred in, nem. con. 
Vote of the people— ayes, 131,470; noes, 10,790. Majority, 120,680. 

4. Abolishing oath of loyalty for voters. Passed the Senate — ayes, 
25 ; noes, 5. House — ayes, 89 ; noes, 17. Vote of the people — ayes, 
127,643; noes, 16,283. Majority, 111,360. 

5. Concerning the right to hold office and abolishing certain disquali- 
fications on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude, and 
on account of former acts of disloyalty. Passed the Senate — ayes, 24 ; 
noes, 4. House — ayes, 87 ; noes, 23. Vote of the people,, ayes, 128,418 ; 
noes, 18,005. Majority, 105,413. 

6. In relation to education. Passed the Senate — ayes, 21 ; noes, 7. 
House — ayes, 73; noes, 7. Vote of the people — ayes, 126,188; noes, 
10,789. Majority, 115,329. 

After an exciting contest of several years, the State Agricultural College 
was located during this session of the Legislature at Columbia, with the 
School of Mines and Metallurgy at EoUa, Phelps County. Its location at 
Columbia, the seat of the State University, was a proposition to which 
Hon. James S. Rollins, Senator from the Boone district, addressed his 
best powers ; and to his zeal and abilit}^ the county of Boone is chiefly 
indebted for its accomplishment. The bill passed the Senate — ayes, 18 ; 
noes, 6 ; and the House, ayes, 79 ; noes, 41. 

The questions of universal amnesty and enfranchisement, of the repeal 
of the Missouri iron-clad oath for voters, jurymen, ministers, lawyers, 
teachers, etc., were rapidly sowing the seeds of discord and disintegra- 
tion in the Pepublican party in the State, dividing it into two " wings" — 
as they were called — Radical and Liberal ; the former maintaining the 
extreme and the latter the more magnanimous policy in regard to those 
who by word or deed, or both, had had complicity with the rebellion. 
Owing to the test-oath pi-escribed by the " Drake " constitution and the 
very stringent registry laws passed to enforce it, the Democrats were in 
an almost hopeless minority at the polls, and therefore had little or 
no voice in the direction of public ailairs. Every department of the 
State government, and the county and municipal governments as well, 
were controlled by Republican officials. Hoping to gain the ascendency 
in the State, wholly if possible, partially at all events, through a repeal 
of the constitutional and legal barriers which interposed between them 
and party dominance in the State, the policy of the Democrats was, first, 
to divide, then to (;onquer their enemies. And no way seemed so hoj)eful 



4:70 HISTORY OF MISSOUEI. 

of favorable results as " the passive policy" — or, as it was popularly 
oallcd, " the possum policy" — which signified the withdrawal of the 
Democratic piu'ty, as an organized aud distinct force, from the canvass of 
1870, and the co-operation of its members individually with the Liberal 
"wing" of the Republicans, as allies. Therefore, on March 18th, the 
Democratic members of the Legislature, at that time few and far between, 
held a caucus at Schmidt's Hotel in Jefierson City, and adopted the fol- 
lowing : 

Whereas, It is vuiderstoocl that the Democratic State Central Committee desire an 
expression of opinion from the Democratic members of the xxvth General Assembly 
of this State, as to the policy of calling a Democratic Convention; therefore be it 

Besolved, That in our opinion it is inexpedient to call a Democratic State Convention,, 
or to nominate candidates for State officers at the ensuing November election. 

The policy here indicated seemed to meet with the general acquiescence 
of the Democrats of the State ; and on the 13th August, the Democratic 
State Central Committee — D. H. Armstrong, Chairman — issued an address 
in which it was endorsed, and the conviction that a general ticket for 
State officers ought not to be nominated enforced by a variety of reasons 
— among them that the dominant party were divided by fitctions, coteries 
and cliques, and that one segment of them had inaugurated a movement 
of considerable promise to remove the suffrage restrictions which had 
doomed the Democrats to defeat and a tyrannical reign. To escape from 
these the committee believed it best to nominate no State ticket, and 
none was nominated. 

The work of discord and disintegration in' the Republican party pro- 
ceeded, and reached its climax in the State Nominating Convention which 
met in the hall of the House in Jefferson City on August 31st. On the 
third day of the session, Carl Schurz, Chairman of the Committee on 
Resolutions, made a majority report comparatively liberal in its character, 
the minority report chiefly differing from it in regard to enfranchisement. 
This was the rock on which the Convention split ; and it is deemed of 
sufficient historical interest to be brought distinctly to view by the repro- 
duction of the resolutions of the two platforms : 

MAJORITY OR LIBERAL (OR BROWN) PLATFORM. 

4th. That the time has come when the requirements of public safety, upon which, 
alone the disfranchisement of a large number of citizens could be justified, has clearly 
ceased to exist, and this Convention, therefore, true to the solemn pledges recorded ia 
our iSTational and State platforms, declares Itself unequivocally in favor of the adoption 
of the Constitutional Amendments commonly called the suftrage and office-holding 
amendments, believing that under existing circumstances the removal of political disa- 



THE TWENTY-SIXTH GENEKAL ASSEMBLY, 



471 



bilities, as well as the extension of equal political rights and privileges to all classes of 
citizens, without distinctions, demanded by every consideration of good faith, patriotism 
and sound policy, and essential to the integrity of Kepublican institutions, to the welfare 
of the State, and to the honor and preservati<m of the Kepublican party. 

MINORITY OK RADICAL (OR M'CLURG) PLATFORM. 

3rd. That we are in favor of re-enfranchising those justly disfranchised for partici- 
pation in the late rebellion, as soon as it can be done with safety to the State, and that 
we concur in the propriety of the Legislature having submitted to the whole people of 
the State the question, whether such time has now arrived ; upon which question we 
recognize the right of any member of the party to vote his honest convictions. 

The two reports being before the Convention, the report of the 
minority was adopted — ayes 349, noes 342 — whereupon about two hun- 
dred and fifty delegates, friends of the majority report, headed by Mr. 
Schurz, withdrew, amid great excitement, to the Senate Chamber, organ- 
ized a sepnrate Convention, and nominated a full State ticket with B. 
Gratz Brown as a candidate for Governor. The other Convention (the 
"Radical,") also nominated a full ticket, headed by Joseph W. McClurg 
for Governor, at that time the incumbent of the office. 

The election, which was held on November 8th, resulted in the choice 
of the Brown or Liberal ticket by over forty thousand majority, and the 
return to the Legislature of a majority of members opposed to the 
"Eadicals." Legislature: Senate — Democrats, 13; Fusion, 3 ; Liberal, 
6 ; Republicans, 12. House — Democrats, 77 ; Fusion, 12 ; Liberal, 20 ; 
Republicans, 24. Total number of members, 138 — majority, 70. The 
"Fusion" candidates for House and Senate were elected by the united 
votes of Democrats and Liberals. All were Conservative, and nearly 
all pledged to a call of a Constitutional Convention and other measures 
supported by the Democrats. 

The election of 1870 forms an important and notable epoch in the 
history of the State. It marks the period at which the Republicans, 
who had for eight j^ears been the governing party, surrendered power to 
others — power which they have not since been able to regain. 

The xxvith General Assembly met at the Capitol on January 4th, 1871 
— Joseph J. Gravelly ,1 Lieutenant-Governor, President of the Senate. 
Robert P. C. Wilson, Democrat, of Platte, was elected Speaker of the 
House, the vote being — Wilson 84 ; Hosea G. MuUins, Fusionist, of 
Greene, 50 ; Wilson's majority 34. Cyrus H. Frost, Liberal, of Phelps, 
was elected Speaker pro tern. 

B. Gratz Brown, Liberal, was inaugurated Governor, Avho recom- 

^ Died at his residence in Cedar County, Mo., on the , 1872. 



472 IirSTOEY OF MISSOUKI. 

inoiicled in his message the consideration of the subject of calling a Con- 
stitutional Convention, the amendment of the registration laws so as to 
make them conform to the liberal provisions of the constitutional 
amendments ratified by the people, the belter regulation of the railroads, 
etc., etc. 

There being a vacancy in the United States Senate occasioned hy the 
resignation of Charles D. Drake — who had received the appointment of 
Chief Justice of the Court of Claims at Washington City — a Democratic 
caucus (Henry J. Spaunhorst, a Senator from St. Louis, chan-man,) 
was held to nominate a candidate. The names of John S. Phelps, Silas 
Woodson, Frank P. Blair, Jr., and Samuel T. Glover were presented to 
the caucus, the first ballot resulting in the nomination of Mr. Blair, as 
follows: Blair, 52; Glover, 16 ; Phelps, 13 ; Woodson, 10. The two 
Houses met in joint convention on the 16th, and Mr. Blair was elected, 
as follows : Blair 102, John B. Henderson 58, John F. Benjamin 5.^ 
Necessary to a choice, 84. Mr. Blair was a member of the House from 
St. Louis County. 

An adjourned session of the xxvith General Assembly was held, com- 
mencing on December 6th, 1871, and continuing until April 1st, 1872, 
during which two constitutional amendments w^ere submitted to the peo- 
ple for their ratification or rejection at the November election, 1872, 
namely : 

1. Increasing the number of Su^Dreme Court Judges from three 
to five, fixing their terms of office at ten years, and providing that two 
additional judges shall be elected at the general election in 1872, and one 
judge at each general election every two years thereafter. Ratified by 
the people in November, 1872 — ayes, 221,143; noes, 15,230. Majority, 
205,913. 

2. Providing that no part of the public school fund shall ever be 
invested in the stock or bonds or other obligations of any other State, or 
of any county, city, town or corporation ; that the stock of the Bank of 
the State of Missouri, held for school purposes, and all other stocks 
belonging to any school or university fund, shall be sold in such manner 
and at such time as the General Assembly shall prescribe ; and the pro- 
ceeds thereof, and the proceeds of the sales of any lands or other prop- 
erty which belong or may hereafter belong to said school fund, may be 
invested in the bonds of the State of Missouri, or of the United States, 
and that all county school funds shall be loaned upon good and sufficient 

1 Died in Washington City, March 8, 1877. 





/- 




o 



THE GUN CITY MASSACEE. 473 

miiiiciimbered real estate security, with personal security in addition 
thereto. Eatified by the people iu November, 1872 — ayes 231,228 ; noes 
8,197. Majority, 223,031. 

During the afternoon of Wednesday, April 24th, 1872, there occurred 
at Gun City, in Cass County, a bloody infraction of the public peace 
growing out of the exasperated feelings of the people of that county 
against certain officials who were charged with complicity in the fraudu- 
lent issue of railroad bonds, which imposed heavy burdens upon the tax- 
payers. Gun City is a small station on the line of the Missouri, Kansas 
and Texas Eailroad, about midway between Harrisonville and Holden, 
and eleven miles from either place. When the eastern-bound train 
reached Gun City, having on board about thirty passengers, amono- 
whom were James C. Cline, Thomas E. Detro, J. C. Stephenson and 
General Jo. Shelby, the engineer discovered obstructions piled upon 
the track. These Avere rails, logs and rocks in a sort of breastwork. 
Before the engineer could reverse the engine or whistle "down breaks," 
a murderous volley of bullets and shot were poured in and around the 
locomotive. The cab was fairly riddled, but fortunately no one was 
seriously injured. The train came to a stand not far from the barricade, 
where seventy or eighty armed men, each wearing a mask, rushed to the 
locomotive, and with loud oaths and threatening gestures, in which the 
cold muzzles of pistols played a prominent part, compelled the engineer 
a,nd fireman to hold up their hands and step back into the tank of the 
locomotive, where they were placed under guard while the mob proceeded 
with their murderous work. They at once commenced a terrible fusilade 
into and around the captured train. Loud cries w^ere made for Cline, 
who responded by stepping from the baggage car on to the platform, and 
into the midst of the yelling multitude, who riddled him with bullets, 
kilHng him on the spot. They then rushed into the train, breaking in 
the doors and smashing in the windows, and, threatening to burn the 
train, pounced into the cars among the terrified passengers. "Where's 
the bond robbers ? " "Turn out the bond thieves!" they shrieked, as 
they rushed into the cars. Perceiving Judge Stephenson, one of the 
county judges who made the issue of the bonds, they shot him down in 
the car, and dragged him by the hair and collar out into the grass. Mr. 
Detro was the next victim. He was found in the mail car and shot and 
severely wounded, and in that condition dragged out and thrown on to 
the roadside, where he was allowed to bleed to death. The g-ano- then 
called for General Joe Shelby, who sat coolly in his seat and replied : 
"Here I am ; if you Avant me come and get me." They finally concluded 
they did not want him. 



474 HISTORY OF MISSOUEI. 

Stephenson was one of the jndges of the late County Court of Cass 
Connty that made a fraudulent issue of bonds in the name of that 
county. Cline was County Attorney, and was implicated in the swindle, 
while Detro was one of Cline's bondsmen. Both Stephenson and Cline 
had been indicted and were under heavy bonds to answer for the offences 
connected with the bond swindle with which they were charged. 

Governor Brown at once ordered Captain Phelan's Company from 
Kansas City to Cass County, and dispatched Adjutant-General Albert 
Sigel to the scene of the massacre to gather the facts. A commission, 
consisting of John F. Philips, of Sedalia, and F. M. Cockrell, of 
Warrensburg, was also authorized by the Governor to visit the county 
for the purpose of uniting all good citizens in support of the Executive 
in enforcing the laws. No further disturbance occurred, and the guilty 
parties were never discovered. 

On August 21st, 1872, the Democratic and Liberal Republican State 
Conventions met in separate chambers in the Capitol, and through the 
medium of committees of conference communicated with each other. 
The result of the conferences gave the Democrats one of the two Presi- 
dential Electors-at-Large, six of the thirteen District Electors, the Gov- 
ernor, Treasurer, Auditor, Attorney-General, and the four Judges of the 
Supreme Court — "the lion's share" ; and the Liberal Republicans the 
Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State and Register of Lands. As 
per arrangement, each convention, holding sessions separately, made the 
nominations allotted to it, and afterwards the whole ticket was ratified 
amidst the greatest enthusiasm by both conventions in joint meeting. 

There was no lack of excellent material for Governor before the Demo- 
cratic nominating convention. Durins: the three first ballots the follow- 
ing gentlemen were voted for: James S. Rollins, of Boone ; Joseph L. 
Stephens, of Cooper ; Norman J. Colman, of St. Louis; William H. 
Hatch, of Marion; R. P. C. Wilson, of Platte, and John S. Phelps, of 
Greene. First ballot : Rollins, 211 ; Hatch, 1 93 ; Stephens, 173 ; Phelps, 
172; Colman, 165; Wilson, 82. Whole number of votes cast, 848. 
Necessary to a choice, 425. On the fourth ballot, while calling the roll 
of counties was in progress, R. H. Rose, of Jasper, presented the name 
of Silas Woodson, who was President of the Convention, as a com- 
promise candidate, and it was received with such enthusiasm that he was 
nominated substantially by acclamation. 

The first session of the xxviith General Assembly met on January 1st, 
1873, and consisted of eleven Republicans, twenty Democrats and 
three Liberals in the Senate, and ninety-two Democrats and thirty-eight 



LOUIS Y. BOGY CHOSEN" UNITED STATES SENATOE. 475 

Republicans in-the House. Mortimer Mcllhaney, Democrat, of Audrain, 
was elected Spealser of the House, tlie vote being — Mcllhaiiey, 60 ; J. B. 
Harper, Eepublicaii, of Putnam, 29. Silas Woodson was inaugurated 
Governor, who in his inaugural strongly appealed to the Legislature to 
sink the partisan in the patriot, and to legislate for the highest interests 
of the whole people. He took strong gi-ounds against annual sessions 
of the Legislature, and submitted statistical tables disclosing the great 
expense attending them. 

More than ordinary interest was exhibited in the election of United 
States Senator to succeed General Blair, whose term expired March 3, 

1873. The Democratic Senatorial Caucus held several sessions before a 
nomination could be ejSected, the gentlemen voted for being F. P. Blair, 
Louis V. Bogy, John S. Phelps, James H. Birch, Thomas L. Anderson* 
James S. Rollins, William B. Napton, George P. Dorris, Thomas C. 
Reynolds, George G. Vest, James O. Broadhead, Silas Woodson, A. W. 
Slayback, William A. Hall, James Craig and others. On the seventeenth 
ballot Mr. Bogy was declared the nominee, the vote being — Bogy, 64; 
Blair, 47. ^ On the 15th day of January, the two Houses met in joint 
Convention, and Mr. Bogy was elected United States Senator for six 
years, ending March 3, 1879, ^ the vote being — Bogy, 111; John B. 
Henderson, 43. 

The Legislature adjourned March 25th, 1873, and again met in adjourned 
session on January 7, 1874, adjourning on the 30th of March following. 
Among the laws passed at the adjourned session was one to authorize 
a vote of the people to be taken at the general election in November, 

1874, for and against calling a Convention to revise and amend the Con- 
stitution of the State. 

On July 4th, 1874, the formal opening to the purposes of its construc- 
tion of the great bridge over the Mississippi River at St. Louis was cele- 
brated with unexampled pomp and splendor. It was estimated that not 
less than one hundred and fifty thousand visitors witnessed the imposing 
ceremonies. 

During the canvass of 1874, the opposition to the Democratic party 
assumed the form and cognomen of the "People's Party," or "Reform 
Party," and at its State Convention, composed chiefly of Republicans, 

J Mr. Bogy died in St. Louis September 20, 1877, and Governor Phelps appointed 
David H. Armstrong, of St. Louis, to fill the vacancy. 

2 Mr. Blair, after his retirement from the Senate, was appointed by Governor Wood- 
son, Superintendent of the Insurance Department of the State; and, while an incumbent 
of the office, died in St. Louis, after a protracted illness, on the 9th of July, 1875. 



476 HISTOKY OF MISSOUKI. 

held in Jefferson City, September 3d, nominated William Gentry, of 
Pettis, for Governor. 

The Democratic State Convention, which met in Jefferson City on 
Aiignst 26th — Willard P. Hall, of Bnchanan, President — nominated Charles 
H. Hardin, of Audrain, for Governor, on the fonrth ballot, by the 
remarkably small majority of one-sixth of a vote, the ballot being — 
Hardin, 159 1-6; F. M. Cockrell, of Johnson, 156 1-6. Whole number 
of votes cast, 317. Necessary to a choice, 159. This one-sixth of a 
vote was fruitful of great results. It not only made Hardin Governor of 
the State by nominating him in the Democratic convention, but it largely 
contributed, by defeating Cockrell, in bringing about his nomination by 
the Democratic caucus, the following winter, for United States Senator, 
and his consequent election to that office. 

Durino; the three first ballots for Governor, in the caucus which nomi- 
nated Hardin, Norman J. Colman, of St. Louis, and M. V. L. Mc- 
Clelland, of Lafayette, were also voted for. The election occurred on 
November 3d, 1874, and resulted in the choice of the entire Democratic 
State ticket by a large majority, and of a Legislature consisting of 
twenty-eight Democrats and six Republicans in the Senate, and of ninety- 
one Democrats and forty Eepublicans in the House. 

The proposition to call a Convention to revise the Constitution of the 
State, out of a vote cast for Governor of 261,670, was carried by only two 
hundred and eighty-three (283) majority. An election for delegates to 
the Convention was ordered to take place on January 26th, 1875. 

The xxviiith General Assembly met January 6th, 1875, and the 
House was organized by the election of Banton G. Boone (Democrat), 
of Henry, as Speaker. Charles P. Johnson, Liberal Republican, and 
Lieutenant-Governor, presided over the Senate. On the 12th of January 
Charles H. Hardin was inaugurated Governor, with the usual for- 
malities. 

On May 5th, 1875, the Convention to revise the State Constitution 
assembled at the Capitol, the following being the names of members of 
that body, classified politically: 

Democrats — J. C. Roberts, Henry Boone, E. H. Norton, D. C. Allen, 
J. L. Farris, J. A. HoUiday, J. B. Hale, J. H. Shaidcliu, C. H. Ham- 
mond, W. Halliburton, H. M. Porter i, A. M. Alexander, Benjamin R. 
Djsart, John R. Ripley, William F. Switzler, J. F. Rucker, H. C. Lack- 
land, L. J. Dryden, N. C. Hardin, H. V. McKee, Levi Wagner, Lewis 

^Mr. Porter having resigned and removed to Helena, Montana, Thomas Shackelford, 
of Howard (D.), was elected in his place. 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION CALLED. 477 

F. Cotty, Edward McCabe, William Priest, F. M. Black, William Chris- 
man, Waldo P. Johnson, E. A. Nickerson, S. R. Crocket, John H. 
Taylor, H. C. Wallace, W. H. Letcher, B. F. Massey, John Ray, C.B. 
McAfee, G. W. Bradfield, John W. Ross, T. W. B. Crews, John Hyer, 
J. H. Maxey, Philip Pipkin, E. V. Con\vay, J. F. T. Edward's, P. 
Mabrey, N. W. Watkins, GV W. Carlton, L. H. Davis, J. H. Rider, A. 
M. Lay, T. J. Kelly i, James P. Ross, Wash Adams, J. O. Broadhead, 
Albert Todd, Joseph Pulitzer, T. T. Gnatt, A. R. Taylor, H. J. Spraun- 
horst, N. J. Mortell, H. C. Brockraeyer, James C. Edwards. 

RepuhUcans—M. McKellop, T. J. Johnson, C. D. Eitzen, Henry T. 
Mudd, G. H. Shields. 

Liberals— K. W. Fyan, L. Gottschalk. 

Whole number of members, 68. Democrats, 60; Republicans, 6; 
Liberals, 2. 

As the official journal of proceedings has not been published, but is on 
file in manuscript in the office of the Secretary of State, it will be quite 
inconvenient, and perhaps unnecessary, more than to glance at the action 
of the State Convention. 

As the law authorizing its existence provides, the Secretary of State, 
Michael K. McGrath, called the Convention to order and presided until 
a permanent organization was effected. Singularly enough, when nomi- 
nations for President were in order, none were made, there being no 
candidates for that office. Finally the roll was called and each member 
voted for whom he chose, without prompting or suggestion from any 
source ; and the vote on the first ballot stood : E. H. Norton, 12 ; Waldo 
P. Johnson, 17 ; Nathaniel W. Watkins, 13 ; W. F. Switzler, 10 ; J. O. 
Broadhead, 7. Total, 59. 

On the sixth ballot Mr. Johnson was elected President, and^ Nathaniel 
W. Watkins,2 of Scott, was then chosen Vice-President by acclamation. 
The Convention proceeded most earnestly to the work before it, with the 
view of accomplishing its labors in the most acceptable manner and in 
the shortest possible time. An examination of its roll of members and 
of the Avork they performed will justify the statement that an abler or 
more industrious body of men never assembled in the State. 

A thorouo-h revision of the entire organic law was made, both in Com- 
mittee and in Convention. Every department of the State Government 
passed under critical review, and mnny radical changes were made, the 

■ 1 Mr. Kelly having died before the meeting of the Convention, Horace B. Johnson. 
Eepublican, of Cole, was elected in his stead. 

2 Mr. Watkins was a half brother of Henry Clay, and died at his residence in Scott 
County, March 20th, 1876, aged 81 years. 



478 HISTOEY OF MISSOUEE. 

wisdom of which is now being subjected to the test of actual experience. 
Some of the more important of these changes would be indicated here, 
but the limits of this sketch forbid. They are familiar to every well- 
informed citizen of the State, and their practical influence on our legis- 
lation^ and general prosperity will be carefully noted. 

The bill of rights occupied much time, and was a fruitful theme of 
discussion. The subject of representation, a knotty problem in all 
similar bodies in all the States, disclosed wide antagonisms of opinion 
and elicited protracted debate. In the face of all opposition, county 
representation was maintained. It found a place in the first Constitution 
of the State, and in all others since adopted by conventions of the people 
of Missouri. The argument that, to a certain extent, it perpetuates the 
representation of sub-divisions of territory, and not population, did not 
avail to interdict it. New and vitally importantprovisions were adopted 
in regard to legislative proceedings. Carefully prepared and stringent 
limitations on the powers of the General Assembly were engrafted on the 
new instrument. Sessions of the Legislature were made biennial, and 
the gubernatorial term changed from two to four years. The formation 
of new counties was made more difficult, perhaps impossible. The tax- 
ing and debt-contracting power of the Legislature, and of counties, 
cities, towns and all other municipalities, was hedged about with limita- 
tions and safeguards. Extra mileage and perquisites to officials were 
laid under embargo. Our system of free public schools, embracing a 
liberal policy for the maintenance of the University of the State, received 
recognition in the article on education. 

The Convention having completed its labors on August 2d, 1875, the 
vote was taken by ayes and noes on the final adoption of the Constitution 
:as a whole, and the vote stood — ayes, 60; noes, none; absent, 8. A 
most remarkable result, and unexampled in the history of Constitutional 
Conventions. 

On October 30th, 1875, the Constitution was submitted to a vote of 
the people for ratification or rejection, and the vote stood— for the new 
Constitution, 91,205 ; against, 14,517. Majority in favor of ratifying 
it, 76,688 ; and on the 30th of November, 1875, it became the supreme 
law of the State. 

During the latter part of the year 1875 disclosures were made of a 
wide-spread conspiracy among United States revenue officers, distillers 
and others to defraud the Government of its revenue on whiskey. 
Numerous prosecutions followed, which absorbed the public attention for 
months. O. V. Babcock, President Grant's Private Secretary, was 
indicted for complicity in these frauds, tried and acquitted. John A. 



THE TWENTY-NINTH GENEKAL ASSEMBLY. 479 

Joyce, special agent of the Revenue Service, and John McDonald, 
Supervisor of Internal Revenue, St. Louis, were convicted and sent to 
the j)enitentiary, and subsequently pardoned by the President. 

The Democratic State Convention met in Jeflferson City, July 19, 
1876, Charles E. Peers, of Warren, President; endorsed the platform 
and candidates — Tilden and Hendricks — of the National Convention, and 
the administration of Governor Hardin "as a model one in the history 
of the State." There were three ballots for candidate for Governor, 
the last one of which resulted in the choice of John S. Phelps, of Greene, 
by the following vote: Phelps, 181^; George G. Vest, of Pettis, 97J; 
John A. Hockaday, of Callaway, 19, M. Y. L. McClelland, of Lafay- 
ette, 14. Whole number of vote^, 312. Necessary to a choice, 157. 
A full State ticket was nominated. 

The Republican State Convention assembled at the Capitol on August 
9th, 1876, Malcomb McMillan, of Cooper, President. A platform was 
adopted, and Gustavus A. Finkelnburg, of St. Louis, was nominated 
for Governor by acclamation. A full State ticket was also presented. 

The entire Democratic ticket was elected, and a Legislature politically 
classified as follows : Senate — Democrats, 2S ; Republicans, 6. House 
— Democrats, 102; Republicans, 41. 

On January 3d, 1877, the xxixth General Assembly convened ; Henry 
C. Brockmeyer, of St. Louis, Lieutenant-Governor, President of the 
Senate. John F. Williams, of Macon, was elected Speaker of the 
House. Yote : Williams, Democrat, 101; S. P. Twiss, Republican, of 
Jackson, 38. On Monday, January 8th, John S. Phelps was inaugurated 
Governor, and in the presence of the two Houses and a large concourse 
of citizens, delivered his address. 

As this was the first meeting of the Legislature under the new Consti- 
tution, its proceedings were of more than ordinary interest and attracted 
more than usual attention among the people. On the ninety-ninth day 
of its session, April 30th, it adjourned sine die. 

Among the most notable events in the State during the year 1877 was 
the destruction, by fire, early on Wednesday morning, April 11th, of the 
Southern Hotel in St. Louis. It was an appalling disaster, rendered 
doubly so by the fearful destruction, not only of the magnificent build- 
ing, but of a large number of human lives. In a very short time the 
hotel was a mass of blackened ruins. A number of people, guests and 
employes, were burned to death, or, jumpingfrom windows, were dashed 
to pieces on the sidewalk. It was one of the most frightful disasters in 
the history of the country, and spread a pall of gloom over the whole 
West. 




Forest Monarchs. 



APPENDIX. 



OLD DUELS. 

1817.— Duel between Colonel Thomas H. Benton and Charles Lucas. 

A correspondent, ("T") writing from Covington, Kentucky, February 8, 1877, 
to the Cincinnati Commercial, gives a detailed, apparently correct, and intensely 
interesting account of three of the most bloody duels that ever occurred in this 
country, and which gave to the island on which East St. Louis is located its san- 
guinary title, Bloody Island^ — a name, however, that is now fast becoming merely 
historical. To this paper we are chiefly indebted for the following history of tlie 
duel between Colonel Thomas Jl. Benton and Charles Lucas. 

Colonel Benton's affray with GeneralJackson, at Nashville, in 1813, and the violent 
personal animosities it engendered — rendering his further residence in Tennessee so 
disagreeable, induced him at the close of his service in the army, in the war of 1812, 
to remove to Missouri. He fixed himself in St. Louis and engaged in the practice 
of law. He also established a newspaper styled the Enquirer, which he conducted 
with vigor and ability, but with such carelessness in the use of strong language that 
he was frequently led into fierce altercations and disputes, and sometimes into per- 
sonal encounters. 

Charles Lucas was born near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1792, and was conse- 
quently, ten years the junior of Colonel Benton. His father, Hon. John B. C. Lucas, 
was a native of Normandy, and had immigrated to this country, in 1784, at the in- 
stance of Dr. Franklin, the American Embassador to France, with whom he had 
formed a personal acquaintance. He was a lawyer of high distinction, and at one 
time represented the Pittsburgh District in Congress. He removed to St. Louis in 
1802, and in 1804 was appointed by President Jefierson Chief Justice of the then 
Territory of Missouri, which he held until 1820. His son (Jharles was educated at 
Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, where he was graduated in 1811. Upon his return 
to St. Louis, he began the study of law under the instruction of his father, which 
he pursued with great assiduity until the breaking out of the war of 1812, when he 
volunteered in the service of his country, but had to retire on account of ill health. 

In the spring of 1814 he was admitted to the bar, and such were his abilities and 
character , that he at once entered upon a lai'ge and lucrative practice. In the fall of 
that year he was elected to the Legislature, where his usefulness and prudence 
attracted general observation. So rapid was his rise that, when barely twenty-four 
years of age, he received the appointment of United States Attorney for the District 
of Missouri. This position he held less than a year, when he became involved in 
his fatal difficulty with Colonel Benton. 

The origin of this ditffculty may be best explained by the following memorandum 
wi'itten on the night preceding their first meeting, and found among Mr. Lucas' 
papers after his death. It is endorsed: ^^ Origin and State of Differences between 
Thomas H. Benton and Charles Lucas :" 
31 



482 HISTOEY OF MISSOUKI. 

St. Louis, August 11, 1817, ) 
9 o'clock at night. ^ 

The causes and differences between Thomas H. Benton and myself are these: 
At the October Court of last year, Mr. Benton and I were employed on adverse sides 
in a case. At the close of the evidence he stated that the evidence being so and so, 
the Court should instruct the jury to tind accordingly. I stated in reply that there 
was no such evidence to mv remembrance. He replied, ' I contradict you, sir.' I 
answered, ' I contradict you, sir.' He said, ' If you deny that, you deny the truth.' 
I replied, ' If you assert "that, you assert that which is not true.' He immediately 
sent me a challenge, which I declined accepting, for causes slated in my correspon- 
dence with him. The jury in a few minutes returned a verdict for me, and in 
opposition to his statement. He never even moved for a new trial. Since that time 
we have had no intercourse except on business. 

On the day of the election at St. Louis, 4th of August, 1817, I inquired whether 
he had paid tax in time to entitle him to vote — he was offering his vote at the time. 
He applied vehement, abusive and ungentlemanly language to me, I believe some of 
it behind my back, all of which he declined to recant, or to give me any satisfaction 
other than by the greatest extremities. This is the state of the dispute between 
Thos. H. Benton and myself. I make this declaration that, let things eventuate as 
they mav, it mav be known how they originated. 

Charles Lucas. 

The reasons of Mr. Lucas for not accepting Colonel Benton's challenge, alluded to 
in the above memorandum, are contained in the following letter, superinscribed in 
his own handwriting, which was also found among his papers after his death: 

St. Louis, Sep. 15, 1817. 

Sir: Your note of this afternoon was received. On proper occasions or for 
proper causes I would give you the kind of satisfaction you appear to want ; but for 
such causes as the one you complain of, under all existing circumstances, I would 
not feel justified in placing myself in such a situation as to be under the necessity of 
taking your life or jeopardizing my own. I will not suffer the free exercise of my 
rights or the performance of my duties at the bar to be with me a subject of private 
dispute; nor will I allow it to others for doing my duty to my clients, more partic- 
ularly to you in this case, who made the first breach of decorum — if one was made. 

You complain of mv having given you the lie direct. You have as much right 
to complain of the whole jury, who, on their oaths, found a verdict in direct contra- 
diction to what you stated to be the evidence. My object was that no misstatement 
of the testimony should be made in the hearing of the jury without being contra- 
dicted. This was my duty to my client and myself. 

The verdict of the jury justifies the statement I made of the evidence, and I will 
not, for supporting that truth, be in any way bound to give the redress or satisfaction 
you ask for to any person who may feel wounded by such exposure of truth. 

Yours, etc., Charles Lucas. 

Colonel Benton absolutely refusing to retract or apologize for his offensive language 
at the polls, Mr. Lucas, as soon as he could arrange his affairs, sent him a challenge, 
which was accepted. 

The parties met on the 12th day of August, 1817, on Bloody Island. Mr. Lucas 
was attended to the field by Hon. Joshua Barton, (who fell in a duel near the 
same spot, a few years later,) and Colonel Clemson, as seconds, and Dr. Quarles as 
surgeon. Colonel Benton was accompanied by Colonel Luke E. Lawless and Major 
Joshua Pilcher, as seconds, and Dr. B. J. Farrar, as surgeon. The weapons were 
pistols, and the distance ten paces. At the first exchange of shots Mr. Lucas was 
severely wounded in the neck, while Colonel Benton's left leg was touched below 
the knee, producing a slight contusion, without breaking the skin. Mr. Lucas' injury 
is thus described by his surgeon : 



APPENDIX. 483 

" The ball struck obliquely on the left side of the windpipe, in the immediate 
-neighborhood of what is called the thyroid cartilage ; it buried itself, and having 
passed obliquely downwards, came out at about an inch and a quaiier from where 
it entered; in its passage it opened the external jugular vein. As it was my opin- 
.ion that the wound disabled him from further fighting Avitli equal advantage, I 
dissuaded him from acccepting another fire. In this opinion I was afterwards con- 
firmed, for he fainted soon after getting into the boat." 

Colonel Lawless, one of Colonel Benton's seconds, makes the following statement 
in the Ifissouri Gazette of September 26, 1817, which will be found important when 
"we come to consider the morality or justiflableness of the subsequent proceedings : 

" When the parties fired I aslvcd by request of Colonel Benton, if Mr. Lucas was 
satisfied? to which he answered in the negative. Upon this I was proceeding to 
reload, when Mr. Barton, a second for Mr. Lucas, informed me that it was the opinion 
of Dr. Quarles that the wound which Mr. Lucas had received was more serious than 
he had at first imagined, and that he considered it necessary that he should quit the 
£eld. In consequence, I again demanded of Mr. Lucas if he was satisfied, and if he 
wished for another meeting witli Colonel Benton. To this question he replied that 
he was satisfied, and that he did not require a second meeting. Having reported the 
answer to Colonel Benton, he declared aloud that he was not satisfied, and required 
that Mr. Lucas should continue to fight or pledge himself to come out again as soon 
as his wound should be in a state to permit him. This promise was accordingly 
given, and the parties pledged themselves by their seconds to perform it." 

In a letter, addressed by Mr. Barton to Judge Lucas, this statement of Colonel 
Lasvless is confirmed. 

In spite of the severity of his wound and the exti-eme heat of the weather, with 
skillful surgical attention and careful nursing, Mr. Lucas soon recovered so far as to 
partially resume his professional occupations. On the 22d of August, feeling 
.entirely able to meet Colonel Benton again, he authorized his friend, Mr. Barton, to 
notify liim of the fact. I transcribe Mr. Barton's statement: 

" It was agreed on the ground at the first meeting that I should inform the friend 
■of Colonel Benton as soon as Mr. Lucas was sufficiently recovered to meet Colonel 
Benton again. On Friday, the 22d of August, about 8 o'clock in the morning, I 
waited on Colonel Lawless for that purpose. Colonel Lawless inquired after Mr. 
Lucas' health, and his state of convalescence, to which I replied that he was then 
sufficiently recovered to meet Colonel Benton. Colonel Lawless asked when we 
would be ready to go out, to which I answered the next morning, or at whatever 
lime should be thought best. Colonel Lawless then informed me that he was going 
that day to Herculaneum on important business of his own, and should not return 
before the next Sunday evening or Monday morning, and mentioned something of 
Colonel Benton calling in another friend, in case the meeting took place next morn- 
ing. I professed my willingness to postpone it until his return, if Colonel Benton 
vraS willing, Colonel Lawless not seeming disposed to agree to anything without 
previous consultation with him. We conversed freely on everything connected with 
the aflair, and particularly on the prospects of peace resulting from an attempt which 
had been made a few days before to that end. Colonel Lawless did not know, at 
that time, whether his friend would drop it in the way which had been proposed, 
but said he (Colonel Lawless) would ' make another trial on him.' We parted with 
an understanding, as I thought, that Colonel Benton was to be informed of what 
had passed, who could then either withdraw his demand for a second meeting, call 
in another friend, or wait Colonel Lawless' return. I was surprised at not hearing 
from them sooner, and afterward asked Colonel Lawless if he had not informed his 
friend, before going to Herculaneum, who told me he had called for that purpose, 
Taut did not find him at home. I considered that sufficient notice was given." 

I again quote from the published statement of Colonel Lawless, which I may here 
Tcmark is dated September 18, or nine days before the second meeting : 



484 HISTORY OF MISSOUEI. 

*' Tho earnest representations of Colonel Benton's friends and liis own general 
disposition luid considerably weakened tliose indignant feelings wliich, on the 
ground, liatl impelled him to "exact: of his antagonist the promise of another interview. 
His coolei- rellection informed him tliat having wounded the man who had chal- 
langed liim, and Avho, notwithstanding his wound, declared himself satisfied, in 
pui-suing Mr. Lucas fiirtlier his conduct would assume an aspect of vengeance for- ' 
eigii from his heart, and the sympatliies and opinions of his fellow-citzens would 
probably be raised ag^iiiist him. On these considerations he had almost determined 
to withdraw the demand for a second meeting, and he did not conceal these feelings 
from lhose persons with whom he was in the habit of interconr^e. Colonel Benton, 
in thns yielding to the entreaties of friendship and to the dictates of his conscience, 
did not imagine that he Avas furnishing a means of calumny to his enemies, or that 
the motives of his conduct could possibly be misunderstood. In this idea he found 
himself disappointed, and was in a very few days assailed by reports of the most 
oll'ensive natiu-e to his feelings ami reputation. Colonel Benton then saw the neces- 
sity of disproving those reports either by another meeting or by the explanation of 
Mr. Lucas, from whom or from whose friends lie supposed them to have proceeded. 
He accordingly determined to await the moment when Mr. Lucas should be 
sutficiently recovered to come to the field, and theu give him an opportunity of 
justifying or contradicting the reports in circulation. About this time Mr. Barton 
called on me, whether in the capacity of Mr. Lucas' second or not, I cannot say, and 
in the course of conversation, in reply to a question of mine, informed me that Mr. 
Lucas was sufficiently recovered to meet Col. Benton. 

" y\t this moment I was on the ]joint of leaving St. Louis for Herculaneumf and 
therefore deferred conveying the information to Col. Benton until my return, which 
was two days afterward. 

" On my arrival, I lost no time in stating to Col. Benton the conversation I had 
with Mr. Barton, and at his request immediately called upon the latter gentleman. 
As I was one of those who was of opinion that he should rf'lease Mr. Lucas from the 
pledge that he had givon, I felt considerable regret that the generous intentions of 
my friend should b'l affected by rf i)orts which might have been circulated without 
the knowledge'of .Mr. Lucas, ar.d consideied it, therefore, my duty to exert my; elf 
in every way consistent with the honor of Col. Benton to avert a result which 
would certainly prove more or less calamitous. 

" W^ith this view I stated to Mr. Barton the motives which have disposed Col. 
Benton to release Mr. Lucas from his promise to meet him, and the causes that 
counteracted this disposition. I then ])roposed that Mr. Lucas should sign a declar- 
ation disavowing the reporis in question. To this proposition Mr. B irton assented, 
and a declaration to the above effe("t was drawn up and agreed to by us. The 
de(;laration, which appeared to me sufiiciently full, was submitted to Mr. Lucas, who 
consented to sign it. Col. Benton, however, did not consider it sufficiently explicit; 
and rejected it. This decision appeared to leave no other alternative than a m<^eting, 
wliich was accordingly agreed upon by Mr. Barton and me, and was fixed for the 
morning after the rising of the Superior Court, which was then sitting. 
. " It may, perhaps, be necessary to state that on Mr. Barton's suggestion that the 
distance ^should be shortened, I consented on the part of my friend to any distance 
from ten paces to five, which latter was mentioned by Mr. Barton as best calculated 
to place the p irfies on equality. 

" In this situation matters remained for three or four days, during which time my 
own reflection and the opinions of honorable and sensible men whom I consulted,, 
convinced me that the cause of the quarrel at present being perhaps ideal, I sliould 
omit no effort to prevent the fatal consequences of such a meeting. In their 
opinion the personal safety of my friend was my least consideration, as upon such 
occasions it ever has been. * 

" With this view I drew up a second declaration, more explicit and full than the 
former, precluding all possibility of mistake as to the motives or conduct of either 
party, and, as it apjieared to me, consistent with the honor of both. ISIr. Barton 
liaving examined and appr«)ved of it, obtained from Mr. Lucas Jiis consent to sign it. 
I, on my p irt, submitted it to Col. Benton, and, supported by his other friends, suc- 
ceeded in inducing him to a(;cept it. The terms of the declaration are as follows: 

*' 'In consequence of reports having reached Colonel Benton of declarations com- 



APPENDIX. 485 

jug from me respecting- the distance at wliich I intended to bring liim at onr next 
meeting, I hereby declare that I never said anything on that subject witli a view of 
its becoming public or of its coming to ihe Ixnowleclge of Colonel Benton, and that I 
have never said or insinuated, or caused to be said or insinuated, that Colonel Benton 
was not disposed and ready to meet me at any distance at any time whatsoever. 

" 'Chas. Lucas.' 

" Having now stated the transactions between these gentlemen as accurately as I 
am able without entering into details of minute particulars, or a report of the 
expressions used by one party or tbe other — details which might irritate, without 
answering any useful purpose — I submit the whole to the fellow citizens of Colonel 
Benton, in the perfect pursuasion that if the reports to which I have referred', and 
which have drawn fi-om me this statement, should have produced an impression 
injurious to the reputation of my friend, the facts which I have thus detailed will 
disabuse the public and will convince them that those reports are false and absurd, 
and that the authors of them, whoever they may be, are deserving of the contempt 
and execration of every man of generosity or sense of honor. 

" L, E. Lawless 

" 'St. Louis, Sept. 18th, 1817." 

Colonel Lawless evidently miscalculated the " generous disposition " of his friend, 
Colonel Benton, for three days after the publication of the above communication, he 
found himself intrusted with the delivery of the following letter to Mr. Lucas: 

St. Louis, Sept. 23, 1817. 

Sir : When I released you from your engagement to return to the Island, I yielded 
to a feeling of generosity in my own bosom, and to a sentiment of deference to the 
judgment of others. From the reports which now fill the country it would seem that 
yourself and some of j^our friends have placed my conduct to very different motives. 
Ti)e object of this is to bring these calumnies to an end and to give you an oppor- 
tunity to justify tiie great expectations which have been excited. Colonel Lawless 
will receive your terms, and I expect your distance not to exceed nine feet. 

" T. H. Bknton." 

" To Chas. Lucas, Esq." 

Mr. Lucas was absent attending the Superior Court at Jackson at the date of this 
message, and did not return until two days afterward. The message was delivered 
to him within one hour after his return. He responded immediately: 

St. Louis, Sept. 26th, 1817. 

Sm: I received your note of the 23rd inst. this morning on my arrival from below. 
Although I am conscious that no respectable man can say that he has heard any of these 
reports from me, and that I think it more than probable they have been fabricated 
by your own friends than circulated by any who call themselves mine; yet, without 
even knowing what reports you Jiave heard, I shall give you an opportunity to grat- 
ify your wishes and the wishes of your uews-carriers. My friend, Mr. Barton, has 
full authority to act for me. 

*' Charles Lucas." 

" T. H. Benton, Esq." 

The parties met early on the morning following acceptance. The distance finally 
agreed upon was ten feet. Both fired at nearly the same time, Benton having a 
barely perceptible advantage in the quickness of his shot. The ball from his pistol 
went through the right arm of Mr. Lucas and penetrated his body in the region of 
the heart. He fell, and shortly expired. Colonel Benton escaped unhurt. Mr. Bar- 
ton, Lucas' second, states that " at the last interview he appeared equally cool and 
deliberate. Both presented and fired so nearly together that I could not distinguish 
tAvo reports. Others, who stood on the shore state that they heard two echoes. It 
'WHS remarked that Mr. Lucas raised his weapon in good intention ; hence it is to be 



486 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

supposed that the ball of his adversary struck his arm before or at the moment ln» 
pistol exploded, and destroyed the effect of his shot." 

Benton approached his victim and expressed his sorrow at what had happened^ 
after the etiquette of such occasions, if no better feelinj^ may be supposed, and 
Lucas replied, " Colonel Benton, you have persecuted and murdered me. 1 do not 
and can not forgive you." This he repeated, but as his life fast ebbed — for he sur- 
vived but a few minutes — perhaps thinking that he must forgive if he expected 
Divine forgiveness, he looked at his slayer and whispered audibly, " I can forgive 
you ; I do forgive you," and extended his hand. A moment more and all was 
over. 

This I believe to be a correct statement, as far as the facts can now be ascertained^ 
of this atrocious aflair. The conduct of Colonel Benton cannot be justified. Even 
under the code he had no right, after the exchange of shots at the iirst meeting, and 
while still on the ground, to reverse his relations with his antagonist, and himself 
assume the right of the challenger. He was there to give satisfaction and not to 
demand it ; nor to exact the promise of another meeting after his challenger had de- 
claimed himself satisfied. He forced the second meeting against the judgment and 
advice of his best friends, in defiance of the customs governing such affairs, and in 
spite of every dictate of humanity and of all moral principle; and this to ''justify 
the great expectations which had been excited," thej"^ growing out of certain un- 
founded reports, in the minds of a class of people he ought to have despised. Little 
wonder, then, that in after life he was averse to alluding to the duel, and that, pre- 
vious to his death, he destroyed all the papers in his possession relating to it. 

The action of the seconds on either side is entitled to the severest reprehension.. 
They flagrantly violated the rules which it was their business to know, and fairly 
divide the responsibility of the consequences. Colonel Benton appears to have suc- 
cessfully bullied them all. 

I will conclude with a tribute to the character of Mr. Lucas, from one who knew 
him well, and was perfectly acquainted with the circumstances of his untimely tak- 
ing off: 

" The courage of Charles Lucas was not an odious compound of invidious fei'ocity, 
excited by a sense of superiority of skill over his adversary, bolstered up and stim- 
ulated b}^ the expectation of occupying a high standing with his confederates. It 
was simple, ingenuous, modest, calm and undaunted, even under every possible 
disadvantage ; indeed, it was such as would have enabled him to perform for his 
country the most heroic acts, had he met with the opportunity. He could not but 
know that at a ten feet distance, and with such a skillful adversaiy, he must be shot 
down — he could not hope anything more than to drag to the grave with him his^ 
persecutor — his implacable enemy. As Attorney for the United States for this Ter- 
ritory he was truly a check upon every oflScer acting therein, under the laws of the- 
United States. Many old practices could not be kept up, continued or overlooked. 
As a man his character was too pure and irreproachable ; his prospects were too 
fair; a local faction could not prevent the good people of the territory from appi-e- 
ciating his worth ; from making use of his virtues and talents." 

This is his epitaph, as prepared by his father: 

" Charles Lucas, died on the 27th of September, 1817, aged 25 years and 3 days. 
He was the ornament of his father's family ; he was a precious model to his younger 
brothers— their ardent friend — their best hope of support when their father would 
be no more. ' John B. C. Lucas." 



APPENDIX. 487 

1823.— Duel between Thomas C. Eector and Joshua Barton. 

In the 3Iissouri Bepuhlican of June 25, 1823, there appeared a communication, 
signed " Philo," which bore severely upon the official conduct of William Rector, 
Surveyor General of the Territorial District of Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas. 
The editor of the paper remarked : 

" We have inserted the communication signed * Philo' on the principle that men in 
office are bound to answer to the people for the manner in which they discharge their 
public duties ; and that if charges are made against them from a respectable and 
responsible source, and are couched in decorous terms, the press would defeat the 
object of its institution if it refused to permit them to come before the public. By 
this course the innocent cannot be injured. If the charges are untrue, he who utters 
them is disgraced; if they are true, the people are interested in knowing it, while 
the party implicated has nothing to complain of in the development." 

The complaint of the anonymous correspondent was that the Surveyor General 
indulged in the practice of giving out the largest and best contracts for surveying to 
his family connections and personal friends, who sub let them, and, witliout incur- 
ring any particular labor, responsibility or risk, were enabled to pocket considerable 
emoluments, to the injury and demoralization of the public service. These charges 
had been used against Surveyor General Rector to prevent his reappointment to the 
office; and prominently so by Senator Barton, of Missouri, when his appointment 
came up for confirmation. 

In later times such objections to an official would be regarded as trivial, but in 
those early days the imputation was deemed to be dishonorable. On the appearance 
of the communication, Mr. Thomas C. Rector, a brother of the Surveyor General, 
called upon the editor and demanded the name of the writer. Joshua Barton, a 
brother of Senator Barton, and at the time United States Attorney for the District 
of Missouri, was given as the author. Mr. Rector immediately challenged him. 
The result may appropi-iately be given in the subjoined extract from the editorial 
columns of the Republican of July 2, 1823 : 

" On Monday, 30th ult.. a meeting took place between Joshua Barton, Esq., Dis- 
trict Attorney of the United States, and Thomas C. Rector, in consequence of a 
communication signed ' Philo,' which appeared in last week's paper. The parties 
met at 6 p. m., on the island opposite this place. They both fired at the word, when 
Mr. Barton fell mortally wounded. Mr. Rector escaped unhurt. Mr. Barton 
expired on the ground. In him Missouri has lost one of her ablest and worthiest 
citizens." 

Surveyor General Rector, who had been absent in Washington City attending to 
his impei'iled political and personal interests, reached St. Louis on the day following 
the duel. On the 2d of July, and simultaneously with the above announcement — 
for it must be borne in mind that the Bepuhlican was only issued as a weekly at that 
time — he issued a card in which the public was informed that circumstances had 
occurred which prevented his replying to <the publication over the signature of 
''Philo, "and requesting a suspension of opinion until his answer was seen. He 
accompanied this card with a notification to the editors that he would hold them 
personally responsible for any communications relating to his official conduct Avhich 
might appear in their columns without the signature of the writer. To this the 
editorial response was, of course, commendably defiant. 

Surveyor General Rector did not fairly make good his promises. In the next 
issue of the Republican he published a short communication, generally denying the 



488 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

truth of the charges made against him, and presenting, as a complete defense, the 
fact tliat in spite of tlicsc cliarges he had been reappointed to office, and confirmed. 
Tliis lie deemed a sufficient ansAver to the injurious reports circulated against him, 
and a justification of his brother's call of Mr. Barton to the field. 

In the Itepuhlican of July IC, Edward Bates, Esq., a prominent lawyer and citi- 
zen of St. Louis, and subsequently of National reputation, felt it his duty to reply, 
which he did over his own proper signature : 

"I lose no time," said he, "in giving my public pledge to substantiate every 
material statement in the piece signed 'Philo,' I very unwillingly obtrude my 
name upon the public as a newspaper writer, but the lojig intimacy and more than 
brotherly connection between Mr. Barton and me have identified us in the public 
mind, and caused the people to look to me as the inheritor of his principles and feel- 
ings for a vindication of his name and character. In this just expectation they shall 
not be disappointed." 

Senator Barton also published a card, in which he said: 

"I now assert before the public that every material allegation in the article signed 
'PJ.ilo' is true, and that I can prove it in any mode of investigation calculated to 
admit the truth in evidence and the production of testimony." 

Mr. Bates redeemed his pledge in the most convincing manner. He showed that 
no less than twelve relatives and connections of Surveyor General Rector had 
received from him appointments as deputy surveyors, and had sub-let contracts at 
enormous profits to themselves. In the year 1822 alone, out of two hundred and 
fifty-four townships surveyed, one hundred and ninety-five were given to his own 
kindred. Among the beneficiaries of this nepotism, if I am not mistaken, was the 
Rector who laid claim to the Hot Springs of Arkansas, the litigation as to the title of 
which only recently terminated by a final decision in the United States Supreme 
Court. Mr. Bates concluded his triumphant exposure in the following sensible and 
dignified manner: 

"If General Rector should take oflFense at what I have written, the courts are 
open to him, and if I have wronged him the laws will afford him a vindictive rem- 
edy. If he will venture to take this course, I will justify these statements and prove 
the facts upon him before a jury." 

Yet, for venturing to utter the actual truth, Joshua Barton sacrificed his life. 
Nemesis was not asleep, however, Thomas C. Rector, if I am correctly informed, 
was killed in a brawl, while his brother, for whose good name he risked his life, 
died in poverty and misery, in Illinois, some years after these occurrences. 



1831.— Duel Between Thomas Biddle and Spencer Pettis, 

This doubly tragical event occurred on Friday, August 27, 1831. Mr. Pettis was a 
Representative in Congress and a candidate for re-election. At that time President 
Jackson was waging his memorable war against the United States Bank, Mr. 
Nicholas Biddle was at the head of that institution, and in consequence of such rela- 
tion a very conspicuous figure in the politics of that day. Mr. Pettis was a sup- 
porter of the Administration. In his canvass of the district (which embraced the 
whole State of Missouri) , he was sevei'e in his opposition to the bank— a fact which 
it is probable led to the opposition to his election by Major Thomas Biddle, a brother 
of Nicholas Biddle and a Paymaster of the United States Army, then stationed in 



APPENDIX. 489 

St. Louis, where he had recently married the daughter of a prominent and wealthj; 
citizen. During the canvass, an attack was made upon Mr. Pettis by an anonymous 
writer in one of the St. Louis papers (who signed himself '^Missouri"), in whicla the 
writer was particularly severe on Mr. Pettis, endeavoring to show that he was unfit 
torepi'esent Missouri in Congress, ridiculing him in a most extravagant manner; 
comparing him to a ''bowl of skimmed milk," a "plate of dried herrings," and mak- 
ing many other odious comparisons. 

To these attacks, Mr. Pettis replied over his own signature, charging Major Bid- 
die with the authorship of the articles. Qnoting the disparaging comparisons above 
mentioned, he said that "all that might be true, but had Major Biddle ever given 
any evidence to the world of his manhood?"' This remark greatly offended Major 
Biddle, who, although esteemed for his urbanity, lost command of himself, aiid for- 
got the dignity of his station and profession. AVithout taking the advice of anyone, 
he formed the resolution to castigate Mr. Pettis with a cowhide. Armed with this 
instrument, he sought that gentleman at his lodgings in the City Hotel, of St. Louis. 
It was very early in the morning. He inquired of a servant to be shown to Mr. 
Pettis' apartments, which was done without any suspicion as to his motive for call- 
ing at so unusual an hour. He found Mr. Pettis lying on a mattress spread upon 
the piazza adjoining his room, in his night clothes and asleep. Stripping him of his 
covering, he proceeded to administer an unmerciful chastisement. The noise 
aroused a number of the guests, who interfered and put a stop to the violence. Ma- 
jor Biddle retired without having uttered a word. 

The occurrence produced extraordinarj^ excitement. Great sympathy was felt for 
Mr. Pettis, who was personally extremely popular — he was a very young man, and 
was regarded as the rising politician of the State — and besides was at the time in 
feeble health, having recently suffered a bilious attack in which his life was de- 
spaii-ed. He took no immediate steps toward redressing the outrage, preferring to 
await the result of the pending election and his full restoration to health. He was 
chosen by a triumphant majoi-ity, the assault upon him being i-egarded as political 
rather than personal, and bearing no disgrace with it, the most Christian of his sup- 
porters feeling satisfied that Major Biddle would be "called out" when the proper 
time came. 

Unfortunately, however, for the memory of Mr. Pettis, immediately preceding 
the election, feeling apprehensive that he might be attacked by Major Biddle upon 
the street, who was furious iat the abuse he was constantly receiving from a partisan 
press, and vexatiously disappointed at Mr. Pettis' delay in making the usual demand 
upon him for the unparalelled aff'ront he had given him, he went before a magis- 
trate and procured the arrest of the Major upon a peace-warrant. Both were pres- 
ent in Court when the warrant was returned. Mr. Pettis made some demonstra- 
tion toward Major Biddle with a pistol, as if to attack him, but was restrained by 
his friends. Thereupon he, too, was placed under bonds by the magistrate. Dur- 
ing the alternation Major Biddle remarked that to prevent the recurrence of such 
unseemly squabbles, if Mr. Pettis would send him a challenge he would promptly 
accept it, notwithstanding his bonds. The challenge was sent on the following day. 

Major Edward Dobyns, of Fulton, Mo., and in 1831 a citizen of St. Louis, well ac- 
quainted with all the parties to the duel and the facts relating to it, in a letter to the 
Cincinnati Commercial, dated Feb. 22, 1877, maintains that this account does Mr. 
Pettis injustice and offers this correction: 



490 HISTORY OF MISSOUEI. 

It will be remembered that Hon. David Barton, United States Senator from 
Missouri, who was a candidate for re-election, had just been defeated bj^ Colonel 
Alexander Backner. Judge Barton, who was an able statesman and strong sup- 
jiorter of Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay, was the Whig candidate in support of the Uni- 
ted States Bank against Mr. Pettis, who was a candidate for re-election to Congress. 
It was all inijiortant to the friends of General Jackson that Mr. Barton should not be 
sent back to Congress. The attack of Major Biddle upon Mr. Pettis was made about 
the 10th of July, and the election was to take place on the first Monday in August. 
That being the case, there would have been no time, if Mr. Pettis had challenged 
]\Iajor IJiddle, as he intended to do, and fallen, to put in liis place a man to defeat 
Judge Barton. 

The hotel at which Mr, Pettis was stopping, stood very near the residence of Col- 
onel Thomas H. Benton. At about daylight Mrs. Benton awoke her husband, and 
asked if he did not hear a noise at the hotel. Mr. Benton said he did not. Mrs. 
Benton said that she had lieard it distinctly, and would not be surprised if a diffi- 
culty had occurred between Mr. Pettis and Major Biddle. Mr. Benton immediately 
arose, and went over to the hotel, and found that Mrs. Benton's surmise was cor- 
rect. Major Biddle had just left; Colonel Benton did not remain with Mr. Pettis 
more than five minutes. These facts I learned from Colonel Benton himself; my 
long acquaintance with him (having been for many years both personal and iiolit- 
ical friends) enables me to say that in that short interview he said to Mr. Pettis : " If 
you should challenge Mr. Biddle immediately, as you wish to do, and you should chance 
to fall, the election is so near at hand and the State so large (Missouri being entitled 
to but one member), there would not be time to bring out another candidate and to 
transmit the news througout the State before the day of election, and consequently 
Mr. Barton would be elected. Therefore, have Major Biddle arrested, and take all 
the facts in the case and have them printed and circulated throughout the State 
(which was done), and after the election is over, then, sir, Heave you to vindicate 
your honor in such manner as you may deem most consistent with the principles 
that govern gentlemen.'''' 

Mr. Pettis reluctantly adopted this course, and on the same day had Major Biddle 
brought before Judge Peter Ferguson on a peace-warrant. I was present at the 
trial and saw the parties in Court, and can say that your correspondent is mistaken 
in his statement that Mr. Pettis made some demonstration towai'd Major Biddle with 
a pistol, but was resti-ained by his friends. I sat within a few feet of Mr. Pettis and 
have no recollection of any demonstration on the part of Mr. Pettis. Major Biddle 
intimated that certain satisfaction might be given. 

Your correspondent makes the following statement, for which there is not the 
least foundation: "During the altercation Major Biddle remarked that, to prevent 
the recurrence of such unseemly squabbles, if Mr. Pettis would send him a challenge 
he would promptly accept it, notwithstanding his bonds. The challenge was sent 
on the following day." The challenge was not sent on the following day, nor was 
Major Biddle under bonds. It was not sent for nearly two months afterwards, for 
the reason before stated, of wliich I shall say more hereafter. 

Judge Ferguson, very reasonably supposing, in view of the outrage on Mr. Pet- 
tes, that he might commit a breach of the peace by attacking Major Biddle, bound 
bjth parties to keep the peace. 

Major Dobyns, says : " After the election, Mr. Pettis returned to St. Louis, but in a 
few days went down to Ste. Genevieve, and spent some weeks with Dr. Lewis F. Linn 
(afterwards United States Senator, succeeding Alexander Buckner). About this 
time Major Biddle left St. Louis on official business, as Paymaster of the United 
States troops stationed in the West; want to Prairie Du Chien to pay off the troops 
stationed at that post, arriving in St. Louis a few days before Mr. Pettis returned 
fr )m Ste. Genevieve. 

" About August 18th, more than a month after he met Major Biddle at Judge Fer- 
guson's office, Mr. Pettis returned from Dr. Linn's to St. Louis, stopped at the City 
Hotel, and the next day went up to the residence of Captain Martin Thomas, a 
retired officer of the United States army, and spent some days with him. Replaced 
himself under Captain Thomas' training, he being a gentleman of experience in 
dueling, and on August 21st or 22nd (and not on the day after meeting Major Biddle 
at the Magistrate's office, as your correspondent says), a challenge was borne by 
Captain Thomas to Major Biddle from Mr. Pettis. 



APPENDIX. 491 

" Mr. Biddle, being the challenofed party, of course had the right to choose the 
weapons, and prescribe the distance and time of meeting. The weapons were 
pistols, distance five feet and time S o'clock p. m., Friday, August 27th, 1831. 

<' No objection whatever was urged by Mr. Pettis to the terms. Major Biddle Avas 
attended by Major Benjamin O'Fallon as second, and Dr. H. Lane as surgeon ; Mr. 
Pettis by Captain Martin Thomas as second, and Dr. L. F. Linn. 

" The intelligence of the duel spread through the city, and an immense conconrse 
of people lined the river shore opposite the island to witness it. The windows and 
the tops of the houses in the vicinity were crowded with spectators. Owing to the 
near sightedness of Major Biddle and the deadly naiure of the difficulty, the distance 
Avas fixed at ^ye ./ee^.'' Both parties behaved intrepidly and coolly. "When they 
presented their pistols they overlapped ! 

" Both parties stood erect ; Major Biddle's ball passed through the front of Mr. Pet- 
tis' abdomen; one inch farther to the front would have missed him. Mr. Pettis' bail 
struck Major Biddle in the center of the hip, passing in and lodging in the center of 
the opposite hip. Both were moi'tally wounded. When assured of this fact by the 
surgeons, like Hamlet and Laertes, they exchanged forgiveness, and were borne 
from the ground. Mr. Pettis died the next forenoon. He was buried on Sunday, 
the 29th, and old inhabitants yet speak of lais funeral as the largest they ever wit- 
nessed. Major Biddle survived until the following Sunday at 3 o'clock a. m. — the 
very morning of the day of Mr. Pettis' burial. He was buried with the honors of 
war at Jefferson Barracks. His widow died in 1851. She was possessed of large 
wealth, and from the period of her husband's death devoted herself and her fortune 
to public and private charities. In her will she left provision for a Widows' and 
Infants' Asylum, a noble benethction which stands at the corner of Tenth andBiddle 
streets, in St. Louis. In the grounds of this institution the remains of herself and 
husband reposed for many years, and until their removal to the new Catholic Ceme- 
tery in the vicinity of that city. On the old monument, which I remember to have 
visited iu 1864, was this simple but touching inscription : 

' PRAY FOR THOMAS AND ANN BIDDLE.' 

"Major Biddle had served gallantly in the war of 1812. The annexed tribute to 
to his memory is to be found iu the old records of Jefferson Barracks, under date of 
September 4th, 1831: 

" ' Whereas, A i-ecent melancholy event, deeply to be regretted by the whole com- 
munity, and particularly by members of the army, both as to i ts origin and its 
resulr, has taken from the army a gallant and distinguished officer, and from among 
us an esteemed and respected friend. 

" ' Resolved, That this meeting deplores the loss of their estimable fe How soldier, 
the late Major Thomas Biddle, an officer who distinguished himself in the field 
against the enemies of his country, and whose untimely death now calls forth our 
pi'ofoundest regret and sympathy. 

" '■ Brigadier General H. Atkinson, President, 
" ' H. Smith, Captain Sixth Infantry, Secretary.' 

" Mr. George. N. Lynch, the veteran undertaker of St. Louis, who disinterred 
Major Biddle's remains, told me that in removing the bones to another coffin, he 
found the bullet which had cost the unfortunate gentleman's life. It was Ijing 
immediately in rear of the right groin. He presented it to Captain Hastings, a 
relative of Major Biddle, who still preserves it as a souvenir. T." 



492 HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 

MARQUETTE'S REMAUSTS DISCOVERED. 

The site of an old Jesuit Church discovered on Point St. Ignace, Mich. — 
Bones and other relics exhumed. 

The Sheboj'gan (Mich.) Free Press, of May 19th, 1877, publishes the following item, 
which we add as a note to page 149, remarking that its publication in the Free 
Press was made two hundred years, to a day, after Marquette's death: 

" Like wildfire the news spread through the villnge this week that the foundation 
of the ohl Jesuit Mission, which was established by Father Marquette 200 years ago, 
had been discovered on the farm of Mr. David Murray, at Puint St. Ignace, and 
that luimerous church relics of those days had been unearthed, showing beyond 
question tliat this Avas tlie place where the mission was erected. Soon after this 
news was received, tlie bulletin at the telegraph office announced the fact that the 
bones of a human being had been found on the grounds, which were undoubtedly 
the remains of that intrepid missionary. Father Marquette. As the readers of the 
early history of Michigan are aware, in 1671 Father Marquette built a log chapel at 
Poiiit St. Ignace, and named the station St. Ignatius. After this a church was 
erected, which was subsequently destroyed by fire, and all trace of its location was 
lost. Efforts have been made at different tunes to discover the site of tlie old mis- 
sion, but heretofore have been of no avail. On the farm of Mr. Murray, about 
200 yards from the main road running through the town, there is a small rise of 
ground covered over with thick underbrush, which had not been cleared away. It 
was here that Mr. Patrick Murray, son of David Murray, one day last week, made 
the important discovery of the location of the old church. The foundation, marked 
by a rise of gi-ound somewhat in the shape of a cross, is clearly traced, as well as 
the location of the baptismal font and the place where the church treasures were kept. 
As soon as the fact was made known of the discovery, many people gathered on 
the ground, and in the researches tha were made, was found a number of ancient 
church relics, such as gold pieces, portions of crosses, window-glass, etc. It is re- 
ported also that a cross has been found with Fatlier Marquette's name upon it. There 
is much excitement at the Point in regard to the matter, and a gnard is now on duty 
to protect the place from intrusion until some definite plan of action shall be deter- 
mined upon by the proper authorities. A rumor is current, with how much truth 
in it we cannot tell, that large rewards have been offered for the discovery of the old 
mission site or of the remains of Father Marquette. History tells us that he diedin 
the vicinity of where now stands the city of Grand Rapids, and was there buried, 
but tliat his bones were subsequently taken up and placed in a vault in the church 
founded by him at the Point. The statements in regard to the recent discoveries 
were furnished us by different ones, and w.e give them as reported. 



Hon. David R. Atchison made a speech in Platte County, Mo., of which the Platte 
Argus, of Nov. 6th, 1854, gives the following report: 

"General Atchison said his mission here to-day was, if possible, to awaken the 
people of this county to the danger ahead, and to suggest the means to avoid it. 
The people of Kansas, in their first elections, would decide the question whether or 
not the slaveholder was to be excluded, and it depended upon a majority of the 
votes cast at the polls. Now, if a set of fanatics and demagogues a thousand miles 
off could afford to advance their money and exert every nerve to abolitionize the 
Territory and exclude the slaveholders when they have not the least personal inter- 
est, what is your duty? When you reside in one day's journey of the Territory, 
and when your peace, your quiet, and your property depends upon your action, 
you can, without an exertion, send five hundred of your young men who will vote 
in lavor of your institutions. Should each county in the State of Missouri only do 
its duty, the qnestion will be decided quietly and peaceably at the ballot-box. If 
we are defeated, then Missouri and the other Southern States will have shown them- 
selves recreant to their interests, and will deserve their fate." 



APPENDIX. 



493 



POPULATION OF MISSOUEI. 

The annexed table shows the population of the State, by Counties, and the Coun- 
ties in existence at the several periods mentioned: 
I^= Population of the State in 1810, 20,845. 



COUNTIES. 



Adair 

Andrew 

Atchison 

Au(h-ain 

Barry 

Barton 

Bates 

Benton 

Bollinger.. . . 

Boone 

Bnchanan 

Butler 

Caldwell 

Callaway 

Camden 

Cape Glrardean 

Carroll 

Carter 

Cass (fl) 

Ci dar ....... 

Chariton 

Christian 

Clark 

Clay 

Clinton 

Cole... 

Cooper 

Crawford 

Dade ■ 

Dallas 

Daviess 

DeKalb 

Dent 

Douglas . . . 

Dunklin 

Franklin 

Gasconade. . 

Gentry 

Green 

Grundy 

Harrison 

Henry (6) . . 

Hickory 

Holt..." 

Howard 

Howell 



1821 



3,692 



1830 



8,859 



1,797 6,102 



7,852 7,480 



1,426 



1,028 
8,483 



1840 



1,949 
4,795 



4,205 



13.561 
6,237 



1,458 
11,765 



9,859 
2.433 



1,776 



5,342 



4,693 
4,746 



3.006 
6,910 
1,709 



1,928 
1,174 



3,431 
1,548 



2,846 
8,282 
2,724 
9,286 
10,484 
3,561 



2,736 



7,515 
5,330 



5,372 



4,726 



1850 



2,342 
9,433 
1,648 
3,506 
3,467 



7,321 



10,314 13,108 



3,669 
5,015 



14,979 
12,975 

1,616 

2,316 
13.827 

2,338 
13,912 

5,441 



6,090 
3,361 
7,514 



5,527 
10,332 
3,786 
6,696 
12,950 
6,397 
4,246 
3,648 
5,298 
2,075 



1,2-jQ 

11,021 

4,996 

4,248 

12,785 

3,006 

2,447 

4,052 

2,329 

3,957 

13,969 



1860 



8,531 

11,850 
4,649 
8,075 
7,995 
1,817 
7,215 
9,072 
7,371 

19,486 

23,861 
2,891 
5,034 

17,049 
4,975 

16,547 
9,763 
1,235 
9,794 
6,637 

12,562 
5,491 

11,684 

13,023 
7,748 
9,69 

17,356 
5,823 
7,072 
5,892 
9,606 
5,224 
5,654 
2,414 
5,026 

18,035 
8,727 

11,980 

13,186 

7,887 

10,626 

9,866 

4,705 

6,550 

15,946 

3,169 



1870 



11,449 

15,137 

8,440 

12,307 

10,373 

5,087 

15,960 

11,322 

8,162 

20,765 

35,109 

4,298 

11,390 

19.202 

6,108 

17,558 

17,445 

1,455 

19,296 

9,474 

19,135 

6,707 

13,667 

15,564 

14,063 

10,29i^ 

20,692 

7 £ 

8',683 

8,383 

14,410 

9,858 

6,357 

3,915 

5,982 

3,098 

1,093 

11,607 

21,549 

10,567 

14,635 

17,401 

6,452 

11,6 

17,233 

4,218 



1876 



13,774 
14,992 
10,925 
15.157 
11,146 

6,900 
17,484 
11,027 

8,848 
31,923 
38,165 

4,363 
12,200 
^5,257 

7,027 
17,891 
21,518 

1,549 
18.069 

9,912 
23,291 

7,936 

5,699 
15,320 
13,698 
14,122 
21,356 

9,391 
11,0«9 

8,073 
16,557 
11.159 

7,401 

6,461 

6,255 
26,924 
11,160 
12,673 
24,693 
12,215 
17,743 
18,965 

5,870 

13,245 

17,815 

6,756 



494 



HISTOKY OF MISSOURI. 
POPULATION OF MISSOURI.— Continued. 



COUNTIES. 



Iron 

Jackson 

Jasper 

Jeflferson 

Joluison 

Knox 

Laclede 

Lafayette (c) . . 

Lawrence 

Lewis 

Lincoln 

Linn 

Livingston 

McDonald 

Macon 

Madison 

Maries 

Marion 

Mercer 

Miller 

Mississippi 

Moniteau 

Monroe 

Montgomery. . . 

Morgan 

New Madrid. . . 

Newton 

Nodaway 

Oregon , 

Osage 

Ozark 

Pemiscot 

Perry 

Pettis 

Phelps 

Pike 

Platte 

Polk 

Pulaski 

Putnam 

Ralls 

Randolph 

Ray 

Reynolds 

Ripley 

St. Charles 

St. Clair 

St. Francois 

Ste. Genevieve. 
St. Louis (0 . • • 

Saline 

Schuyler 

Scotland 

Scott 

Shannon 



1821 1830 1840 1850 1860 



1,838 



1,340 



1,674 



1,907 



2,032 



2,444 



1,599 



2,677 



1,684 
l',789 



4,058 



3,181 
8,190 
1,176 



2,822 
2,586 



2,921 
4,066 



2,371 

4',839 



3,900 
2,351 



3,371 
6,122 



4,346 

2,942 
2,658 



4,822 



2,386 

2,000 

14,909 

2,182 



2,136 



7,612 



4,296 
4,471 



6,815 



6,040 
7,449 
2,245 
4,325 



6,034 
3,395 



9,623, 

2,282 



9,505 
4,371 
4,407 
4,554 
3,790 



5,760 
2,930 



10,646 
8,913 
8,449 
6,529 



5,670 
7,198 
6,553 



2,856 
7,911 



3,211 

3,148 

35,979 

5,258 



5,974 



14,000 
4,223 
6,928 
7,467 
2,894 
2,498 

13,690 
4,859 
6,578 
9,421 
4,058 
4,247 
2,236 
6,565 
6,003 



12,230 
2,691 
3,834 
3,123 
6,004 

10,641 
5,486 
4,650 
5,541 
4,268 
2,118 
1,432 
6,704 
2,294 



7,215 
5,150 



13,609 

16,845 
6,186 
3,998 
1,657 
6,151 
9,439 

10,853 
1,849 
2,830 

11,454 
3,556 
4 964 
5,813 
104,978 
8,843 
8,287 
3,782 
8,182 
1.199 



5,842 

22,896 

6,883 

10,344 

14,644 

8,727 

5,182 

20,098 

8,846 

12,286 

14,210 

9,112 

7,417 

4,038 

14,346 

5,664 

4,901 

18,888 

9,300 

6,812 

4,859 

10,124 

14,785 

9,718 

8,202 

5,654 

9,819 

5,252 

3,009 

7,879 

2,447 

2,962 

9,128 

9,892 

5,714 

18,417 

18,8.50 

9,995 

8,885 

9,207 

8,592 

11,407 

14,092 

, 3,178 

8,747 

16,523 

6,812 

4,249 

8,029 

190,524 

14,699 

6,097 

8,873 

5,247 

2,284 



1870 



6,278 

55,041 

14,928 

15,880 

24,648 

10,974 

9,880 

22,628 

18,067 

15,114 

15,960 

15,900 

16,730 

5,226 

23,230 

5,849 

5,916 

28,780 

11,557 

6,616 

4,982 

11,875 

17,149 

10,405 

8,484 

6,357 

12,821 

14,751 

3,287 

10,798 

8,868 

2,059 

9,877 

18,706 

10,506 

23,077 

17,852 

12,445 

4,714 

11,217 

10,510 

15,908 

18,700 

3,756 

3,175 

21,304 

6,747 

9,742 

8,384 

351,189 

21,672 

8,820 

10,670 

5,317 

2,339 



1876 



6,628 
54,045 
29,884 
16,186 
22,971 
12,678 

9,845 
22,204 
18,054 
16,320 
16,858 
18,110 
18,074 

6,072 
25,028 

8,760 

6,480 
22,794 
18,393 

8,529 

7,498 
13,084 
17,751 
14,418 

9,529 

6,673 
16,875 
28,508 

4,469 
11,200 
.4,579 

2,573 
11,189 
23,167 

9,919 
22,828 
15,948 
13,467 

6,157 
12,641 

9,997 
19,173 
18,394 

4,716 

3,913 
21,821 
11,242 
11,621 

2,409 

538,507 

27,087 

9,881 
12,030 

5,312 

3,234 



APPENDIX. 



495 



POPULATION OF MISSOURI.— Continued. 



Counties. 


1821 


1830 


1840 


1850 


1860 


1870 


1876 


Shelby 






3,056 
3,158 


4.253 

4,277 


7,301 
7,877 
2,400 
9,198 
3,576 
6,067 
4,850 
8,339 
9,723 
5,629 
7,099 


10,119 

8,535 

■ 3,253 

11,907 
4,407 
9,618 

11,247 
9,637 

11,719 
6,068 

10,484 
5,004 
5,684 


18,243 


Stoddard 






10,883 


gtone 






3.544 


Sullivan 








2,983 
4,373 
2,313 


14,038 


Tauey 






3.264 


5,124 


Texas 






10,287 


Vernon 








14,419 


"VyaiTcn 






4,253 
7,218 
8,403 


5,860 
8,811 
5,518 


10,321 


Washington 

"Wayne 

Webster 


8,741 
1,614 


6,779 
3,254 


13,100 

7,006 

10,684 


-Worth 










7,164 


Wright 








8,387 


4,508 


7,424 












Total 


70,647 


140,304 


883,702 


682,043 


1,182,012 


1,721,295 


2,085,537 



(a.) First callel VanBuren. (b ) First called Rives, (c ) First called LillarU. 

1 The census of St Louis for 1876 was not taken on account of the insufficiency of the pay allowed for 
the work, but estimating' the population of the city on the basis of the directory of 1876 and adding the 
population of the county the same as it was in 1870, the population of the city and.county would be 538,507, 
making the total population of the State 2,085,537. 

COUNTIES— WHEN ORGANIZED. 



COUNTIES. 



Adair 

Andrew 

Atchison 

Audrain 

Barry 

Barton 

Bates 

Benton 

Bollinger 

Boone 

Buchanan 

Butler 

Caldwell 

Callaway 

Camden (}) 

Cape Girardeau (-) 

Carroll 

Carter 

Cass (3) 

Cedar 

Chariton 

Christian 

Clark 

Clay 

Clinton 

Cole : 

Cooper 

Crawford 

Dade 



DATE OF ORGANIZA- 
TION. 



January 29, 1841. 
January 29, 1841. 
January 14, 1845. 
December 17, 1836. 
January 5, 1835. 
December 12, 1855. 
January 29, 1841. 
January 3, 1835. 
March 1, 1851. 
November 16, 1820. 
February 10, 1889. 
February 27, 1849. 
December 26, 1886. 
November 25, 1820. 
January 29, 1841. 
October 1, 1812. 
January 3, 1888. 
March 10, 1859. 
September 14, 18.85. 
February 14, 1845. 
November 16, 1820. 
March 8, 1860. 
December 15, 1818. 
January 2, 1822. 
January 15, 1883. 
November 16, 1820. 
December 17, 1818. 
January 23, 1829. 
January 29, 1841. 



COUNTIES. 



Dallas (4).. 
Daviess. . . . 

DeKalb 

Dent 

Douglas 

Dunklin 

Franklin . . . 
Gasconade.. 

Gentry 

Greene 

Grundy 

Harrison . . . 
Henry (^) . . . 
Hickory. . .. 

Holt. . .' 

Howard 

Howell 

Iron 

Jackson 

Jasper 

JeJierson . . . 

Johnson 

Knox 

Laclede 

Lafayette (**) 
Lawrence. . 

Lewis 

Lincoln 

Linn 



DATE OF ORGANIZA- 
TION. 



December 10, 1844. 
December 29, 1886. 
February 25, 1845. 
February 10, 1851. 
October 19, 1857. 
February 14, 1845. 
December 11, 1818. 
November 25, 1820. 
February 12, 1841. 
January 2, 1838. 
January 2, 1843. 
February 14, 1845, 
December 13, 1834. 
February 14, 1845. 
February 15, 1841. 
January 23, 1816. 
March 2, 1857. 
February 17, 1857. 
December 15, 1826. 
January 29, 1841. 
December 8, 1818. 
December 18, 1834. 
February 14, 1845. 
February 24, 1849. 
November 16, 1820. 
February 25, 1845. 
January 2, 1833. 
December 14, 1818. 
January 7, 1837. 



496 



HISTORY OF MISSOUEI. 
COUNTIES— WHEN ORGANIZED.— Continued. 



COUNTIES. 


DATK OF ORGANIZA- 
TION. 


COUNTIES. 


DATE OF ORGANIZA- 
TION. 


Livingston 


January 6, 1837. 
March 3, 1849. 
January 6, 1837. 
December 14, 1818. 
March 2, 1855. 
December 23. 1826. 
February 14, 1845. 
February 6, 1837. 
February 14, 1845. 
February 14, 1845. 
January 6, 1831. 
December 14, 1818. 
Januarys, 1833. 
October 1, 1812. 
December 31, 1838. 
February 14, 1845. 
February 14, 1845. 
January 29, 1841. 
January 29, 1841. 
February 19, 1861. 
November 16, 1820. 
January 26, 1833. 
November 13, 1857. 
December 14, 1818. 
December 81, 1838. 
March 13, 1835. 
December 15, 1818. 
February 28, 1845. 


Ealls 


November 16, 1820 


McDonald 

Macon 


Randolj)h 

Ray 


Jauuary 22, 1829. 
November 16, 1820 


Madison 


Reynolds 


February 25, 1845. 
January 5, 1833. 
October 1, 1812 


Maries 


Ripley 


Marion 


St. Charles Q) .... 
St Clair 


Mercer 


January 29, 1841. 
December 19, 1821. 
October 1, 1812. 
October 1 1812 


Miller. 

Mississippi 

Moniteau 


St. Francois ...... 

Ste. Genevieve (2) 

St. Louis (-) 

Saline 

Schuyler 


Monroe 


November 25 1820 


Montgomery 

Morgan 


February 14, 1845. 
January 29 1841 


Scotland 

Scott 


New Madrid (-) . . . 
Newton 


December 28, 1821. 


Shannon. 


January 29, 1841. 
January 2, 1835. 
January 2, 1835. 
February 10, 1851. 
February 16, 1845. 
January 16. 1837. 
February 14, 1835 


Nodawaj'' 


Shelby 

Stoddard 


Oregon 


Osage 


Stone 


Ozark 


Sullivan 

Taney 

Texas 


Pemiscot 


Perry 


Pettis 


Vernon 


February 17,1851. 
January 5, 1833. 
Auo'ust 21 1813 


Phelps 


Warren 

AVashington 

Wayne 


Pike 


Platte 


December 11 1818 


Polk 


W^ebster 


March 3, 1855. 


Pulaski 


Worth 


Februarys, 1861. 
January 29, 1841. 


Putnam 


Wright 







(I) First named Kinrlerhook; changed to Camden, February 23, 1843. (2) One of the original Districts; 
organized as a county on the day mentioned by proclamation of Governor Clark. {'^) First named Van 
Buren; changed to Cass February 19, 1849. (-t) blrst named Niargua; changed to Dallas December 10, 
1844. {0) First named Kives; changed to Henry February 15, 1841. (6; First named Lillard; changed to 
Lafayette in 1834. 




(^^ 




Part III. Physical Geography. 



WATERS, 

PR/lIRIEa TIMBE[[ AND SOILS OF MISSOURI, 



G. C. SWALLOW, LL. D., 

Former State Geologist, 
Now Professor of Agriculture in the State University. 



32 



F^^ 


1' 


^ 


-.^_:U. 


m 




% 






>"i; 




mJE!^.Jii^^. 














Rough Weather on the Prairies. 



CHAPTEE I. 
GEOLOGY. 

The stratified rocks of Missouri belong to the following divisions : 

I — Quaternary; II — Tertiary; III — Cretaceous (?) ; IV — Car- 
boniferous ; V — Devonian ; VI — Silurian ; VII — Azoic. 

The rocks of these divisions will be examined in their order from the 
top, down. 

I — Quaternary. — When it is remembered that these formations con- 
tained the entire geological record of all the cycles from the end of the 
Tertiary period to the present time, and that their economical value is 
greater than that of all the other formations combined, I shall need no 
apology for entering somewhat into details in recording the phenomena 
they present. 

The Quaternary or Post Tertiary system comprises the Drift and all 
the deposits above it — all the strata included in the Alluvium and Dilu- 
vium of former authors. There are, within this period, four distinct and 
well marked formations in this State, which we have thus named in the 
order of their stratigraphical position : 

Alluvium, 30 feet thick; Bottom Prairie, 35 feet thick; Bluff, 200 
feet thick; Drift, 155 feet thick. All of the latest deposits — all that 
have been formed since the present order of things commenced upon our 
continent — are included in the 

Alluvium. — The deposits observed in the State, belonging to this 
formation, are. Soils, Pehhles and Sand, Clays, Vegetable Mold or 
Humus, Bog Iron Ore, Calcareous Tufa, Stalactites and Stalagmites and 
Marls. 

Soils are a well known mixture of various comminuted and decom- 
posed mineral substances, combined and mingled with decayed vegetable 
and animal remains, all comprising those ingredients peculiarly adapted 
to the nourishment of the vegetable kingdom. But the soils of Missouri 
are made up by the mingling of organic matter with the comminuted 
marls, clays and sands of the Quaternary Deposits, which cover nearly 
all parts of the State with a vast abundance of the very best materials 
for their rapid formation. Hence the soils of the State are very deep 
and wonderfully productive, save in those limited localities where the 
materials of the Quaternary Strata are unusually coarse, or entirely 
wantinof. 



500 PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY. 

Pebbles and Sand. Many of our streams abound in water-worn 
pebbles, which constitute their beds, and form bars along their margins 
and across their channels. These pebbles were derived from the drift 
and the harder portions of the adjacent roclcs. They vary in size 
according to the transporting power of the streams in which they are 
found. 

The economical value of these pebbles for roads and streets, and the 
obstruction they often present to navigation, as in the Osage, give them 
unusual importance in our geology. The Osage, Gasconade, Niangua,. 
Marais Des Cygnes, Sac and kSpring Rivers of the South, and the Salt,. 
South and North Fabius and Chariton of the North, all furnish good and 
abundant examples of those deposits which have been formed by the 
action of those streams. 

Sand is the most abundant material in the alluvial bottoms of the great 
rivers in the State. Yast quantities of it are constantly borne along by 
the irresistible current of the Missouri. Its whirling, rolling, turbulent 
waters form of it extensive bars in incredibly short periods, which they 
again wear away, often still more rapidly than they were formed. These 
sand-bars, so common in this stream, frequently extend along its bed 
several miles, with a breadth varying from one to five or six furlongs ,^ 
and limited in thickness only by the depth of the water. A slight fall 
in the river leaves these vast sand-beds dry, when their surfaces are soon 
covered by a growth of weeds, interspersed with young willows, cotton- 
wood and sycamores. The tickle stream, however, seldom leaves these 
sand-beds to a long repose, but returns to its old channel by a rapid 
removal of their loose materials. 

At high stages of water, both the Missouri and Mississippi overflow 
their low bottoms, and leave deposits of a grayish-brown, or a grayish- 
yellow sand, similar to that in the sand-bars mentioned above. The 
thicknes^s of these beds depends upon the height and continuance of 
the overflowing waters, varying from a mere perceptible stratum to 
several feet. 

Clays. These are dark bluish-gray, argillaceous strata, rendered 
more or less impure by fine silicious, calcareous and decomposed organic 
matter. When the floods of the Mississippi and the Missouri subside,, 
lagoons, sloughs, and lakes are left full of turbid water. The coarser 
materials soon settle into a stratum of sand, but the finer particles more 
gradually subside, and form the silico-calcareous clays of their alluvial 
bottom. Thus, after each flood, new strata of sand and clay are 
deposited, until the lakes and sloughs are silted up. 



GEOLOGY. 501 

Then to sustain vegetable life, the decay of the annual growth, and 
of the foreign matter which falls or j&oats into these waters, forms a 
stratum of humus over the beds of clay and sand previously deposited 
by the floods and still waters ; and each succeeding crop of vegetable 
matter gives another stratum of humus. In time, these shallow waters 
became mere marshes, where a rank vegetation rapidly formed thick 
beds of vegetable mold, for the support of the magnificent forests which 
now occupy the sites of those ancient lakes and sloughs. Such is the 
structure of the vast alluvial plains bordering the Missouri and 
Mississippi Rivers. 

The bottom of the Missouri, from the Iowa line to its mouth, presents 
an area of 3,500 square miles; about 2,000 square miles may be set 
down as alhivium, while the river, "bottom prairies" and lakes, occupy 
the remainder. The Mississippi bottom in Missouri, occupies about 4,300 
square miles. Thus the alluvial bottoms of our two great rivers alone, 
give some 4,000,000 acres of land based upon these strata of sands, 
clays, marls and humus. And the quantity is constantly increasing by tbe 
silting up of the sloughs and lakes, as above described. The soil formed 
upon these alluvial beds is deep, light and rich almost beyond comparison. 

Bottom Prairie. — This important formation, in many respects, 
resembles that of the alluvial hoitoms above described, with which 
it has usually been confounded by geologists ; though agriculturists 
have made a distinction. There are, however, important diiferences : 
1st. The stratification in the prairie is much more uniform, and more 
regularly extended over wide areas. 2d. In the prairie formation, the 
strata are not so distinct, nor are they so purely silicious or argillaceous. 
3l1. It was evidently formed by agencies operating over the entire 
bottoms, whose action was more uniform and quiet, and continued 
uninterrupted through longer periods than those now forming the alluvial 
deposits in the same bottoms. 4th. Where these two formations meet, 
one can usually trace out the line of demarcation. Either the strata 
of the prairie pass under those of the alluvium, or are cut off and 
replaced by them. 5th. The alluvial bottom is continually increased at 
the expense of the prairie, through the action of the rivers. The current 
is constantly cutting away the prairie, forming new channels, and filling 
up the old ones with drift and silt. 6th. No causes now in operation 
could, at the present level of the country, produce a formation of such 
extent and uniform structure as the bottom prairie. Several facts show 
it to be distinct from, and newer than, the bluff. Its composition, 
structure and position, are entirely different, and in many places the 



502 PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY. 

bottom prairie rests non-conformally upon the bluff, as at St. Joseph, 
and the mouth of the Big Nemaha. 

This formation, like the last, is made up of sands, clays, vegetable 
mold, variously interstratified. The sand in the upper part is fine and 
yellowit^h-brown, like that of the Missouri sand bars ; but the lower beds 
are more purely silicious. The clays are usually dark, bluish-brown and 
marly, with more or less sand and humus intermingled. The humus or 
vegetable mold has a brownish or black color ; when wet it is somewhat 
plastic, and slightly tenacious ; when dry, it is brittle, and breaks into 
angular fragments, and can be easily reduced to an inpalpable powder. 
These beds of humus were evidently formed by the growth and decay 
of plants in the localities where they are found. This formation is 
confined to the bottoms of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, and is 
more abundant and better characterized on the former. The bottom 
prairie is about half as extensive as the alluvial bottoms above described, 
and sustains a soil of equal fertility. This estimate will give us abcmt 
1,500,000 acres of these vastly rich savannas, all prepared by nature for 
the plow. Their agricultural capacities are scarcely inferior to any lands 
in the world. The organic remains of the bottom prairie, are numerous 
and well preserved. All the shells of the bluff, save the Helicina occulta, 
have been found in it. The remains of the mastodcm have been found 
in it ; and many trees and other plants, all of living species. 

The scenery in the alluvial bottom and the bottom prairie is well 
represented in Section 2 and Plate 12 of my Geological Report. 

Bluff. — This formation rests upon the drift, as is obvious whenever 
the two formations are well developed. In many places, as at St. Joseph 
and at the mouth of the Big Nemaha, it is seen dipping beneath the 
beds of the bottom prairie. The bluff formation rests upon the 
ridges and river bluffs, and descends along their slopes to the lowest 
valleys. Thus, while the bottom prairie occupies a higher geological 
horizon, the bluff is usually several hundred feet above it in the topo- 
graphical. This formation, when well developed, usually presents a tine 
pulverulent, obsoletely stratified mass of light-grayish buff, silicious and 
slightly indurated marl. Its color is usually variegated with deeper 
brown stains of oxide of iron. The bluff above St. Joseph exhibits an 
exposure of it 140 feet thick, presenting its usual characteristic features. 
When but sparingly developed, it generally becomes more argillaceous, 
and assumes a deeper brown or red color, as on the railroad south of 
Palmyra, where it is a dark-red tinged with purple. In some places the 
ferruginous and calcareous matter increases, and we find concretions of 



GEOLOGY. 503 

marl and iron-stone, either disseminated tlirongli or arranged in hori- 
zontal belts. At other places, it has more arenaceous matter, and is 
much more decidedly stratified. 

So far as my own observations extend, this formation caps all the 
bluffs of the Missouri, from Fort Union to its mouth, and those of the 
Mississippi from Dubuque to the mouth of the Ohio. It forms the 
upper stratum beneath the soil of all the high lands, both timber and 
prairie, of all the counties north of the Osage and Missouri, and also 
St. Louis and the other Mississippi counties on the south. 

Its greatest development in this State, is in the counties on the Mis- 
souri river from the Iowa line to Boonville ; but thence to St. Louis it 
is not so thick. In some places it is 200 feet thick. At St. Joseph it is 
140; at Boonville, 100; and at St. Louis, in St. George's Quarry, and 
the Big Mound, it was about 50 feet ; while its greatest observed thick- 
ness in Marion County was only 30 feet. 

The fossils of the bluff are very numerous and interesting. I have 
collected from it, of the Mammalia, two teeth of the Elephas primigenius, 
one of the Mastodon, the jaw bone of the Gastor fiber Americana, a 
molar of a Bison latifrons, and the incisor of a Squirrel; of the Mol- 
lusca, seventeen species of the genus Helix, eight of Limnea, eight of 
Physa, three of Pupa, four Planorbis, six Succinnea, Audi one each of 
the genera Valvata, Amnicola, Helicina, and Oyclas, besides some 
others not determined. 

These lacustrine, fiuviatile, amphibious and land species indicate a 
deposit formed in a fresh water lake, surrounded by land and fed by rivers. 

I have been thus minute in my examinations of the bluff, the bottom 
prairie, and the alluvial formations, both on account of their vast impor- 
tance to our agricultural interests, and the comparative little attention 
geologists have given to them. It is to this formation that the central 
Mississippi and southern Missouri valleys owe their pre-eminence in 
agriculture. Where it is best developed in western Missouri, the soil is 
inferior to none in the country. 

The scenery presented by the bluff formation is at once unique and 
beautiful, and gives character to nearly all the best landscapes on the 
Lower Missouri. 

Deift. — This formation lies directly beneath the bluff, and rests upon 
the various members of the Palaeozoic series, as they successively come 
to the surface. In this formation there appear three distinct deposits : — 

Altered Drift, as it may be called, frequently appears in the banks of 
the Missouri river. These strata of sand and pebbles seem to be the 



504 PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY. 

finer materials of the drift, removed and re-arranged by aqueous agencies 
subsequent to the Drift period, and prior to the formation of the bluff. 
The pebbles are from all the varieties of rocks found in the true drift, 
but are comparatively small. 

Tlie Boulder formation, as it was left distributed by those powerful 
and Avidely extended agencies, which formed that deposit of the northern 
hemisphere. It is a heterogeneous stratum of sand, gravel and boulders, 
all water-worn fragments of the older rocks. A large part is from the 
Igneous and Metamorphic rocks, in place at the north, and the remainder 
from the Palaeozoic strata, upon which they rest. The Metamorphic and 
loneous rocks must have come from the northern localities of those 
strata, the nearest of which is on the St. Peter's River, about three 
hundred miles north of St. Joseph. But the Palaeozoic fragments are 
usually from localities near where they rest, as shown by the fossils they 
contain, and are as completely rounded as those from more distant points. 

Some of these beds, as in St. Louis County, contain scarcely any 
pebbles from foreign rocks ; but nearly all are rounded portions of the 
underlying strata. The largest boulders observed in Missouri are five or 
six feet in diameter. They are usually granite and Metamorphic sand- 
stone. 

Boulder Clay. — In northern Missouri, the Boulder formation just 
described often rests upon a bed of bluish or brown sandy cla^^, through 
which pebbles of ' various sizes, are disseminated in greater or less 
abundance. In some localities this deposit becomes a pure white pipe- 
clay. 

The Altered Drift has been observed more frequently in the north- 
western part of the State, and is often twenty-five or thirty feet thick. 
The Boulder formation abounds in all parts of the State north of the 
Missouri. Its thickness is very variable, from one to forty-five feet. 
Its development is greater, the boulders larger, and those of a foreign 
orio-in more numerous, towards the north. Its thickness varies from one 
to fifty feet. The Boulder clay is also most abundant in the northern part 
of the State, and is, in some places, more than one hundred feet thick. 

I have seen no fossils in this deposit, save a few logs in the Altered 
Drift of the Missouri. Some of these are still sound, and burn quite 
well when dry, as we have proved by building onr camp fires with them 
on several occasions. There are other deposits, particularly in the 
middle and southern parts of the State, which are not genuine drift; 
and yet they bear a greater resemblance to that than to any other for- 
mation, and occupy precisely the same stratigraphical position. 



GEOLOGY.' 505 

II. — Tertiary. — There is a formation made up of clays, shales, iron 
ores, sandstone, and a variety of fine and coarse sands, extending 
along the bluffs, and skirting the bottoms, from Commerce, in Scott 
County, westward to Stoddard, and thence south to the Chalk Bluffs in 
Arkansas. 

The iron ore of these beds is very abundant, and exceedingly valuable. 
The Spathic ore has been found in no other locality in south-eastern 
Missouri, so that the large quantity and excellent quality of these beds 
Avill render them very valuable for the various purposes to which this ore 
is peculiarly adapted. 

The white sand of these beds will be very valuable for glass-making, 
and for the composition of mortars and cements. The clays are well 
adapted to the manufature of pottery and stoneware. 

III. — Cretaceous (?)— Beneath the Tertiary beds above described 
in the bluffs of the Mississippi above Commerce, the following strata 
were observed: No. 1, 13 feet, argillaceous variegated sandstone. No. 2, 
20 feet, soft bluish-brown sandy slate, containing large quantities of 
iron pyrites. No. 3, 25 feet, whitish-brown imjDure sandstone, banded 
with purple and pink. No. 4, 45 feet slate, like No. 2. No. 5, 45 feet, 
fine white silicious clay, interstratified with white flint more or less 
spotted, and banded with pink and purple. No. 6, 10 feet, purple, red 
and blue clays. The entire thickness is 158 feet. 

These beds are very much disturbed, fractured, upheaved and tilted, 
so as to form various faults and axes, anticlinal and synclinal ; while the 
strata above described as Tertiary, are in their natural position, and rest 
ncmformably upon these beds. 

We have no clue to the age of these rocks, save that they are older 
than the Tertiary beds above, and newer than the Trenton limestone 
below. They somewhat resemble some Cret iceous beds found in several 
places on this part of the continent ; and these facts have led me to the 
inquiry, whether they are Cretaceous. Our future investigation may show 
their true position. 

"We have observed no fossils in these rocks. 

IV. — Carboniferous — This system presents two important divisions : 
Upper Carboniferous, or Goal-Measures ; Lower Carboniferous, or 
Mountain Limestone. 

The Coal- Measures are made up of numerous strata of sandstone, 
limestone, shales, clays, marls, spathic iron ores and coals. We have 
observed about 2,000 feet of these coal-measures, containing numerous 
beds of iron ore, and at least eight or ten beds of good workable coal. 



506 PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY. 

These rocks, with the accompanying beds of coal and iron, cover an 
area of more than twenty-seven thousand square miles in Missouri.^ 

' The geological map, accompanying, shows the division between the 
great body of the coal-measures, on the north-west, from the older rocks 
on the north-east. Besides the large body of coal-measures on the 
noi-th-east side of this line, there are extensive beds in Cole, Moniteau, 
St. Cliarles, St. Louis and Callaway Counties. The common bituminous 
and cannel coals are the only varieties of this mineral observed. These 
exist in vast quantities — one might almost say inexhaustible. 

The fossils are numerous and interesting. So far as our observations 
extend in Missouri, the Fusulina cylindrica, Spirifer cameralus, S. plano- 
convexa, S. hemplicata, S. Keniuckensis, Producttis splendens, P. 
mquico status, P. Nebrascencis , P. Wabashensis, P. Oalhounianus, Chone- 
fesmesoloba, G. Parva, G. SmitJii, Myalina subquadrata, Allorisma 
regularis, A. terminalis, Leda arata, Pleurotomaria spJimrulata, Gam- 
pophyllum torquium, and Ghmtetes Tnilleppraceus are confined to and very 
characteristic of the coal-measures. The, discovery of the fact that these 
fossils are confined to the coal-measures, has enabled us to point out the 
existence of the coal-measures, and the coal beds contained in them, over 
an area of many thousand miles, where some geologists had supposed no 
coal-measures and no coal existed. 

In the Lower Carboniferous rock we have observed Upper Archi- 
medes Limestone, 200 feet; Ferruginous Sandstone, 195 feet; Middle 
Archimedes Limestone, 50 feet ; St. Louis LAmestone, 250 feet ; Oolitic 
Limestone, 25 feet ; Lower Archimedes. Limestone, 350 feet ; Encrinital 
Limestone, 500 feet. 

The Upper Archimedes Limestone is developed in Ste. Genevieve 
County and contains the following fossils: Productus cora, P. elegans, 
Spirifer Leidyi, S. incrassatus (9), S. spinosus, S. lineatus (.^), 
Spirigera hirsuia, Atliyris subtilita, Atrypa serpentina, Orthis umbracu- 
lum ( ?), Fenestella lyra, F. swallvana, F. Meehana, Pentremites pyrifor- 
mis, P. sulcatus, Agassizocrinus dactyliformis, and Poteriocrinus occident- 
alis. 

The Ferruginous Sandstone is variable in its lithological character. 
In some portions it is very white and saccharoidal ; in others, fine, impure 
particles are disseminated through the mass, and the color becomes a 

^ The Missouri coal basin is one of the largest in the known world. Besides the 
27,000 square miles in Missouri, there are in Nebraska at least 10,000 square miles; in 
Kansas, 12,000 ; in Iowa, according to Dr. Owen, 20,000 ; in Illinois, 30,000 ; making in all, 
at least 100,000 square miles. 



GEOLOGY. - 507 

dirty brown ; and in a few localities, as near Fulton, Callaway County, it 
is a coarse conglomerate, But generally, when well develoiDed, it is a 
coarse-grained, heavy-bedded friable sandstone, colored with various 
shades of brown, red, and purple, as it appears in the bluffs near Salt 
Creek, Sulphur Springs, some two miles west of Osceola; or clouded 
with yellow and red, as on Turkey Creek, in Cedar County. The upper 
part is more regularly stratified and finer grained, contains more argilla- 
ceous matter, and has a light-brown yellowish-gray or cream color. It 
is very soft when quarried, and may then be dressed for building 
purposes ; but exposure renders it much harder and more duradle. This 
sandstone contains large quantities of oxides of iron, brown and red 
hematites, which, in many places, form extensive beds of excellent ore. 
The large quantities of iron in this sandstone have led me to give it the 
provisional name, Ferruginous Sandstone. It is found skirting the 
eastern borders of the coal-measures, from the mouth of the Des Moines 
to McDonald County. 

The St. Louis Limestone is made up of hard crystalline, and compact, 
gray and blue, somewhat cherty limestones, interstratified with thin 
partings of blue shale. Its stratigraphical position is between the Fer- 
ruGfuious Sandstone and the Archimedes limestone, as seen near the Des 
Moines, and near the first tunnel on the Pacific Railroad. It is found in 
Clark and Lewis Counties, but attains its greatest development in St. 
Louis, frorn which the name is derived. The most characteristic fossils 
yet described, are, PalcEchinus multvpora, Lithostrotion Oanadense, Echi- 
nocrinus Nerei, Poteriocrinus longidactylus, and Atrypa lingulata. 

The Lower Archimedes Limestone. In this formation are included the 
^"■Arenaceous bed," the " Warsaw or second Archimedes Limestone" the 
'" Magnesian Limestone," the ''Geodebed^and the ''Keokuk or Lower 
Archimedes Limestone" of Prof. Hall's section, and the lead-bearing 
rocks of south-western Missouri, which, though different from any of the 
above beds, are more nearly allied to them than to the Encrinital lime- 
stone below. All of the above beds are easily recognized in Missouri, 
save, perhaps, the Warsaw Limestone, which is but imperfectly repre- 
sented in our north-eastern counties, where the "Keokuk limestone," the 
"Geode beds" and the Magnesian limestone, are well developed. The 
most characteristic fossils described, are Fenestella Worthenii (9 ), 
F. Owenanoe, Agaricocrinus Tuberosus, Actinocrinus Huiaboldiii, Spiri- 
fer incrassatus (9), Orthis SwaJlovi. 

This formation extends from the north-eastern part of the State to the 
south-west, in an irregular zone, skirting the eastern border of the 



508 PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY. 

FeiTiiginoiis Sandstone. The extensive and rich lead deposits of south- 
western Missouri are partly in this formation; These mines occupy an 
area of more than one hundred square miles, in Jasper, Newton and the 
adjoining counties. 

The Encrinital Limestone is at once the most extensive and best 
characterized of the divisions of the Carboniferous limestone. It is 
made up of brown, buiF, gray and white, coarse, crystalline, heavy 
bedded limestones. The darker colored, impure varieties prevail near 
the base, while the lighter and more purely calcareous strata abound in 
the upper part. It everywhere contains globular, ovoid, and lenticular 
masses of chert, disseminated or arranged in beds parallel to the lines of 
stratification. These masses of chert are more abundant in the upper 
beds ; in fact, the upper beds are made up almost exclusively of this 
mineral. The strata of this formation are frequently intersected by joints 
resembling the sutures of the cranium. The remains of corals and 
moUusks are very abundant ; some of the strata are made up almost 
entirely of their exuviae, especially of the joints and plates of Grinoi- 
^Zeans, known in England as " /S'^. GutJiherfs heads." In the south-west, 
these strata rest upon some 70 or 80 feet of hard, porous and thick- 
bedded silicious rock, which are included in this formation, as they have 
more afiinities with it than with the Chemung below. There are nine 
divisions of this formation in Missouri, which are quite well marked by 
their fossils and litholooical characters. The Encrinital limestone 
extends from Marion County to Greene, forming an irregular zone on the 
east of the Archimedes beds. 

V. — Devonian.— This system contains Chemung Group, Hamilton 
Group, Onondaga Limestone, Oriskany Sandstone. 

The Devonian rocks occupy a small area in Marion, Ealls, Pike, Calla- 
way, Saline and Ste. Gene^deve Counties ; also narrow belts along the 
carboniferous strata to the south and west. 

The Che:mung Group presents three formations, very distinct in litho- 
logical characters and fossil remains. They have received the following 
p*rovisional names : Cliouteau Limestone, 85 feet ; Vermicular Sandstone 
and Shales, 75 feet; Lithographic Limestone, 125 feet. 

The Chouteau Limmtone, when fully developed, is in two divisions. 

At the top, immediately under the Encrinital limestone, we find some 
40 or 50 feet of brownish-gray, earthy, silico-magnesian limestone, in 
thick beds, which contain disseminated masses of white or limpid 
calcareous spar. This rock is very uniform in character, and contains 
but few fossils. Reticulated corals, and Fucoidal markings, like the 



GEOLOGY. 509 

Gauda-gaUi, are most abundant. In the quany it is quite soft, but 
becomes veiy hard on exposure, and forms a very firm and durable 
building rock. It is also hydraulic and forms a good cement. 

The upper division passes down into a fine, compact, blue or drab, 
thin-bedded limestone, whose strata are quite irregular and broken. Its 
fracture is conchoidal, and its structure somewhat concretionary. Some 
of the beds are filled with a great profusion of most beautiful fossils. In 
many, the organic substance has been replaced by calcareous spar. The 
most characteristic are Spirifer Marionensis, Producius Murchisonianus , 
Choneles ornaia, Atrypa gregoria, A. Occidentalis, A. Obscura/plicata ^ 
Leptoena depressa, Avicula Cooperensis, Mytilus elongatus, and several 
new species of TriJohites. 

In the north-eastern part of the State, the Chouteau limestone is repre- 
sented by a few feet of coarse, earthy, crystalline, calcareous rock, like 
the lower division of the Encrinital limestone, as there developed. There 
is, indeed, in this part of the State, no change of lithological characters 
as you pass from the Encrinital limestone to this formation ; but the 
change in the organic remains is both sudden and great. 

The Vennicular Sandstones and Shales. The upper part of this for- 
mation is usually a buff, or yellowish-brown, fine-grained, pulverulent, 
argillo-calcareous sandstone. It is usually perforated in all directions 
with pores, filled with the same materials more highly colored, and less 
indurated. This portion, when exposed to atmospheric agencies, often 
disintegrates, and leaves the rock full of winding passages, as if it were 
worm-eaten. 

This formation contains but few fossils, and those are in the upper 
portions. Spirifer Marionensis, Productus Mui'chisonianus , Choneles 
omnia, Aviculacircula, the Pucoids, above named, and the cauda-galli, 
ar • the most numerous. These beds can always be detected by the 
lithological characters and its peculiar Pucoids. 

The Lithographic Limestone is a pure, fine, compact, even-textured, 
silicious limestone, breaking rather easily, with a conchoidal fracture, 
into shai'p, angular fragments. Its color varies from a light drab to the 
lighter shades of butf and blue. It gives a sharp, ringing sound under 
the hammer, from which it is called "pot-metal," in some parts of the 
Stife. It is regularly stratified in beds varying from 2 to 16 inches in 
thickness, often presenting, in mural bluflfs, all the regularity of raasomy, 
as at Louisiana, on the jNIississippi. The beds are intersected by 
numerous ft-actures, leaving surfaces covered with beautiful dendritic 
markings of oxide of iron or manganese. 



510 PHYSICAI. GEOGKAPHY. 

It has but few fossils. The most abundant are Sj)irifer Marionensis 
Qi/rlia cuspidatus, Productus Mu7'cMsonianus, P. minutus, Proteus 
Jlissouriensis, Filictes gracilis, a comdaria, Fucoides caudagcdli, (?) and 
several large-chambered shells. The Chemung rocks extend from Marion 
County to Greene, along the eastern border of the carboniferous strata. 

The Hamilton Group is made up of some 40 feet of blue shales, and 
107 feet semi-crystalline limestone, containing Z)«Z>?ifm2a Ccdliteles, Pha- 
cops bufo,8pirifer mucronatus, 8. sculptilis, S. congesta, Ghonetes carin- 
ala, Favosites hasaltica. 

Onondaga Limestone. This formation is usually a coarse gray or 
buff, crystalline, thick-bedded and cherty limestone, abounding in 
Terehratula reticularis, Orthis resupinata, Ghonetes nana, Productus 
suhaculeatus, Spirifer euruteines, Phacopsbufo, GyathopJiyllumrugosum^ 
Emmonsia liemisplierica, and a Peniamerus, like galealus. 

No formation in Missouri presents such variable and widely different 
lithological characters as the Onondaga. It is, generally, a coarse, 
gray, crystalline limestone ; often, a somewhat compact, bluish concre- 
tionary limestone, containing cavities filled with green matter or calc- 
spar; in a few places, a white saccharoidal sandstone ; in two or three 
localities, a soft, brown sandstone, and, at Louisiana, a pure white oolite. 

The Oriskany Sandstone of Missouri is a light-gray limestone, which 
contains the Spirifer arenosa, Leptaena depressa, and several new species 
of Spirifer, Ghonetes, lllmnus and Lichas. 

VI. — Silurian. — Of the Upper Silurian series, we have the following 
formations: Lower Helderherg, 350 feet; Niagara Group, 2oO feet; 
Gape Girardeau Limestone, 60 feet. 

The Lower Helderherg Group is made up of buff, gray and reddish, 
cherty, and argillaceous limestones, blue shales, and dark graptolite 
slates, Palinania tridentifera, Ghierurus Missouriensis, Gahjmene rugosa, 
Orthis hyhrida, O. elegantula, and several species of Platyostoma, are 
the prevailing fossils. 

Niagara Group. '^ The upper part of this formation consists of red, 
yellow, and ash colored shales, with compact limestones, variegated with 
bands and nodules of chert. Holy sites catenularia, Golumnariainequalis, 
Galymene Blumenhachii, and Garyocrinus ornatus, are the most charac- 
teristic fossils. 

The Gape Girardeau Limestone, occurring on the Mississippi about 
one mUe above Cape Girardeau, is a compact, bluish-gray, brittle lime- 

. ^I am indebted to Dr. Shumard for the information possessed respecting tlie Niagara^ 
Lower Helderierg and Cape Girardeau Groups, SiXid the Oriskany Sandstone. 



GEOLOGY. 511 

stone, "witli a smooth fracture, in layers from 2 to 6 inclies in thickness, 
with thin argillaceous partings. These strata contain a great many 
fossils, principally Trilobites and Crinoides. In a slab, 3 by 3 inches, 
were found four genera of Trilobites, namely : Cyphaspis, Girardeau- 
ensis, Acidaspis Halli, Proteus depressus, Asaphus, JSTov. Sp. None of 
the Trilobites have been before mentioned in this country, and, so far as 
I can ascertain, the species are distinct from European forms. According 
to Barande, the first three genera occur in the greatest number in the 
Upper Silurian period, and are very sparingly represented in the Lower 
Silurian groups. The Crinoids belong mostly to the genera Gl3rpto- 
■crinus, Homocriaus, Tentaculites, and False ister ; and the shells to 
Leptaena, Orthis. and Turbo — all being of undescribed species. 

Lower Silurtan. — We have thus far observed ten formations belong- 
ing to this series : Hudson River Group, 220 feet; Trenton Limestone, 
560 feet; Black River and Birds-eye Limestone, 75 feet; Ist Magnesian 
Limestone, 200 feet; Saccharoidal Sandstone, 125 feet; 2d Magnesian 
Limestone, 230 feet; 2£? Sandstone, 115 feet; 3cZ Magnesian Limestone, 
350 feet ; ?>d Sandstone, 60 feet ; ^th 3Iagnesian Limestone, 300 feet. 

Hudson River Group. — There are three formations, which we have 
referred to this group. 

1st. Immediately below tlie Oolite of the Onondaga limestone, in the 
blufis both above and below Louisiana, we find some 40 feet of blue, 
gray and brown, argillaceous, magnesian limestone. The upper part of 
these shales is in thick beds, presenting a dull, conchoidal fracture, and 
containing Asaphus megistos, and Gaymene senaria. The lower part of 
this division becomes more argillaceous, and has several thin beds of 
bluish-gray, crystalline limestone, intercalated, which contain many 
fossils of the following species : Leptmna sericea, L. alternata, L. 
Planumhona, Orthis jugosa, 0. suh quad rata, and Rhynconella capax. 
There are also ''strata of calcareo-arenaceous slate, in the same position, 
filled with remains, which I am unable to distinguish from Prof. Hall's 
PalcEophycus virgatus, and another contorted species. There also, beds 
of slate, similar to those above mentioned, at the base of these shales, 
whose surfaces are covered with great numbers of the Lingula ancyloidea. 

2d. On the Grassy, 3J miles northwest of Louisiana, about 60 feet of 
blue and purple shales are exposed below the beds above described. 
They contain three species of Lingula: Lingula quadrata, L. fragilis, 
and still another not named. 

3d. Under the 2d division are some twenty feet of argillo-magnesian 
limestone, similar to that in the 1st division, interstratified with blue 



512 PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY. 

shales. Ovthis subquadrata, 0. jugosa, Leptcena aliernata, Rhynconella 
capax, and Asaphus megistos are abundant. 

These rocks crop out in Ealls, Pike, Cape Girardeau and Ste. Gene- 
vieve Counties. On the Grassy, a thickness of 120 feet is exposed ; 
and they extend below the surface to an unknown depth. 

Trenton Limestone. — The upper part of this formation is made up of 
thick beds of hard, compact, bhiish-gray and drab limestone, variegated 
with irregular cavities, filled with greenish materials ; while the beds 
below are filled with irregular cylindrical portions, which readily 
decompose on exposure, and leave the rocks perforated with numerous 
irregular passages that somewhat resemble those made in timber by the 
Toredo navalis. These beds are exposed between Hannibal and New 
London, north of Salt Elver, and near Glencoe, St. Louis County, and 
are 75 feet thick. Below them are thick strata of impure, coarse, gray 
and buff, crystalline, magnesian limestone, with many brovrn, earthy 
portions, which rapidly disintegrate on exposure to atmospheric influ- 
ences. This part may be seen in the bluffs of Salt Eiver, 150 feet thick. 
The lower part is made up of hard, blue and bluish-gray, semi-compact, 
silico-magnesian limestone, interstratified with light buff and drab, soft 
and earthy magnesian beds. Fil^ty feet of these strata crop out at the 
quarries south of the plank road bridge over Salt Eiver, and on Spencer's 
Creek in Ealls County. The middle beds sometimes pass into a pure 
white crystalline marble of great beauty, as at Cape Girardeau and near 
Glencoe. Fossils are abundant in all parts of the formation. LeptCBna 
deltoidea, L. Sericea, L. aJternata, Orthis pectinella, 0. testidudinaria , 
0. tricenaria, Rhynconella capax, Murcliisonia gracilis, M. bellicinctay 
Receptaculiles sulcata, and Ghaetees lycoperdon are most common. 

Black River and Bird, s- Eye Limestones are bluish-gray or dove- 
colored, compact, brittle limestones, with a smooth conchoidal fracture. 
The beds vary in thickness from a few inches to several feet. Near the 
base, the rock is frequently traversed in all directions by vermicular 
cavities and cells. Gonioceras aiiceps, Ormoceras tenuifolium, Gythere 
sublevis are the most abundant fossils. 

The \st Magnesian limestone is developed in many parts of the State. 
It is usually a gray orbutf, crystalline, cherty, silico-magnesian limestone, 
filled with small, irregular masses of a soft white or greenish-yellow, sili- 
cious substance, which rapidly decomposes when exposed, and leaves the 
rock full of irregular cavities, and covered with rough, projecting points. 
These rugged, weather-worn strata crop out in the prairies, and cap the 
picturesque bluffs of the Osage in Benton and the neighboring counties. 



GEOLOGY. 513 

These beds often pass into a homogeneous buff or gray crystalline 
magnesian limestone, which is frequently clouded with blue or pink, and 
would make a good fire-rock and building stone. At other places the 
strata become compact, hard and clouded, as above, forming a beautiful 
and durable marble. 

Some of the upper beds are silicious, presenting a porous, semi- 
transparent, vitreous mass, in which are disseminated numerous small, 
globular, white, enameled oolitic particles. They are sometimes in 
regular and contiguous strata ; at others, in irregular masses, presenting 
mammillated and botryoidal and drusy forms of this beautiful mineral. 
In some parts of Benton and the neighboring counties, these masses left 
by the denuded strata, literally cov^er the surface, and render the soil 
almost valueless for ordinary cultivation. Other strata abound in 
concretions, or organic forms, which resemble wooden-button molds, 
with a central aperture and one convex surface. Masses of calcareous 
spar are quite abimdant in the upper beds. The lower jDart of this 
formation is made up of thin, regular strata, of a soft, earthy, light- 
drab or cream-colored silico-argillaceous magnesian limestone, called 
cotton-rock. 

Above the beds already described, we find, in several places in the 
State, a succession of hard, silicious, dark, bluish-gray, semi- crystalline 
limestone, interstratified with grayish-drab, earthy, magnesian varieties, 
all in regular layers, destitute of chert. 8traparollus laevata, a small 
variety of GytJiere sublevis, and a large Orihoceras, have been observed 
in these rocks. 

The Saccharoidal Sandstone is usually a bed of white friable sand- 
stone slightly tinged with red and brown, which is made up of globular 
concretions and angular fragments of limpid quartz. It presents very 
imperfect strata, but somewhat more distinct lines of deposition, 
variously inclined to the planes of stratification. 

This interesting formation has a wide range over the State. Its 
thickness is very variable, from 1 to 125 feet. At times it thickens 
very rapidly, so much so as to increase 30 or 40 feet in a few hundred 
yards. In a bluff about 2 miles north-west of Warsaw, is a very striking 
illustration of this change of thickness. This sandstone crops out along 
the bluff, between the 1st and 2d Magnesian limestone, and in a few 
yards decreases in thickness from 20 feet to 1 foot. Where thinnest it 
is semi- vitreous, and the line of demarcation between it and the 
limestone is very distinct. A very large Orthoceras is found in this 
sandstone. 



514 PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY. 

The 2d M agnesian Limestone in lithological character, is very much 
like the 1st Magiiesian liwjestone, above described. 

The 2d Sandstone is usually a brown or yellowish-brown, fine-grained 
sandstone, distinctly stratified in regular beds, varying from 2 to 18 
inches in thickness. The surfaces are often ripple-marked and mica- 
ceous. It is sometimes quite friable, though generally sufficiently 
indurated for building purposes. The upper part is often made up of 
thin strata of light, soft and porous, semi-pulverulent, sandy chert or 
hornstone, whose cavities are usually lined with limpid crystals of quartz. 
Fragments of these strata are very abundant in the soil and on the 
ridges, where this sandstone forms the surface of the rock. It some- 
times becomes a pure white, fine-grained, soft sandstone, as on Cedar 
Creek, in Washington County, in Franklin, and other localities. 

The ?>d Magnesian Limestone is exposed in the high and picturesque 
blufis of the Niangua, in the neighborhood of Bryce's Spring, where the 
following strata were observed : 

No. 1, 50 feet of the 2d Sandstone; No. 2, 80 feet of gray and 
crystalline silico-magnesian limestone, somewhat clouded with flesh- 
colored spots and bluish bands ; No. 3, 50 feet of blue and white 
ferruginous chert, interstratified with hard, compact and flesh-colored 
silicious limestone ; No. 4, 190 feet like No. 2, save some beds are hard, 
compact, buff or flesh-colored silicious limestone ; No. 5, 20 feet of 
light-drab, fine grained crystalline silico-magnesian limestone, often 
slightly tinged with peach-blossom, and beautifully clouded with darker 
spots and bands of the same hue or flesh-color. It is distinctly stratified 
in beds of medium thickness ; No. 6, 50 feet like No. 2 ; No. 7, 30 feet 
of the 3d Sandstone. 

It also covers large areas in the south-east mining region. It is the 
great mineral-bearing rock of Missouri. 

The Sd Sandstone is a white, saccharoidal sandstone, made up of 
slightly-cohering, transparent, globular and angular particles of silex. 
It shows but little appearance of stratification, yet the well-marked lines 
of deposition, like those of a Missouri sand-bar, indicate its formation 
in moving water, on the Niangua and Osage. 

The Ath Magnesian Limestone presents more permanent and uniform 
lithological characters than any other of the Magnesian limestones. It 
is usually a grayish-buff, coarse-grained, crystalline Magnesian limestone, 
containing a few crevices filled with less indurated silicious matter. Its 
thick, uniform beds contain but little chert. The best exposures of this 
formation are on the Niano-ua and Osao;e Rivers. 



GEOLOGY. 515 

This Magnesian Limestone Series is very interesting, both in its 
scientific and economical relations. It covers a large portion of southern 
and south-eastern Missouri, is remarkable for its extensive caves and 
springs, and contains nearly all the vast deposits of lead, zinc, copper, 
cobalt, the limonite ores of iron, and nearly all the marble beds of the 
State. It indeed contains a large part of all our mineral wealth. 

The lower part of the 1st Magnesian limestone, the Saccharoidal sand- 
stone, the 2d Magnesian limestone, the 2d Sandstone, and the upper part 
of the 3d Magnesian limestone belong, without doubt, to the age of the 
Calciferous sand-rock; but the remainder of the series, to the Potsdam 
^sandstone. 

VII. — Azoic Rocks. — Below the Silurian rocks, as above described, 
we find a series of Silicious and other slates, which contain no remains 
-of organic life. These rocks, therefore, we refer to the so-called Azoic 
Age. They contain some of the beds of Specular Iron. 

In Pilot Knob we have a good exposition of these Azoic Strata. The 
lower fossiliferous rocks rest non-conformably on these strata. 

Igneous and Metamorphio Eocks. — There is a series of rounded 
Tinobs and hills in St. Francois, Iron, Dent, and the neighboring counties, 
which are principally mac)e up of granite, porphyry, diorite, and green- 
stone. These Igneous and Metamorphic rocks contain some of those 
wonderful beds of Specular Iron, of which Iron and Sheperd Mountains 
ure samples. This iron ore often occurs in regular veins in the porphyry. 

HISTORICAL GEOLOGY. 

In the short space allotted me, it will be possible to give a mere out- 
line only of the wonderful events, which transpired during the formation 
of the rocks above described, and the development of our State into its 
present physical condition. 

If we go back to the time when this continent began to emerge from 
the primeval ocean, the geological record will inform us that Pilot Knob, 
Shepherd Mountain, and some of the neighboring heights, were among 
the first portions of land that appeared above the waters. When Pilot 
Knob became an island, there was an unbroken ocean on all sides, save 
an island to the north-west, the top of the Black Hills, a larger cluster 
to the north-east, in New York and Canada, and a small cluster to the 
south-west. 

These islands were formed in the Azoic Seas by the eruptions that 
forced up the porphyry, granite, the azoic slates and iron beds of Pilot 
Knob, and the neighboring heights. 



516 PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY. 

In the tranquil cycles which succeeded, the ocean was peopled with 
innumerable species of Mollusca, Zoophytes, Protozoans, and Trilohites. 
Plants too appeared in the waters. But for some reasons these animals 
were not abundant in the waters about Pilot Knob. 

This is what we call the Age of Mollushs; and in it were deposited 
the series of magnesian limestones and sandstones, so largely developed 
in the southern and eastern portions of the State. In the middle portion 
of this age, moUusks, with conical shells as large as saw-logs, made their 
appearance. 

Towards the close of this age the higher portions of South Missouri 
became dry land, and the surrounding waters were filled with vast num- 
bers of Corals, Trilobites, bivalve, spiral and conical shells. At the end 
of the Age of Mollusks, the land emerged as high up the Mississippi as 
Louisiana, and all that portion of the State colored yellow on the map, 
became dry land ; and the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic were sep- 
arated by a chain of islands along the line of the Upper Mississippi and 
the Great Lakes, and the St. Lawrence. 

The next period, the Age of Fishes, was characterized by tranquil seas 
filled with coral reefs, around which sported the primeval fishes. Huge 
Nautili spread their sails over the placid waters, and plants clothed the 
rising continent in green. At the close of this age the Pacific retired a 
little to the north-west, and left a narrow belt of Devonian rocks along 
its sinuous shores. These are colored in green on the map. 

For many cycles the seas remained tranquil and continued to be filled 
with numerous fishes, corals, stone lilies, trilobites, star fish and algae, 
while the vast beds of Carboniferous limestone were deposited. Rep- 
tiles and insects appeared upon the land. But toward the close of this 
period turbulent times intervened. Rocks were broken up, rounded to 
boulders and pebbles, or ground to sand, and drifted to the sea and 
piled into vast beds, in the central portions of the Mississippi Valley. 

St. Louis now rose above the waters and formed a peninsula which 
had its connection to the South with the older part of the continent. 
A shallow bay extended around St. Louis to the north and west. It 
widened out over all the coal regions of Illinois and Kentucky, and out 
into the Pacific through St. Charles. All north-west Missouri, and the 
coal regions of Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas and the Indian Terri- 
tory were covered with warm shallow waters, steaming under the rays 
of tropical suns. 

A hot atmosphere filled with vapor and carbonic acid nourished the 
rapid growth of trees, ferns, lepidodendrous sigillaria, and other plants 



GEOLOGY. 517 

ill vast forests. Steaming marshes, fens and lagoons abounded. The 
lands were many times raised and submerged, and the forests swept 
away into vast beds, which formed the coal deposits over more than 
100,000 square miles in the States above named. The turbulent waters 
deposited the clays and sands intercalated with the coal beds. Clear, 
tranquil waters returned filled with fishes, mollusks and corals, and the 
limestones of the coal-measures were deposited. 

Such changes followed each other in some twenty successive courses, 
revolving through the vast cycles of the Age of Plants. 

At the close of this period the Pacific had retired westward to Sioux 
City and Manhattan ; the Gulf of Mexico extended up as high as Cape 
Girardeau, and a part of Scott County was a large island. 

During the succeeding Age of Rejptiles, while the vast saurians, like 
the Zeuglodon, were sporting in the waters that covered the Lower 
Mississippi Valley, and the flying Pterodactyli were flapping their wings 
over the shores of the Pacific, in Wyoming and Colorado, Missouri was 
quiescent, producing her quota of animal and vegetable life. 

In the succeeding Age of Mammals Missouri remained as before, but 
the regions bordering on the Gulf of Mexico and those on the Upper 
Missouri and westward to the Pacific, underwent various depressions and 
elevations by which several dynasties of wonderful animals were buried 
in the rocks which now contain their remains. At the close of this vast 
period the continent assumed its present form, with some unimportant 
exceptions. The Gulf of Mexico still extended above the mouth of the 
Ohio. Our large rivers had cut their present channels to depths varying 
from 100 to 500 feet, and in width from 1 to 10 miles. Mighty waters 
poured over the solid strata and wore for themselves these vast channels 
to the sea. 

But a change came over the continent. Some mighty power of water 
or ice, or both, swept over the surface, grinding the softer rocks to 
atoms and- rounding the harder into pebbles. Vast boulders were moved 
hundreds of miles and dropped in strange places. 

Another change, and a large part of the Upper Mississippi and the 
Lower Mississippi Valleys were covered with a vast fresh water lake 
The land was covered with forests similar to our own. The land and 
waters were peopled with many of our present races of animals. The 
beaver built his dams as now. The squirrel ate the same mast and the 
4eer cropped the same herbage. But the huge elephant and mastodon 
were then lords of the soil. The Bluf formation was deposited in this 
lake. Another change and the lake was gradually drained and the 



518 PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY. 

waters subsided to the channels of the rivers. The currents of tW 
great rivers were sluggish, they were spread from bluff to bluff, and 
the Bottom Prairie Avas deposited, covering the valleys of our great 
rivers. 

Again the level changed, the great rivers became more rapid, and cut 
their present channels in the Bottom Prairie. 

The alluvial deposits were formed, the Gulf was driven back to its 
present limits, the swamp country was added to our State, the soil wa&^ 
formed, and Missouri was finished. 

The Age of Man commenced, and the Geological Record gives place^ 
to History. 

DEVELOPMENT AND NATURAL SELECTION. 

But in this countless array of animals, whose orders and genera and 
species have come and gone through the vast cycles since Pilot Knob- 
announced the rising continent, among them all, do we find one species 
of animal developed from another? iVay, verily. 

Species come without i)rogenitors, maintain their identity for count- 
less ages, and utterly perish, leaving nothing developed to call them 
ancestors. 

But have not the species, and genera, and orders, improved by natural 
selection f JSTot at all. 

When we examine through their whole existence, they degenerate 
rather than improve. In some instances they do improve for a time ; 
but in almost ail instances they retrograde again, and finally jDcrish 
miserably. 

The Trilobite was one of the first animals that appeared in the 
primeval ocean ; he lived through the entire palaeozoic period. They 
sometimes improved and sometimes degenerated ; but finally they 
dwindled down to a few insignificant species, and utterly perished. 

The Trilobite stood at the head of the primitive orders. He had the 
world for his field and all time was before him. He perished by no 
catastrophe ; and yet natural selection did not improve him, much less 
save him from utter extinction. 

At the close of the Age of Mammals, the elephant and mastodon were 
at the head of the order on this continent. They had space enough,, 
climates enough, time enough, and none to molest or make them afraid, 
and yet natural selection did not save them. They dwindled away and 
died out. 



MESTES AND USEFUL MINEKALS. 519 

The genus Cyrtia and the species Spirifer cameratus, and a thousand 
others, might be named to show that natural selection, where it had the 
widest field, the longest time, and the most favorable circumstances, 
failed utterly to make new species. Such at least, is the testimony of 
the rocks of Missouri. 



CHAPTER II. 
MINES AND USEFUL MINERALS. 

There is no territory of equal extent on the continent, which contains 
so many and such large quantities of the most useful minerals as the 
State of Missouri. Some good fortune has set the boundaries of tbis 
State around a portion of country filled with an unusual amount of the 
mineral substances useful in the arts and manufactures. Several of those 
most useful are found in such quantities that the supply is virtually 
inexhaustible. There are some that no demand for home consumption, 
or for foreign supplies, can exhaust within the time allotted for the rise, 
progress and decay of nations. 

Only small portions of the precious metals have been discovered in 
Missouri ; nor is it desirable that there should be more. It is true that 
deposits of silver and gold concentrate population very rapidly, and yield 
many large fortunes ; but history does not show that countries yielding 
silver and gold have been permanently more prosperous. Gold built up 
California very rapidly, and it is now filled with a great and prosperous 
people : but gold does not keep them there, nor does it induce the present 
immigration. The beautiful climate and wonderful agricultural resources- 
are its greatest present attractions. 

The most important mineral resources of the State are Coal, Iron and 
Lead, but as these have been treated of under distinct heads, in another 
portion of this volume, the reader is referred to the articles bearing those 
headings. 

If Missouri will work up her iron and coal, she may become as 
powerful and rich as England. She has more territory and better soil, 
more and better iron, and quite as much coal. 



520 PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY. 

People who work iron partake of its strong find hardy nature. They 
move the world and shape its destinies. The region tributary to St. 
Louis, has more of the very best varieties of iron ore than can be found 
available for any other locality in the known world ; and the facilities 
for working these vast deposits are unsurpassed. The country is well 
watered ; timber is abundant ; and all is surrounded by inexhaustible 
coal beds. These facts alone will make St. Louis the great iron mart 
of the country. 

Copper. — Several varieties of copper ore exist in the Missouri mines. 
The copper mines of Shannon, Madison and Franklin Counties have 
been known for a long time. Some of those in Shannon and Franklin 
were 6nce worked with bright prospects of success, and some in Madison 
have yielded good results for many years. 

Deposits of copper have been discovered in Dent, Crawford, Benton, 
Maries, Green, Lawrence, Dade, Taney, Dallas, Phelps, Reynolds aud 
Wright Counties. But the mines in Franklin, Shannon, Madison, 
Crawford, Dent and Washington give greater promise of yielding profit- 
able results than any other yet discovered. When capitalists are pre- 
pared to work these mines in a systematic manner, they may expect 
good returns for the money invested. 

Zinc. — Sulphuret of zinc is very abundant in nearly all the lead mines 
in south-western Missouri, particularly in the mines of Newton and 
Jasper, in the mountain limestone. The carbonate and silicate occur in 
the same localities, though in smaller quantities. Zinc ores are also 
found in greater or less abundance in all the counties on the A. & P. 
R. R., but the distance from market and the difficulties in smelting the 
most abundant of these ores, — the sulphuret — has prevented the miners 
from appreciating its real value. It often occurred in such large masses 
as to impede very materially the progress of mining operations. For 
this reason black-jack was no favorite with the miners of the south- 
west. Many thousand tons had been cast aside with the rubbish as so 
much worthless matter, but the completion of the A. & P. R, R. has 
given this ore a market, and converted into valuable merchandise the 
vast quantities of it which may be so easily obtained in Jasper, Newton, 
and other counties of the south-west. Considerable quantities of the 
sulphuret, carbonate and silicate also occur in the eastern lead regions: — 
at Perry's Mine, at Mount Hope Mine, near Potosi, at Frund Mine, 
Jefferson Countj^ and in other localities. Little has been done to test 
the value of the ores of zinc in these and other localities in the State, 
but a beginning has been made with promising results. There is an 



MENES AOT) USEFUL MDTEKALS. 521 

extensive vein of calamine in Taney County, which will doubtless prove 
very vahiable. 

Cobalt exists in considerable quantities at Mine LaMotte. It has been 
found in one other locality. 

Nickel is also worked at Mine LaMotte in considerable quantities. 

Manganese. — The peroxide of manganese has been found in several 
localities in Ste. Genevieve and other counties. 

Silver occurs , in small quantities in nearly all the lead mines in the 
State, in combination with the lead. 

Gold, though often reported in sundry localities,, has never been 
profitably worked in any part of the State. 

Tin.-^Ores said to have large quantities of tin, have attracted much 
attention, and much money and labor have been spent in efforts to mine 
and reduce them, but as yet without pecuniary success. 

Platinum has been reported by some explorers as existing in small 
quantities in dolerite dykes in Madison County. But I could never 
detect any in the localities pointed out by those who reported its 
discovery. 

Marble. ^Missouri has numerous and extensive beds of marble of 
various shades and qualities. Some of them are very valuable, and will 
become a very important item in the State resources. 

Fort Scott Marble is a hard, black, fine-grained marble, with veins 
of yellow, buff and brown. It receives a fine polish, and is very 
beautiful. It belongs to the Coal Measures. I discovered it in several 
places in Kansas near the Missouri line. It doubtless extends into 
Missouri. 

There are several beds in the St. Louis limestone, in St. Louis County, 
which have attracted some attention as fine marbles. Some of them are 
very beautiful and durable. 

The 4th division of Encrinital Limestone is a white, coarse-grained, 
crystalline marble of great durability. It crops out in several places in 
Marion County. One of the best localities is in the bluffs of the 
Mississippi, between McFarland's Branch and the Fabius. The Litho- 
graphic Limestone will furnish a fine, hard-grained, bluish-drab marble, 
that would contrast finely with white varieties, in tessellated pavements 
for halls and courts. 

The Cooper marble of the Devonian Limestone, has numerous pellucid 
crystals of calcareous spar disseminated through a drab or bluish-drab, 
fine, compact base. It exists in great quantities on La Mine River, in 
Cooper County, on Lee's Creek, and in some other places in Marion 



522 PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY. 

County. It is admirably adapted to many ornamental uses. There are 
many extensive beds of fine variegated marbles in the upper Silurian 
limestones of Cape Girardeau County. They crop out in many places 
extending from Apple Creek, on the northern boundary of the county 
to Cape Girardeau, and thence along the bluffs facing the swamps to 
the south-west. Cape Girardeau marble is also a part of the Trenton 
Limestone located near Cape Girardeau. It is nearly white, strong and 
durable. This bed is also found near Glencoe, St:. Louis County. 

There are several beds of very excellent marble in the Magnesian 
Limestone series. Near Ironton are several beds of semi-crystalline, 
light-colored marbles, beautifully clouded with buff and flesh colors. 
They receive a fine polish, are durable, and well fitted for many varieties 
of ornamental work and building purposes. But one of the most 
desirable of the Missouri marbles is in the 8d Magnesian Limestone on 
the Niangua. It is a fine-grained, crystalline, silico-magnesian limestone, 
light-drab, slightly tinged with peach blossom, and beautifully clouded 
with deep flesh-colored shades. It is 20 feet thick, and crops out in 
the bluffs of the Niangua for a long distance. This marble is rarely 
surpassed in the qualities adapted to ornamental architecture. 

There are also several other beds in this and the other magnesian 
limestones. Some are plain white, others are so clouded as to present 
the appearance of breccias. The beautiful Ozark marbles are well 
known. Some of them have been used in ornamenting the Capitol at 
Washington and for other purposes. Wherever the magnesian lime- 
stones come near the igneous rocks, we may expect to find them so 
changed as to present beds of these beautiful variegated marbles. 
Many of our marbles have been used in St. Louis for various purposes. 

Limestones. — There is a great variety of excellent limestones in all 
parts of Missouri, which will furnish any quantity of the best materials 
for that class of building stones. Some of these limestones have been 
much used, and others will supply the increasing demand, as the means 
of transportation are extended to interior localities. 

Hydraulic Limes are abundant in numerous localities. Some of 
them have been tested with good results. The middle beds of the 
Vermicular Sandstone in Cooper and Marion Counties are hydraulic. 
The upper beds of the Lithographic Limestone in Marion, Ralls and 
Pike Counties, possess marked hydraulic properties ; and several lime- 
stones in Cape Girardeau County appear to be hydraulic. 

The upper beds of the Chouteau Limestone in Boone, Cooper, Moni- 
teau, Pettis and other counties are in the highest degree hydraulic. 



MINES AND USEFUL MINERALS. 523 

They resemble the hydraulic strata at Louisville. The upper and low^ 
strata of the Hudson River Group have the same properties. The 
same is true of some portions of the Magnesian Limestone series, as 
developed in some parts of south Missouri. From these sources we 
may confidently expect an abundant supply for home consumption and 
all demands for exportation. 

Gypsum. — Though no extensive beds of gypsum have been found in 
Missouri, there are vast beds of the pure white crystalline variety on the 
line of the Kansas Pacific Railroad, on Kansas River, and on Gypsum 
Creek. It is also found in several other localities accessible to Missouri 
by both rail and boat, as at Fort Dodge in Iowa, and on the Republican 
and Blue Rivers in Kansas. 

Sulphate of Baryta, in its pure white form, is very abundant in 
Missouri. It occurs in large beds in the mining regions, as the gangue 
of our lead veins, and as large masses, especially in the magnesian lime- 
stones of the Lower Silurian rocks. It is largely utilized as a pigment 
in connection with lead. It may be made valuable for the same purposes 
in connection with some of our ferruginous and argillaceous paints. Its 
weight and durability will give these materials more body and stability. 

Quick Lime. — All of the limestone formations in the State, from the 
coal measures to the Fourth Magnesian, have more or less strata of very 
nearly pure carbonate of lime, which will consequently make good 
quick lime. 

Clays. — Potters' clay is found in great abundance and worked in 
many localities in the State. 

Kaolin has been discovered at a few places, and worked at one 
or two. 

Brick Clays have been found and worked in nearly all the counties 
where there has been a demand for them. The argillaceous portions 
of the bluff formation make good brick, as shown in the brick yards of 
nearly all the towns on our large rivers. The brick yards of St. Louis 
are supplied from this source. Some of the tertiary clays will make 
the very best brick. 

Fire Bricks are manufactured from the fire-clays of the lower coal 
series in St. Louis County. These bricks possess fine refractory 
properties. There are many beds of fire-clay in the Coal Measures. 
Some beds of the Hudson River Group in Ralls and Pike Counties, of 
the Hamilton Group in Pike and Marion, and of the Vermicular Sand- 
stone and Shales on North River, seem to possess all the qualities of the 
very best fire-clays. The quantity of these clays is great, almost beyond 



524 PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY. 

computation. No possible demand could exhaust it. Good fire-clays 
exist in all the north-western counties. 

Fire Rock has often been observed. Some of the more silicious beds 
of the Coal Measures are very refractory. The upper strata of the 
Ferriio-inous Sandstones, some arenaceous beds of the Encrinital Lime- 
stone, the upper part of the Chouteau Limestone, and the fine-grained, 
impure beds of the Magnesian Limestones, all possess qualities which 
will enable them to withstand the action of fire. But the Second and 
Third Limestones, used in the f^urnaces at Iron Mountain and Pilot 
Knob, are the most refractory rocks yet examined. 

Paints. — There are several beds of purple shales in the Coal Measures 
which possess the properties requisite for paints used in outside work. 
Yellow and red ochres are found in considerable quantities. Some of 
these paints have been thoroughly tested, and found fire-proof and 
durable. There are extensive beds of ferruginous clays, which will make 
paints of the very best qualities for all the shades of brown and dark 
red. These ores mixed with baryta and lead will make excellent and 
beautiful pigments. 

Sandstones, of various shades of bulF, red and brown, occur in all 
the geological systems of the State. Many of them are firm and durable, 
and they present colors suited to various styles of architecture. They 
also furnish an abundance of fire-rocks. 

Granite and Diorite of several varieties occur in Missouri. The 
most abundant is a coarse-grained, red granite of great beauty as a 
building material for heavy, strong work. Some of the beds of this 
granite are quite durable, but the most of it is readily decomposed by 
atmospheric influences. We also have fine gray granites and diorites, 
which split and work well, and are the most durable, substantial and 
desirable of all our building stones. 

Road Materials. — Missouri has a large abundance of the very best ' 
materials for streets and roads. Limestones of the very hardest and 
most durable kinds occur everywhere. The Green Stone, Trap, and 
so-called Gray Granites of Madison and adjoining counties, will make 
most excellent block paving. But the red granite is usually too coarse 
and brittle, and decomposes too rapidly for paving stones. 

Pehhles and Gravels are also abundant in the Drift and in the beds 
of many of our streams. These materials in the Drift are of the most 
durable kinds, and would make better streets than limestone McAdam. 
There are inexhaustible quantities of this gravel and pebbles in St. Louis 
and several other counties. 



MIKES AND USEFUL MINERALS. 525 

This brief and general view of the deposits of useful minerals in 
Missouri, shows that Nature has been lavish of the materials necessary 
for the growth and stability of a populous State. If, in connection with 
tiiese vast and varied mineral products, we take into view the well- 
known facts that Missouri and the adjacent States possess soils of 
wonderful fertility, and in varieties suited to all the staple crops and 
fruits of the temperate zone ; that the whole region is intersected by 
rivers and creeks, and watered by countless living springs ; that it is 
supplied with boundless forests of nearly every variety of the best 
timber on the continent ; that numerous railroads and thousands of miles 
of river navigation center here ; that we are in the great highway of the 
moving populations of both hemispheres, — we shall have more of the 
causes and conditions of growth, wealth and permanence than have ever 
surrounded any people of ancient or modern times. 



CHAPTER Ix.. 
WATERS OF MISSOUEI. 

But few portions of the world are so well watered as Missouri. 
Springs in vast numbers, great variety, and of all sizes, come welling 
up to refresh and beautify in all parts of the State. Streams, too, 
scarcely equaled in size, beauty and variety, water every part of our 
territory. 

Navigable Waters. — The Mississippi washes the entire eastern 
border of the State, a distance of 500 miles. The Missouri washes the 
western boundary from the north-east corner southward some 250 miles, 
to the mouth of the Kansas, and thence south of east, through the heart 
of the State, to its junction with the Mississippi. 

Besides, these two mighty rivers have many tributaries within the 
State, which are more or less navigable for steamboats, keel boats and 
barges. On the right bank of the Missouri, the Gasconade, the Osage, 
and La Mine are navigable. The lumber business of the Gasconade 
makes its navigation a matter of importance. The trade of the towns 
on the Osage has induced steamers to make regular trips as high as 



52G PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY. 

Warsaw. Barges and keel boats might pass up as high as tlie State 
Line. On the left bank, the Platte, Chariton and Grand Rivers are 
navigable for keel boats and barges, and even steamboats have made 
some few trips on their Avaters. The Des Moines, Salt River and the 
Meramec, the St. Francois and White Rivers have been navigated by 
boats on a few important occasions. 

Smaller Streams. — There are a vast number of smaller streams, such 
as are called rivers, creeks and branches. A glance at the map will show 
how well these are distributed over the entire surface, supplying an 
abundance of water to all parts of the State. 

Springs. — The State is well supplied with bold springs of pure waters. 
Out of the bottoms, there is scarcely a section of land but has one or 
more perennial springs of good water. Many of these springs are large, 
even beyond the conception of those who have not seen the rivers which 
flow from them and drive the mills and machinery placed upon their 
waters. One may serve as a sample. Bryce's Spring on the Niangua, 
drives a large flouring-mill, and flows away a rapid river forty-two yards 
in width. These vast springs are very numerous in the south part of the 
State. 

Salt Springs are very abundant in the central part of the State. 
They discharge vast quantities of brine, in Cooper, Saline, Howard and 
the adjoining counties. These brines are near the navigable waters of 
the Missouri, in the midst of an abundance of wood and coal, and might 
furnish salt enough to supply all the markets of the continent. Consid- 
erable salt was made in Cooper and Howard at an early day. 

Sulphur Springs are also numerous throughout the State. The 
Chouteau Springs in Cooper, the Monagaw Springs in St. Clair, the 
Elk Springs in Pike, and the Cheltenham Springs in St. Louis County, 
have acquired considerable reputation as salubrious waters, and have 
become popular places of resort. There are good sulphur springs in 
many other counties of the State, and the waters of most of them are 
similar to the waters of the Chouteau and Elk Springs. 

Chalybeate Springs. — There are a great many springs in the State 
which are impregnated with some of the salts of iron. Those containing 
carbonates and sulphates are most abundant ; some of these have 
acquired considerable reputation as medicinal waters. Sweet Springs, 
on the Blackwater, and the Chalybeate Spring in the University cam- 
pus, are perhaps the most popular of the kind in the State. 

Petroleum Springs. — Tar and Oil Springs, as they are called, are 
found in Carroll, Ray, Randolph, Cass, Lafayette, Bates, Yernon and 



WATEKS OF ]^assouRI. 527 

other counties of the State. Many of these springs discharge consid- 
erable quantities of oil. The variety called lubricating oil, is the more 
common. It is impossible to say with certainty whether petroleum 
will be found in paying quantities in these localities ; but the fact 
that it has been flowing from springs in such quantities would indicate 
some abundant source ; and there is scarcely a doubt that there are 
reservoirs of considerable quantities. Where these reservoirs are, no 
one can tell with certainty, and all explorations, as even in the best 
petroleum regions, must be undertaken in a considerable degree of 
uncertainty. 

Water Power. — There are numberless streams that might be dammed 
and made to drive machinery. Such places are most numerous in the 
southern part of the State, where the streams have rock beds to support 
the dams and make them permanent. I have noticed excellent localities 
of the kind on the Osage, Niangua, Pomme de Terre, Sac, Spring Eiver, 
Big River, Castor, Meramec, Bourbeuse, Gasconade, Currant River, 
White River, Grand River, La Mine, etc. But the most valuable water- 
powers are the large springs which are so abundant throughout nearly 
all the counties in the southern part of the State. Many of these springs 
are now used to drive mills of various kinds. They are particularly 
abundant on the waters of the Meramec, Gasconade, Bourbeuse, Osage, 
Mangua, Spring, White, Sugar, Big, Currant, Little and Black Rivers. 

No water power can excel that at Bryce's Spring, -on the Niangua. 
It discharges about 11,000,000 cubic feet of water per diem, with no 
perceptible variation of temperature or quality. The temperature is 
iibout 60° Fahrenheit, so warm that no ice forms in it to obstruct the 
machinery ; and the quantity is so regular that the machinist may know 
how much power it will exert each hour from the beginning to the end 
of the year, and can construct his dams and machinery economically, 
with just enough strength to meet the necessities of the case ; whereas, 
in streams, the uncertain rise and fall of the water and ice are sources of 
great loss and annoyance. 

There are hundreds of these springs sufficiently large to drive mills 
and factories ; and the time is not far distant when these vast limpid 
fountains will make a thousand burrs and saws whirl to their dashing 
music. 



CHAPTER IV. 
PRAIEIE AND TIMBER. 

Many articles have been written to show " How the prairies were 
made," but the more appropriate question would be, " How the forests 
were made," since the prairie preceded the forests, and the forests are 
constantly encroaching upon the prairies. 

When the country emerged from the waters which last covered it, the 
marls of the bluff formation occupied nearly all the surface of the State,, 
and a rank vegetation of grasses and other plants sprung up, forming one 
vast prairie. Young trees grew with the other vegetation, but the fires 
which overran the country killed them out of the dryer and richer por- 
tions. They grew apace where the fires were too weak, by reason of 
water or a scarcity of vegetation, to destroy them. As the forests 
increased in size, they acquired power to withstand and check the fires j 
and thus they have gradually encroached upon the prairie, until more 
than one-half of the State is covered by our magnificent forests. 

If a line be drawn from Hannibal to the southwest corner of the State, 
much of that portion to the northwest of the line will be prairie, and 
that on the southeast of it will be timber. Large areas of timber skirt 
the streams and cover portions of the uplands on the prairie side, and 
long arms of the prairie extend along the divides into the timbered side, 
as from Macon down along the St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern 
Railway to St. Charles, from Cass eastward along the Pacific Railroad to 
Cole, and from Newton up along the highlands through Greene to 
Webster and eastward ; ^nd small patches of it checker the whole 
timbered region, even to the swamps of the southeast. 

The bottom prairies are level, and often sublime in their vast extent ; 
while upland prairies are rolling and grand in their endless succession of 
undulations, like the ocean subsiding from the effects of a storm. 

The following trees of Missouri will show a great variety of the very 
best kinds of lumber for domestic, farm and manufacturing purposes : 
Pine, walnut, cherry, ash, maple, birch, hickory, oak, linden, cotton- 
wood, poplar, and sweet, black and yellow gum, cedar, cypress, sj^ca- 
more, locust, coffee-tree, elm, pecan, chestnut, tulip tree, (the "white 
and yellow poplar" of Kentucky and southern Missouri,") beach, 
willow, hackberry, mulberry, tupelo, catalpa, ironwood, hornbeam and 



PEAIKIE AOT) TIMBEE. 529 

box-elder are found in great abundance in the State, and some of them 
in all their known varieties. There are six species of hickory, three of 
locust, eighteen of oak, and varieties of other trees in like proportion. 
All these kinds of trees grow very large in our deep rich soils and our 
warm climate. The following, selected from the catalogue, will give an 
idea of the vast size to which these trees grow in our State : Sycamores, 
130 feet high and 43 feet in circumference ; cypress, 130 feet high and 
29 feet in circumference ; walnuts, 110 feet high and 22 feet in 
circumference. 

But no figures, no descriptions can give an idea of the grandeur and 
glorious beauty of our forests. Like Niagara, they must be seen, exam- 
ined from above and below, and re-examined, visited and revisited before 
they can be fully appreciated. One must walk in the midst of these 
mighty monarchs of the forest until he feels like a pigmy among giants ; 
and must admire the grape-vines hanging like huge cables from their 
lofty branches,, and mingling their purple clusters with the highest foliage, 
and the large orange flowers of the trumpet-creeper, and the crimson 
foliage of the American ivy, warming and beautifying their sombre 
shades ; he must see these glories before, he can appreciate the sublime 
beauty and grandeur of our forests. 

Here, too, the utilitarian can find woods suitable for all the useful 
purposes to which they are applied. Millions of these varieties of 
lumber are destroyed every year in opening farms. Meanwhile we are 
importing millions in furniture and agricultural implements, and lumber 
for the various kinds of carpentry. There is poor economy in importing 
furniture from the Ohio and its tributaries, when we are destroying upon 
our farms more and better lumber of the same varieties, every year. 

34 



CHAPTER VII. 
SOILS. 

In the resources of the State, the soils must stand in the first rank, 
since they are the great source of national prosperity and power, and the 
basis of individual wealth and happiness. Adam commenced dressing 
the soil in Eden, and his successors have ever found its cultivation their 
most useful and delightful employment. No department of agricultural 
science is more defective than the classification and nomenclature of soils. 

The varieties of soil pass into each other by such minute gradations 
that it is well nigh impossible to point out any definite lines of separa- 
tion. In the popular nomenclature we have some very general names, 
which are very definite when considered in some of their relations, as 
timbered lands and prairie lands. These names do not indicate the 
quality of the soils any further than they are produced by these rela- 
tions. To the same class of names belong bottom lands and uplands, 
sometimes called bluff lands. These terms, like those named above, 
point out important natural di\dsions of our soils, though they have no 
reference to the fertility of those in either division. Each division con- 
tains soils of all grades of productiveness, from the best to the poorest. 
And yet these timbered lands have one advantage over the prairie. If 
two soils be taken side by side, both based upon the same formation and 
both subject to the same infl.uences during their formation, save one has 
produced trees and the other grasses, and the trees have decayed on the 
one and the grasses have burned on the other — the former will have more 
decaying vegetable matter, and will be lighter, warmer, and more kindly 
in cultivation. But if both be put under the same culture, this differ- 
ence will gradually disappear, as the vegetable matter will decrease in 
the one and increase in the other. This difference in these classes of 
soil, rendered the timber lands much the more popular among the older 
settlers. 

The Prairie Lands occupy nearly one-half of the entire area of the 
State. They possess all the varieties of soil found in the timber, and 
are identical with them, save in the differences above named. The 
grasses are as diversified and as distinctly mark the varieties of soil on the 
prairies, as do the trees in the timber. The resin-weed, crow-foot, and 
wild sorghum, indicate as good soils on the prairies as do the elm, 



SOILS. 531 

tdckory and walnut in the timber. But, as the trees are more conspicuous 
and better known, the varieties of soils are best known by the timber 
they produce. 

These divisions of soils have other natural distinctions well marked 
by location, as bottom timber and upland timber. The former is in the 
river bottoms, and the latter in the highlands. So also we have bottom 
prairie and upland prairie. These lands are still further divided so as 
to indicate the quality of the soil with a marked degree of certainty by 
their natural productions, their chemical composition, and by their 
physical structure. The determination of the qualities of the soils by 
the natural productions, is best understood by our farmers, as all are 
well aware that the soil that produces hackberry and elm is much better 
than the soil that produces black-jack and black hickory : that the former 
will yield abundant crops, while the latter will produce but a very inferior 
growth. In this division are those soils marked by the growth of partic- 
ular trees and shrubs, from which they derive their names. 

Hackberry Lands possess the best upland soils in the State. The 
growth is hackberry, elm, wild cherry, honey-locust, coffee tree, pignut 
hickory, chestnut and burr oak, black and white walnut, mulberry, 
linden and pa paw. 

The Crow-foot Lands of the prairie region, have soils very similar in 
quality to the hackberry lands, and these two soils generally join each 
other where the timber and prairie lands meet. These soils, covering 
about 5,500,000 acres, abound in the western counties, from Atchison to 
Cass, and eastward to Saline and Howard. They also cover small areas 
in other parts of the State. The productive and durable qualities of 
these soils are surpassed by none in the country. It has sufficient sand 
for the water to drain off rapidly in wet weather, and enough of clay, 
lime, magnesia and humus to retain the nioisture in the day. It rests on 
a bed of fine silicious marls, which will render it perpetually fertile under 
deep tillage. These productive powers are well illustrated in the gigantic 
forests and luxuriant grass produced by it. White oaks grow upon 
it 29 feet in circumference, and 100 feet high; linden, 23 feet in circum- 
ference, and 100 feet high ; burr oak and sycamore grow still larger. 
Herds of buffalo, elk, and deer were entirely concealed from the hunter 
by the tall prairie grasses on the crow-foot lands. 

Hemp, tobacco, corn and the cereals grow upon it in great luxuriance, 
and no soil is better adapted to fruits of all kinds. These 5,500,000 
acres of the best land on the continent, are capable of feeding and sus- 
taining 2,000,000 people. A population of 1,000,000 could live on 
these rich, broad acres in comfort and luxury. 



532 PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHT. 

Elm Lands are but little inferior to the hackberry. Tlie name is 
derived from the American elm, which grows so large and abundant in 
the magnificent forests of these lands. The principal growth is elm, hack- 
berry, honey-locust, black walnut, cherry, blue ash, black oak, redbud, 
and papaw. This soil has about the same properties as the hackberry 
soils, save that the sand is finei* and the clay more abundant, owing to 
the finer nature of the marls from which it is derived. This soil abounds, 
interspersed with hackberry lands, in the region above named ; and in 
the east, it covers large areas in Marion, Monroe, Boone, Cooper, St. 
Louis, Greene and many other counties. 

The Resin Weed Lands of the prairie, have about the same quality" 
of soil. This soil occupies an area of about 3,000,000 acres. Its heavy 
forests and luxuriant prairie grasses, and its chemical properties, clearly 
indicate its great fertility ; and the marls upon which it is based fully" 
assure its durability. A grape-vine growing on this was 22 inches in 
circumference, and 180 feet long, and an elm 22 feet in circumference, 
and 90 feet high. Hemp, tobacco, corn, wheat and other staple crops 
grow luxuriantly, and all kinds of fruits, adapted to the climate, do welL 

Hickory Lands hold the grade next to the elm lands, and are character- 
ized by a growth of white and shell-bark hickory, black, scarlet and laurel 
oaks, sugar maple, persimmon, dogwood, haw, redbud and crab-apple. 
In the south-east the tulip tree, beech and black gum, grow on soils of 
about the same quality. This soil is more clayey and not so deep, and 
has a sub-soil more impervious, and the underlying marls have less sand 
and lime and more clay. Large areas of prairie in the north-east and 
south-west have soils of nearly the same quality, often called "mulatto^ 
soils" in some parts of the State. There is also a soil based upon the 
red clays of southern Missouri of about the same quality. It is a highly 
productive soil, which is greatly improved and rendered more durable 
by deep culture. Our farmers hold it in high estimation for the culture 
of corn, wheat and other cereals, and the grasses. Its blue-grass 
pastures are equal, if not superior, to any in the State. Fruit is culti- 
vated with marked success. The area is very great in the central and 
eastern counties north of the Missouri, and in many of those south — 
6,000,000 acres may be a fair estimate of the area. 

White Oak Lands occupy ridges where the lighter materials of the 
soil have been washed away. They sustain a growth of white and black 
oak, shell-bark and black hickory, dogwood, sassafras, redbud and 
frao;rant sumach. The surface soil is not so rich in humus as the last 
variety, but the sub-soil is quite as good, and the underlying marls not 



SOILS. 533 

so clayey and impervious. In many places the sub-soil is better than the 
surface, and the land may be greatly improved by turning it to the 
surface. The white oak ridges produce superior wheat, good corn and 
the finest quality of tobacco. Grapes, peaches, and other fruits yield 
abundant and sure crops. This soil occupies many of the ridges in the 
region north of the Missouri and east of the Chariton, and those south 
of the former river and north of the Osage, as well as south of the 
Osage and the Missouri — 1,500,000 acres may be a fair estimate. 
• Post Oak Lands occupy ridges generally on the south side of the 
Osage, and produce post and black oak, hickory, sassafras, dogwood and 
sumach. The growth is about the same as the white oak ridges, sub- 
stituting the post for white oak. This soil is based upon a light-colored 
marl, with less lime and sand than is found in the marls underlying the 
white oak ridges ; but it produces good crops of the staples of the 
■country, and has for several years yielded the best tobacco of the West. 
Fruits of all varieties cultivated in our latitude excel on this soil. Deep 
■culture will render this land more j)roductive and durable. The area 
"Covered by post oak lands is very large, but not definitely known — prob- 
ably 3,000,000 acres. 

Black Jack Lands have few trees, save blackjack and black hickory ; 
sometimes a few grapes and some sumach. They occupy the high flint 
ridges which are usually underlaid with hornstone and sandstone, and 
some strata of magnesian limestone. The sub-soil is usually a lifeless 
sandy clay, and the soil full of fragments of flint. This is the poorest 
soil in the State, and will be of little use save for pastures and vineyards. 
The cultivation of grapes on these flint ridges will be more expensive, but 
the juices may be rich enough to pay the extra expense. They will 
produce excellent wines, and become profitable grape lauds when wines 
shall be more esteemed for their quality than their quantity. These lands 
occupy a large portion of the flint and sandstone ridges on the south of 
the Osage, perhaps 3,000,000 acres. 

Pine Lands have a growth of pine, post, white and black oak, black 
hickory, dogwood and sassafras. They have an inferior, sand}'^ soil, and 
occupy the plateaus, hills and ridges of southern Missouri, which are 
underlaid by the sandstones of the magnesian limestone series. The 
area of this soil is not fully determined, but it will not be less than 
2,000,000 acres. The soil is sandy and thin, and would be greatly 
benefited by clay and humus ; but plaster and clover, or buckwheat, are 
the most available means of improvement. 

Other soils are better determined by a cousideratiou of both the trees 



534 PHYSICAI. GEOGRAPHY. 

they produce and the rocks from which they are derived. Of this olas» 
are the — 

Magnesian Limestone Soils, which are based upon and derived from 
the magnesian limestone or mineral-bearing series of southern Missouri,, 
and produce black and white walnut, black gum, white and whahoo elms, 
sugar maple, honey locust, rock chestnut, scarlet and laurel oaks, blue 
ash, white and shell-bark hickory, buckeye, hazel, sumach and dogwood. 
These lands occupy the slopes, hillsides and narrow valleys of the southern 
and southeastern part of the State, and the northern slop.es of the Mis- 
souri east of Boone County. The soil is dark, light and warm, rich in 
lime, magnesia and humus. It is very productive and durable. The 
region occupied by it is often so broken as to be inconvenient for ordinary 
culture in farm crops. It is, however, well adapted to fruit. It covers^ 
an area of 10,000,000 acres. 

This large area, extending from the Missouri River to Arkansas, and 
from Marshfield to Cape Girardeau, is a table-land varying in the elevation 
from 500 to 1,500 feet. It is cut by deep winding valleys in the south 
and north, and broken into knobs and ridges towards the east. Large 
bold springs of pure, cool Avaters gush from every hillside, and fill the 
vallej's with limpid streams. Magnificent forests abound, and wild grapes 
everywhere mingle their purple clusters Avith the foliage of the elm and 
the oak, the mulberry and the buckeye. 

The climate is delightful. The winters are short and mild, the sum- 
mers long and temperate. Its skies vie with those of Italy, and its 
fountains and streams, valleys and mountains, equal their favorite proto- 
types in classic Greece. No soil can surpass this for the grape, and the 
inild winters and long summers, favored by the warm dry winds of the 
southwest, are most favorable for maturing its rich juices. 

Such are the soils on the uplands of Missouri. The bottom lands are 
not less important and interesting. They present the following varie- 
ties. The whole is divided into Bottom Prairie and Bottom Timber: 

Bottom Prairie has a light, rich, deep, dark and productive soil, 
clothed with luxuriant native grasses, among which a species of sorghum 
is conspicuous. Before these savannas were pastured, the grasses grew 
to a height varying from five to ten feet. 

The bottom prairie soil is rich in all the elements of fertility. It 
is deep and light, and but slightly affected by excessive wet or diy 
weather. Hemp, tobacco, and all the staple crops grow on it with great 
luxuriance. The bottom prairie covers a large portion of the Missouri 
Bottoms above Glasgow, and some considerable areas in St. Charles^ 



SOILS. 535. 

Marion and the southeastern counties on the Mississippi. Some of 
these prairies on the Missouri are 20 or 30 miles long, and from 2 to 10 
miles wide — as the broad Wyaconda and Huppan Cuty. The area of 
these lands is constantly decreasing bj the action of the river and the 
encroachments of the forest ; but there still remains about 300,000 acres 
of these rich and beautiful natural meadows. 

The Bottom Timber has several natural divisions, well recognized by 
the people of the country, and designated as "high bottom," "low 
bottom," " wet bottom " or " swamp," and " cypress." 

High Bottoms have a deep, porous and rich sandy soil,which produces 
a gigantic growth, of elm, sugar maple, white ash, cherry, locust, linden^, 
sweet gum, buckeye, burr, red, Spanish, swamp and scarlet oaks, thick 
shell-bark hickory, hackberry, pecan, black walnut, plum and mulberry. 
Grape-vines, trumpet and Virginia creepers, poison oak, wistaria and 
staff-tree climb the highest trees, and mingle their scarlet and purple 
fk)wers and fruits with the highest foliage. 

The fertility of this soil is well attested by its chemical properties, and 
the large trees grown upon it. The following, among other samples, 
were measured in 1857 : 

Sycamore 43 feet in circumference 65 feet Mgh. 

Catalpa 10 " " 90 

Cypress 29 " " 130 

Cottonwoon 30 " " 125 

Black Walnut 22 " " 110 

Spanish Oak 36 " " 90 

Grapevine 33 incites " 160 " loneg. 

This soil covers about 2,000,000 acres, occupying all the bottoms which 
are above the usual high waters along our rivers. It is very productive, 
and so deep and porous that the crops are but little affected by dry and 
wet seasons. Hemp, corn, tobacco, and the cereals, are produced in 
rich abundance! 

Low Bottoms have a soil similar to the high bottoms, but they are so 
low as to be covered with water at ordinary overflow. Sycamore, cotton- 
wood, silver maple, box-elder, red birch, buckeye, willow, river and 
frost grapes and poison ivy, are the most common productions. They 
grow to vast proportions. The overflows render these lands nearly 
useless for farming purposes ; but when the floods are kept out by 
levees, they are the most productive and valuable. There are large 
areas of these lands in Southeast Missouri — in the State nearly 1,000,000 
acres. 



536 PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY. 

Swamp and Wet Bottom are terms usually applied to a variety of 
bottom lands very similar to the two preceding, but different in being so 
located as to be saturated with or nearly covered with water. This 
excess of water renders them useless for ordinary culture. They sustain 
a heavy growth of pin, swamp and red oaks, holly, spice bush, white and 
black ash, red birch, box-elder, button bush, sycamore, cottonwood, 
whahoo elm, sweet gum, water locust, Avhite and red maple, poison oak, 
frost and river grapes. 

Cypress. — This name is given to low bottoms which are covered by 
standing water for a large part of the year. The decomposition of 
vegetable matter in these waters adds a new deposit of vegetable mould 
annually to their rich soil, which sustains a very heavy growth of cypress, 
tupelo, sour gum, water locust, white and red maple, pin and Spanish 
oaks. These cypresses are numerous and very extensive in Southeast 
Missouri. Buffalo Cypress and Honey Cypress are good samples. The 
central and wettest portions of them usually have deposits of bog ore. 
These soils are iiseless for ordinary farming purposes ; but their timber 
is unique, abundant and valuable. The area of swamp and cypress lauds 
will reach 1,000,000 acres. 

Such are the soils of Missouri, as they are recognized by the people of 
the State from their natural productions ; and a large range of chemical 
analyses fully sustain the popular estimate of these lands as to fertility. 
The area attributed to each has been determined with tolerable accuracy 
by observations extended over nearly every county of the State for a 
period of 20 years. 



Part iv.— Material Wealth. 



THE 



f(e^ouf6e^, f^fodudtion^, *Po^^ibilitie^, 



— OF — 



MISSOURI 



BY ROBERT ALLEN CAMPBELL, C. E., 

Author of ^'GamphelVs Gazetteer of Missouri,'''' Etc. 




The Farmer's Conquest. 




Ur subdued. 



CHAPTER I. 



"Some Preltminary Observations."— General DESCRTPxroN of the State.— Bounda- 
ries, Distances, Etc. — Table of Counties, their Population, Etc. — Area and 
Topography.— EiVERS, Caves, Quarries and Natural Curiosities. 

"And God said to them, * * * fill the earth and subdue it. * * * 
"Behold, I have given you every herb scattering seed, which is on the 
"face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree, 
"scattering seed, to you shall it be for food; and to every beast of the 
" earth and to every fowl of the heavens and to every thing that creeps 
"on the earth, wherein is a spirit of life, all green herbage for food." 



540 MATERIAL WEALTH. 

So man is given for his sustenance every herb scattering seed (that is 
propagated by seed ) , leaving him the choice among them all of such 
varieties as are suited to his nature, necessities or tastes. To him is 
also given every frnit tree, and every tree pleasant to the sight, that in 
like manner he may, from among them all, choose such as he likes best 
to beautify the landscape, and such as bear fruits most pleasing to bis 
taste, or best adapted to his nourishment. To the animals is assigned 
all green herbage without distinction. 

This great gift, with the accompanying boon of choice, embodied in 
the command, "fill the earth and subdue it," — carried with it the 
indescribable blessing of Labor. 

Man commenced to subdue the earth by tilling the soil, thus render- 
ing the herb scattering seed more bountiful in its production, and also 
developing trees more pleasing to the eye, which likewise produced in 
greater abundance fruits more nourishing to the body and more luscious 
to the taste. 

Adam was a gardener. Cain, his first born, was a farmer. Abel, 
next in age, was a stock-raiser. When these agriculturists required tools 
with which they could more readily subdue the earth, and, when their 
surplus products rendered the support of another class of workers possible, 
mining for metals and the making of the necessary implements now com- 
menced, and we hear of Tubal Cain, the first manufacturer. 

If man looks upon the earth as it is in a state of nature, he finds but 
little that is ready for his use. But few can live, and that few but 
scantily and precariously, upon the spontaneous productions of the land. 
Boundless material, however, and limitless resources are all about him, 
which, by labor and the skill born of labor, he can call to his service, 
subduing the earth, causing it to yield an abundance to sustain the life 
and satisfy the wants of every living creature. 

The mineral treasures, veiled in crude ore, lie hidden below the surface, 
often deep in the earth, and, when discovered, must be brought to the 
light by laborious toil ; and are even then valueless until the manufacturer 
by enliglitened and experienced labor, through difficult, tedious and 
exact processes, fits them for application to man's necessities and service. 

Through the impulse and command to subdue the earth have resulted 
all the wonderful changes recorded in history. It has developed thought, 
stimulated invention, quickened the dormant powers of combination, and 
converted into actual, living realities, the latent possibilities of brain and 
muscle. The race has been developed from its primitive crudeness of a 
pair, subsisting upon the natural productions of the earth, to its present 



BOUNDAEIES, DISTANCES, ETC. 541 

unnumbered millions, with all the comforts and blessings of the highest 
civilization, by obeying — often it is true unwillingly — the Loi'd's com- 
mand to fill the earth and subdue it. 

Out of this labor, too, arises the right of property, the origin and 
bond of civil society. He who from a piece of timber, taken from the 
common forest, fashions a useful implement, thereby makes it his own, 
and it cannot be rightfully taken from him, for no one can justly 
appropriate to his own use, without a fair and satisfactory exchange, the 
product of another's skill and labor. So, he who originally takes 
possession of an unappropriated field, and by his own labor prepares it 
for use, thereby makes it his own, and it cannot rightfully be taken from 
him. Labor, therefore, expended upon the bounties of nature so as to 
increase their production or better fit them for the use and benefit of 
mankind, is the foundation of all rights in property ; and all the blessings 
of civilization, enlightenment and society are the direct result of 
obedience to the Divine command and impulse — "fill the earth and 
subdue it." 

The elements of wealth in a State, then, must consist of the available 
bounties of Nature upon which labor can be largely and profitably 
expended, and of the labor of her citizens which is put forth, to fit for 
and apply to man's use the gifts of Nature to her children. In short, 
nature's gift and man's labor are the factors of which material wealth is 
the product. - 

The natural advantages of Missouri will be partially understood from 
the following general description. 

Boundaries, Distances, Etc. — Missouri is bounded, on the north, by 
Iowa, from which it is separated for about thirty miles by the Des 
Moines River; on the east, by the Mississippi River, which separates it 
from Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee ; on the south, by Arkansas ; and 
west, by the Indian Territory, Kansas and Nebraska. It lies between the 
parallels of 36° 30' and 40° 30' North latitude, except the small projection 
in the extreme southern part of the State between the St. Francis and 
Mississippi Rivers, which extends south to the 36th parallel. 

The width of the State between its extreme east and west points is 
nearly 350 miles ; on the northern boundary, along the Iowa line between 
the Missouri and Des Moines Rivers, is about 210 miles; on the south- 
ern boundary, between the south-west corner of the State and the 
Mississippi River, is about 280 miles. A line from St. Louis due west 
to the Kansas line is about 235 miles, and this is about the average width 



542 



MATERIAL WEALTH. 



of the State. The length of the State, north and south, ( not includmg 
the strip between the St. Francis and Mississippi Eivers, which is 
about 34 miles long,) is about 280 miles. From the extreme northwest 
corner to the extreme south-east corner of the State is about 450 miles, 
and from the north-east to the south-east corner about 320 miles. 

A.rea. — The area of Missouri is 65,350 square miles or 41,824,000 
acres, and contains 2.28 per cent, of tlie area of the United States, 
exclusive of Alaska. It is the largest State except Minnesota, which 
borders on the Mississippi River, and is in area the eighth State in the 
Union. Missouri is nearly as large as Illinois, Massachusetts and 
Connecticut, and is equal to the combined area of Denmark, Holland, 
Belgium and Switzerland, and is a third larger than .England. 

The State is divided into one hundred and foui-teen counties. We 
append a list showing their names, date of organization, area in acres 
and population according to the United States Census of 1870. 



Adair 

Andrew 

Atchison 

Audrain 

Barry 

Barton 

Bates 

Benton 

Bollinger 

Boone 

Buchanan 

Butler , 

Caldwell 

Callaway 

Camden 

Cape Girardeau^ 

Carroll 

Carter 

Cass 

Cedar , 

Chariton 

Christian 

Clark^ 

Clay 

Clinton 

Cole 



DATE OF 
SETTLEMENT 



1828 
1836 
1839 
1830 
1828 

1824 
1834 
1800 
1812 
1799 
1800 
1830 
1803 
1834 
1794 
1817 

1830 
1832 
1812 
1822 
1829 
1819 
1830 
1816 



OKGANIZATION. 



Jan. 
Jan. 
Feb. 
Dec. 
Jan. 
Dec. 
JJan. 
Jan. 
Mar. 
ISTov. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Dec. 
Nov. 
Jan. 



29, 1841o 
29, lo'l-l. 
14, 1845. 
17, 1336. 

5, 1835. 
12, 1855. 
2ii, 1841. 

3, 1835. 

1, 1851. 
16, 1820. 
10, 1889. 
27, 1C49. 
26. 183G. 
25, 1820. 
2r, 1841. 



Jan. 
Mar. 

Feb. 

Nov. 
Mar. 
Dec. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Nov. 



3, 1833. 

10, 1859. 

19, 1849. 

1843. 

16, 1820. 

8, 1860. 
16, 1836. 

2, 1832. 
15, 1833, 
16, 1820. 



AKEA 

ACRES. 



POPULATION. 



356.420 
273,025 
329,751 
441,927 
501,760 
378,100 
538,638 
468.432 
381,081 
430,600 
272.329 
437, 'J35 
275,480 
517,; 06 
4 35,209 
362,'450 
441,535 
325,405 
439,506 
322,000 
457,397 
347,520 
332,000 
254,423 
264,623 
234,466 



11,448 
15.137 

8,440 
12,307 
10,373 

5,087 
15,960 
11,322 

8,162 
20,705 
35,019 

4,298 
11,390 
19,202 

6,108 
17,558 
17,445 

1,455 
19,296 

9,474 
19,135 

6,707 
13,667 
15,564 
14,063 
10,292 



' Organized under the territorial laws in 1818. 
^ One of the original districts of Louisiana. 



STATISTICS BY COUNTIES. 



543 



DATE OF 

SETTLEMENT 



Cooper 

Crawford 

Dade 

Dallas 

Daviess 

DeKalb 

Dent 

Douglass 

Dunklin 

Franklin 

Gasconade. . . 

Gentry 

Greene 

Grundy 

Harrison 

Heni-y 

Hickory 

Holt 

Howard 

Howell 

Iron 

Jackson 

Jasper 

Jefferson. 

Johnson 

Knox 

Laclede 

Dafayette ^ . . 

Lawrence 

Lewis 

Lincoln 

Linn 

Livingston. . . 
McDonald... 

Macon 

Madison 

Maries 

Marion 

Mercer 

Miller 

Mississippi. . . 
Moniteau . . . . 

Monroe 

Montgomery . 

Morgan 

INew Madrid. 

Newton 

Nodaway 

< )regon' 

Osage 

Ozark 

Pemiscot • . . . 



1812 
1815. 
1833 
1838 
1831 
1833 
1828 



1803 
1812 
1810 
1829 
1834 
1839 
1831 
1837 
1838 
1807 
1838 
1810 
1808 
1832 
1773 
1833 
1832 
1816 
1815 
1831 
1819 
1799 
1832 
1833 
1830 
1831 
1722 
1838 
1800 
1837 
1815 
1800 
1815 
1819 
1800 

1780 
1829 
1840 
1816 



m 



OKGANIZATION 



Dec. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Dec. 
Dec. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Oct. 
Feb. 



Nov. 
Feb. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Feb. 
Dec. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Jan. 



Feb. 
Dec. 
Jan. 
Dec. 
Dec. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Nov. 
Feb. 



Dec. 
Jan. 



Mar 

Dec, 
Mar 
Dec, 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Feb, 
Jan. 
Dec, 
Jan. 



17, 1818. 
23, 1839. 
29, 1841. 
10, 1844. 
29, 1836. 
25, 1845. 
10, 1851. 
19, 1857. 
14, 1845. 
. . . 1818. 
25, 1820. 

12, 1841. 
2, 1833. 

2, 1841. 

14, 1845. 

13, 1834. 
] t, 1845. 

15, 1841. 

23, 1816. 
... 1857. 
17, 1857. 
lo, 1826. 
29, 1841. 

8, 1818. 

13, 1834. 

14, 1845. 

24, 1849. 

16, 1820. 

25, 1845. 
... 1832. 
14, 1818. 

7, 1837. 
.... 1887. 

3, 1849. 
. . . . 1838. 

14, 1818. 

2, .1855. 
23,1826. 
14, 1845. 

6, 1837. 
14, 1845. 
14, 1845. 

6, 1831. 
14, 1818. 

5, 1833. 



Dec. 31, 1838. 
Feb, 14, 1845. 
Feb. 14, 1845. 
Jan. 29, 1841. 
Jan. 29, 1841. 
Feb. 19, 1861. 



AKEA 

ACRES. 



855,172 
465,313 
820,000 
344,611 
858,601 
263,608 
558,720 
495,360 
110,799 
560,838 
323,176 
812,587 
.438,424 
263,357 
464,294 
476 160 
260',998 
272,761 
288,284 
590,679 
853,804 
417,089 
409,319 
402,252 
516,797 
828,195 
474,879 
403,671 
884,000 
820,560 
396,148 
388,993 
333,952 
352,978 
529,920 
291,200 
318,416 
280,509 
283,466 
374,628 
253,440 
262,443 
422,455 
827,129 
872,107 
188,421 
400,204 
554,137 
357,729 
875,336 
472,820 
327,725 



POPULATION 



20,692 

7,982 

8,683 

8,883 

14,410 

9,858 

6,357 

3,915 

5,982 

80,093 

10,093 

11,607 

21,549 

10,567 

14,685 

17,401 

6,452 

11,652 

17,283 

4,218 

6,278 

55,041 

14,928 

15,880 

24,648 

10,974 

9,880 

22,623 

13,067 

15,114 

15,960 

15,900 

16,780 

5,226 

28,280 

5,849 

5,916 

23,780 

11,557 

6,616 

4,982 

11,375 

17,149 

10,405 

8,434 

6,357 

12,821 

14,751 

3,287 

10,793 

8,863 

2,059 



Organized as Lillard County. Changed to Lafayette in 1834. 



544 



MATERIAL WEALTH. 



Perry 

Pettis 

Phelps 

Pike 

Platte 

Polk 

Pulaski 

Putnam 

Ealls 

Randolph 

Ray 

Reynolds 

Ripley 

St. Charles.... 

St. Clair 

St. Francois.. . 
Ste. Genevieve 

St. Louis 

Saline 

Schuyler 

Scotland 

Scott 

Shannon 

Shelby 

Stoddard 

Stone 

Sullivan 

Taney 

Texas 

Vernon 

"Warren 

"Washington . . 

Wayne 

Webster 

Worth 

Wriffht 



DATE OF 

SETTLEMENT 



1796 
1818 
1826 
1811 
1827 
1820 
1816 
1837 
1811 
1820 
1816 
1812 
1819 
1762 
1885 
1794 
1735 
1764 
1810 
1836 
1833 
1798 
1819 
1830 
1823 
1790 
1836 
1826 
1816 
1820 
1801 
1765 
1800 
1830 
1840 
1832 



OKGANIZATION. 



Nov, 
Jan. 
Nov, 
Dec. 
Dec. 
Mar. 
Dec. 
Feb. 
Nov, 
Jan. 
Nov. 
Feb. 
Jan. 



16, 1820. 
26, 1833. 

13, 1857. 

14, 1818. 
31, 1838. 
13, 1835. 

15, 1818. 
28, 1845. 

16, 1820. 
22, 1829. 
16, 1820. 
25, 1845. 

6, 1833. 



Jan. 29, 1841. 
Dec. 19, 1821. 



Nov. 25, 1820. 
Feb. 24, 1845. 
Jan. 29, 1841. 
Dec. 28, 1821. 
Jan. 29, 1841. 
Jan. 2, 1835. 
Jan. 2, 1835. 



Feb. 
Jan. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Jan. 
Aug. 
Dec. 
Mar. 
Feb. 
Jan. 



16, 1845. 
6, 1837. 

14, 1845. 

17, 1851. 
5, 1833. 

21, 1813. 
11, 1818. 

3, 1855. 

8, 1861. 
29, 1841. 



AREA 
ACBES. 



295,356 
446,289 
429,163 
420,860 
267,000 
422,400 
371,200 
331,488 
295,878 
307,677 
360,226 
494,379 
380,160 
339,690 
447,040 
280,091 
816,711 
295,780 
458,095 
185,655 
278,748 
262,058 
670,000 
382,560 
465,137 
339,200 
313,720 
437,381 
700,000 
536,000 
262,474 
475,899 
459,784 
380,160 
174,720 
414,720 



POPULATIO» 



9,877 

18,706 

10,506 

23,077 

17,352 

12,445 

4,714 

11,217 

10,510 

15,908 

18,700 

3,756 

3,175 

21,304 

6,747 

9,742 

8,384 

351,189 

21,672 

8,820 

10,670 

7,317 

2,339 

10,119 

8,535 

3,25a 

11,907 

4,407 

9,618 

11,247 

9,637 

11,719 

6,068 

10,434 

5,004 

5,684 



Topography. — Missouri is divided by the Missouri Eiver into two 
distinct parts, marked by different physical characteristics. The portion 
of the State north of the Missouri Eiver, although quite rolling, is 
generally less hilly and broken that most of the country south of the 
river. 

North of the river there is a beautiful diversity of bluffs, slopes and 
levels, prairie and timber, generally vrell watered by numerous rivers 
and creeks, with an almost uniform course of south or south-west into 
the Missouri, or south-east into the Mississippi River. 

The general surface of a country is governed by the constituents of the 
underlying rock formations. Where they consist mostly of limestones 



TOPOGKAPBnr. 545 

which approach near the surface, we find a rugged tract of country. 
Where sandstones prevail, the slopes are more gentle. Where clays 
or shales exist, we have flat land. Alternations of these will present 
combmations of the foregoing. The coal measures include varieties of 
all these, and generally alternately arranged. The thickest entire lime- 
stone group is thirty feet, with shales above and below ; so, of course, 
our area of broken land is limited. The thickest groups of limestone 
occur in the lower part of the upper coal measures. Along the line of 
their outcrops may be occasionally seen rugged and steep hillsides, which 
characteristics may be observed from Cass County on the south, through 
Jackson, Platte, Clay, Ray, Caldwell, Daviess, Gentry, Worth and 
Harrison. Higher in the series are thick shale formations, as seen at 
Weston and St. Joseph. 

The country northward is flat and rolling, as we find through Gentry 
and Worth, Platte, Buchanan and DeKalb. Above these are alternations 
of thick and thin strata of limestone, with sandstones, shales and clays, 
and the resultant is the undulating and rolling portions of northwest 
Missouri, lying near and extending west from Platte River. The bluffs 
of the Missouri, in the region of the upper coal measures, attain an 
elevation of from 250 to 330 feet above the bottom land, and the ele- 
vation of the highest ridges inland is but little, if any more. The 
summits of the highest ridges in Nodaway County, above One Hundred 
And Two and Platte Rivers, are but little over 200 feet, and none of the 
adjacent bluffs exceed 50 feet in height ; the same may also be said of 
Nodaway River, except near where it joins the Missouri Bluffs, where 
they measure 250 feet. On North Grand River the immediate bluffs 
measure from 30 to 120. feet, within the upper coal district. As we 
descend, the hills recede. Near the base of the upper coal series it is 
often 200 to 250 feet from the valley- s to the top of remote ridges. 
Lower down, in the middle coal series, we have a great thickness of sand- 
stones and shales, with long and very gentle slopes, and the bluffs near 
streams from 25 to 50 feet high, rising to 100 feet at a half mile to a 
mile distant. We also observe another characteristic nqar the junction 
of the upper and middle measures. The upper sandstones, 100 or more 
feet in thickness, have been mostly denuded, leaving isolated mounds of 
sandstone, capped by lower limestones, of the upper coal measures. 
They are generally 80 to 100 feet above the general surface of the lower 
plains. This enables us to trace out the boundaries between the upper 
and middle coal series very readily. The mounds near Harrison ville, 
Cass County, reach to the top of the middle coal series, as also Center 
35 



546 



MATEEIAL WEALTH. 



Knob and knobs north in Johnson County, and Wagon Knob in Lafay- 
ette County, and are generally capped with limestones, which occupy the 
base of the upper coal series. 

In Lafayette County we have a remarkable ridge coming in from the 
southwest and extending northwardlj', just west of the line between 
ranges 27 and 28, inckidhig a width of about one mile. Gray's Knob, 
although separated from the main ridge, occupies the northern terminus 
of it. It is generally capped with limestone, but sometimes the lime- 
stone has been broken up and worn away, leaving exposed the underlying 
sandstone. The denudation on the east side is apparently not so much 




Sniabar Valley. 

as on the west, but on the west the erosion has been very great, extend- 
ing to a depth of at least about 100 feet with a width of over twelve 
miles. This tract includes the beautiful Greenton Valley, Texas Prairie 
and Sniabar Valle3's. 

The various branches of the Sniabar have cut their channels through 
this valley to a depth of from 40 to 100 feet. Along the Missouri Eiver, in 
the vicinity of the middle series, the bluffs do not attain the height found 
in the upper series. They vary in height from IQO to 165 feet. In the 
lower part of the middle coal measures, we again observe the phenomena 
of mounds capped with limestone, the base of the mounds extending 
into the lower measures. We here find evidences of a great denudation, 
for the mounds are frequently over 100 feet in height, sloping with a long 
and gentle descent, blending into the wide-stretching intervening plains. 



TOPOGRAPHY. 547 

This is the case along the west line of Missouri from Fort Scott to Cass 
County; others occur along the border of Bates and Vernon, and 
occasionally in Henry. A range of mounds passes north-east from near 
Clinton to the north-east part of Henry County, and from thence, at 
intervals northwardly in the east part of Johnson Comity. The lower coal 
measures being mainly composed of sandstones and shales with but few 
limestone beds, we find the country correspondingly flat. The blufiB 
along the streams are not often over 50 feet in height, and blend into the 
higher land by gentle slopes. The southern portion of Missouri, includ- 
ing the Ozark Eidge and most of the State south of the Missouri and 
Osage Rivers, excepting the two western tiers of counties, is elevated from 
1,000 to 1,400 feet above the sea, and includes only lower silurian rocks, 
flanked by lower' carboniferous. On the west flank near the State Line, 
the country is not often over 800 feet above the sea. On the west and 
north flank of this high land the coal measures commence. On the 
south side of the Missouri River we find the middle and lower coal not 
over 800 or 900 feet above the sea. In North Missouri the same forma- 
tions are about 800 to 1,000 feet above the sea. The elevation of the 
eastern and southern outcrop of the upper coal measures near the base is 
875 to 990 feet. Toward the north-west part of the State the upper 
measures are more elevated, and may reach from 1,000 to 1,100 feet above 
the sea. 

Nearly all that portion of the State lying south of the Missouri River 
is affected in its physical features by the Ozark Range, and the various 
ridges that branch from it. This important range of hills is probably a 
part of that ridge which starts at Long's Peak and passes through Kansas, 
entering Missouri in Jasper County, and then, traversing the State in a 
course slightly north of east, passes into Illinois at Grand Tower, and 
thence into Kentucky opposite Golconda, and finally it merges itself 
into the Cumberland Mountains. While in Kansas, this ridge divides, 
and its northern branch passes into Missouri, in Cass County, and soon 
disappears near the head waters of LaMine. The southern or main 
branch of this ridge, which, as we have seen, forms the Ozark Range, is 
the divide between the waters of the Missouri River on its northern slope, 
and those of the Mississippi on its Southern ; and in its course through 
the State it is marked by different characteristics. From Jasper County 
on the west, until nearly three-fourths of the distance across the State, 
the Ozark broaden out with a wide arable gummit, and are best described 
as a series of high table lands, possessing none of the essential character- 
istics of a range of mountains. Their elevation above the Mississippi 



548 MATERIAL WEALTH. 

Eiver at St. Louis, varies from 500 to 1,500 feet, the highest points 
being found in Greene County. 

In the eastern part of Missouri, particularly in the vicmity of Iron and 
adjoining counties, the ridges are narrow, irreguhir and precipitous, and 
often abound in isolated hills from 400 to 850 feet high. 

The traveler in the interior of Missouri is often surprised to see spread 
out before him a scene in which cliffs and prairies, botttoms and bar- 
rens, naked hills and heavy forests, rocks and streams all follow each 
other in rapid succession and wonderful variety, mingled in the most 
pleasing harmony. 

The rich alluvial bottom lands of the Missouri and Mississippi are con- 
fined to narrow strips (varying in width from a few feet to several miles) 
between the several channels of those rivers and the bllifts that line their 
sides. Only a very small portion of these bottoms above Cape Girardeau 
are subject to overflow. Below Cape Girardeau these bottom lands 
become very much more extensive, and embrace several counties. A 
large part of this area is swampy, and a limited portion is subject to 
overflow. 

On this low land are to be found some of the most productive farms 
in the State. The portions now swampy and most, if not all, of the 
overflowed lands are susceptible of drainage, and will, when thus dried,, 
become the garden spot of the State. 



1 



Rivers. — Two of the largest rivers in the United States, if not in the 
world, give Missouri the benefits of their navigation. The Mississippi 
River flows along the eastern border of the State for a distance (includ- ■I 
ing its windings)* of nearly 540 miles. The Missouri River courses along 
nearly one-half of the western border of the State, separating it from 
Nebraska and Kansas for a distance of about 250 miles, and then bear& 
ofl" in a direction a little south of east for 436 miles farther, until it 
reaches its confluence with the Mississippi River. Both of these rivers 
are navigable by large steamers far beyond the limits of the State. 

The principal tributaries which the Missouri River receives within the 
State are the following : Nishnabotna, Big Tarkio, Nodaway, One Hun- 
dred And Two, Platte, Grand and Chariton Rivers, and Cedar Creek 
and Loutre River from the north ; and the Blue, Big Sniabar, LaMine, 
Osage and Gasconade from the south. The Osage — ^the principal tribu- 
tary within the Sate — four hundred miles in length — is navigable some 
two hundred miles from its mouth for light-draught steamers, and passes 
through some of the richest lands and most picturesque bluff scenery in 



CAVES. 549 

the State. The principal tributaries received by the Mississippi River 
north of the Missouri within the State are the Fox, Wyaconda, North 
Fabius, South Fabius, North, Salt and Cuivre. 

South of the Missouri the Mississippi receives the Des Peres and Mera- 
mec Rivers, and numerous creeks — among them Establishment, Saline, 
Apple, and others. Little, Castor, St. Francis and Black Rivers, rise on 
the south-eastern spurs of the Ozark Hills, and flow southwardly through 
the low ends of south-east Missouri into Arkansas, and thence into the 
Mississippi. Current, Eleven Point and the numerous tributaries of 
White River drain the southern slope of the Ozark, flowing through the 
latter river into Arkansas and thence into the Mississippi. The numer- 
ous tributaries of Elk and Spring Rivers drain the south-western part of 
the State. 

Caves. — There are several very interesting and quite remarkable caves 
in the State. 

Hannibal Oave, situated one mile below the City of Hannibal and 
about a quarter of a mile from the Mississippi River, is approached 
through a broad ravine hemmed in by lofty ridges which are at right 
angles with the river. The antechamber is about 8 feet high and 15 feet 
long; this descends into the Narrows, thence through Grand Avenue 
to a spacious hall called Washington Avenue through which the Altar 
Chamber, which is a ferruginous limestone (lithographic stone) formation, 
is reached, where crystal quartz, carbonate of lime and sulphate of 
magnesia abound. 

Stalactites and stalagmites are continually forming by limestone 
percolations. In But Avenue Chamber, the bats may be seen hanging 
from the ceiling in clusters, like swarms of bees, some of them fifteen 
inches from tip to tip. Washington Avenue, over 16 feet high, with 
long corridors of stalactites and stalagmites, is the laro^est division of 
the cave. It contains a spring, and a deep pool in Avhich are found the 
wonderful eyeless fish. 

The Devil's Hall is a spacious chamber with a horizontal ceiling and 
a level floor. Alligator Rock, Elephant's Head, two natural wells filled 
with limpid water. Table Rock, twenty feet in height, with regular steps 
for ascent, are objects of interest, and with a thousand other curiosities 
and surprises will amply repay tourists for their exploration. 

Murphy's Cave, in Ides Hill, near the center of Hannilml, and lire's 
Cave, in the rear of the same hill, are of considerable interest, but not 
so extensive as the Hannibal Cave. There are several caves of interest 
in St. Louis County. 



550 MATEKIAL WEALTH. 

OUff Oave, or Indian Cave, 13 miles below St. Louis, is one of the 
most interesting. It is now used by the Cliff Cave Wine Company as 
a wine cellar. 

There are several caves in Miller County, the largest of which is on 
the Big Tavern Creek, in the bluff near its confluence with the Osage 
River. The entrance is about 25 feet square, and 30 to 40 feet above 
the river in a solid limestone bluft', but as yet it has been only partially 
explored. During the late Civil War it was used as a safe retreat by the 
"bandit" Crabtree. The stalactic formations are of strange and fantastic 
appearance, some of them looking like colossal images of marble, and 
the whole effect by torch-light is solemn and weird. 

Further up the stream are two other large caves, but little explored. 
One is used by a German as a brewery. 

Phelps County contains several interesting caves, the most accessible 
of which is Friede's Cave, about 9 miles north-west of RoUa. Its mouth 
is 60 feet in width and 35 feet in height. It has been penetrated to a 
distance of three miles without finding any outlet. The Stalactite 
Chamber is a beautiful apartment of 200 yards in length, varying from 
15 to 30 feet in width and from 5 to 30 feet in heio-ht. The Bat 
Chamber contains thousands of wagon loads of guano, which is 
extensively used by the farmers of tiie neighborhood. The cave also 
contains quantities of saltpetre, and during the war large amounts of 
powder were manufactured there. 

There are several caves in Christian County. The principal one, which 
is a favorite resort for picnic parties, is two and a half miles northeast of 
Ozark. Its entrance is through a rock-arch 50 feet across and 80 feet 
high. About 400 feet from the entrance, the passage is so contracted that 
the explorer must crawl through on his hands and knees. A fine stream 
of water, clear and cold, gurgles down through the cave. About twelve 
miles south of Ozark, near the Forsyth road, on the top of a very high 
hill is a small opening, which, about 100 feet from the surface, expands 
into a hall 30 feet wide and about 400 feet long, the sides and top of 
which are of rock lined with beautiful stalactites. In Stone County at 
least twenty-five caves have been explored, and many more discovered. 
One mile from Galena is an extensive cave from which the early settlers 
procured saltpetre in large quantities. About two and a half miles above 
this is a smaller one of great beauty. From the ceiling depend glittering 
stalactites, while the floor sparkles with fragments of gem-like lustre. 
A pearly wall, of about half an inch in thickness and fifteen inches high, 
incloses a miniature lake, through whose pellucid waters the wavy stal- 
agmite bottom of this natural basin can be plainly seen. This fairy-like 



NATURAL CUKIOSITIES. 551 

bath tub, fit for Veinis to lave in, hidden away in the secret recesses of 
the earth, surprises and gains admiration from all beholders, and the 
sacred stillness of the vaulted chamber renders its name, "The Baptismal 
Font," a peculiarly fitting one. A cave abont twelve miles from Galena, 
is becoming well-known among curiosity-seekers in the adjacent country. 
The entrance chamber is a large dome-shaped room^ whose ceiling is very 
high; a glittering mound of stalagmites rises in the center of the room, 
nearly one-third the height of the ceiling ; stretching out at right angles 
from this are long shining halls'leading to other grand arched chambers, 
gorgeons enough for the revels of the Gnome King, and all the genii of 
the subterranean world. One cannot but think of the nether world, as, 
wandering down a labja'inthian passage, he reaches the verge of an abyss, 
striking perpendicularly to unknown and echoless depths. The name, 
"Bottomless Pit," is well bestowed on this yawning gulf. 

Knox Gave, about seven miles northwest of Springfield, has been 
explored nearly a mile, and varies from 20 to 70 feet in width and from 
6 to 30 feet in height, and is 75 or 100 feet below the surface of the 
ground. For some distance from the mouth it is rugged limestone rock, 
hung with the most beautiful stalactite formations, constantly dripping 
with water. 

Fisher's Gave, six miles southeast of Springfield, is of similar dimen- 
sions and has a beautiful stream of water flowing out of it, and several 
chambers connecting with the main one, as yet unexplored. 

There are a number of saltpetre caves along the banks of the Gasconade 
which were once profitably worked. Some of the saltpetre was shipped 
down the river to St. Louis, bnt the greater portion was used in making 
gunpowder at a number of manufactories in the State. Some of these 
caves are large and interesting, consisting frequently of a succession of 
rooms joined to each other by arched halls of a considerable height, with 
walls of white limestone, upon which, as well as upon the floors, the 
saltpetre is deposited, and is generally so pure as to need but one 
washing to prepare it for use or- export. When these caves were first 
discovered it was not unusual to find in them stone-axes and hammers, 
which led to the belief that they had formerly been worked for some 
unknown purpose by the savages. It is doubtful whether these tools 
were left there by the Indians or by another and more civilized race which 
preceded them.i 

There are caves of more or less extent and importance in many of the 
bluffs fronting on the Gasconade. 

1 TMs subject is fully discussed by Mr. A. J. Conant in the Article on Archaeology. 



552 lilATERIAL WEALTH. 

There are numerous caves in Perry County, two of which penetrate 
beneath Perry ville. None of these have been fully explored; but Dr. 
Shelby penetrated one to the distance of four miles, and believes that 
beneath this part of the county a curious subterranean world exists. 

Connor's Cave, seven miles southeast of Columbia, has an entrance 
twenty feet wide, and eight feet high, and has been partially explored 
for several miles. 

There are extensive and beautiful caves in Texas, Webster, Lawrence, 
Laclede, Oregon, and several other counties. 

About 14 miles south-south-west of Marshfield, Webster County, in 
the neighborhood of some mines known as Snake Lead Diggings, there 
is a lake of oval shape, covering an area of about two acres. This lake, 
curious in many respects, is on the top of a hill, and locked in by a 
sunken wall of limestone, about one hundred feet in height, or more 
properly depth, for the summit of the hill seems hollowed out and lined 
with this lirnestone basin, whose walls stand perpendicularly, inclosing 
the lake solidly except on the west side, where a gap occurs that one can 
descend with the aid of two twenty-feet ladders. This mysterious lake 
has never been sounded. The crevices of the I'ocks surrounding the 
lake are filled with a substance resembling speim, that burns like a 
candle, and in the basin ai'e some old cedar logs, though no cedar grows 
nearer than eight miles to this weird region, whose name of Devil's Den 
suggests sorcery to the superstitious. 

The " Grand Gulf " is a natural curiosity in the south-western part of 
Oregon County. In a section where the surface is comparatively level, 
the traveler suddenly comes upon this " gulf," three-fourths of a mile in 
length, 50 to 100 feet in width, and about 150 feet in depth, and bridged 
by a rocky formation. 

"Les Mamelles," two and a half miles north-west of St. Charles, six 
miles from the Mississippi, and one inile from the Missouri, are two 
smooth mounds, of regular surface, without trees or shrubs, but covered 
vtdth grass, projecting into the prairie some distance from the main bluffs. 
These mounds have an elevation of about 150 feet, and afford an 
extensive view of a most beautiful country. 

A clergyman was many years since conducted to Les Mamelles, by the 
hill route leading through the woods. Emerging from the front, the 
vista opened, disclosing to his astonished vision a scene of surpassing 
loveliness. A beautiful level plain spread out before him for miles, east, 
west and north, dressed in living green, variegated with many-hued 



]SrATUKAL CURIOSITIES. 553 

prairie flowers ; the wliole encircled by the bluffs of the two rivers, whose 
crags and peaks, reflecting the rays of the evening sun, presented the 
appearance of towns and villages and ruined castles. To the north lay 
the Marais Croche Lake, like an immense mirror set in emerald. For 
a few moments the clergyman stood in mute astonishment. When he 
recovered his speech, he exclaimed, ''I have never before seen anything 
that gave me a proper conception of the Promised Land." 

The Grand Falls of Shoal Creek, in the north-western part of Newton 
county, are renowned for their beauty, and are a place of resort for 
pleasure parties from the vicinity. 

A short distance above Rocheport, Boone County, are high cliffs of 
rocks, containing Lidian hieroglyphics and numerous caves and springs. 
There is a natural bridge of considerable interest at Rockbridge, or 
McConathy's Mills, six miles south from Columbia, and in the southern 
part of the county there are numerous Indian mounds. 

There are in Carroll County several high mounds, rising from one 
hundred to four hundred and fifty feet above the level of the surrounding 
country. Bogard, north of the center of the county, is the highest; the 
next highest is Stokes ; then Potato Hill Mound, etc. 

The Natural Bridge, five miles south of Springfield, is a great resort 
for pleasure seekers. Grand Tower, about one mile below the town of 
Wittenburg, Perry County, on the west side of the river, about sixty feet 
from the shore, is a tower of solid rock about 75 feet high, from which 
a fine view of the river, the bluffs and the city of Grand Tower on the 
opposite bank, may be had. 

The Simmons Iron Mountain, situated about one mile south-west from 
Salem, is a nearly isolated hill, covering about 30 acres, and about 90 
feet above the surrounding plateau. The main body of the hill seems to 
be composed of second sandstone. Specular surface ore extends over a 
large district, increasing in frequency and size towards the summit, 
where its occurs in boulders several feet in diameter. 

Pilot Knob, 581 feet high, 1118 feet above the level of the Mississippi 
at St. Louis, is an almost isolated, nearly conical liill, with a perpendicu- 
lar peak connected at its eastern base with a lower range of hijls that 
gradually slope off to the east. At the height of 440 feet on the south 
side of the mountain is exposed a stratum of specular iron ore, about 275 
feet in length, and 19 to 24 feet in thickness. It served as a landmark 
and guide to the Indians and pioneers : hence its name. 

Shepherd's Mountain, 79 feet higher than, and one-eighth of a mile 
west of. Pilot Knob, covers and area of 800 acres, and is rich in 
magnetic ore. 



554 MATERIAI. WEALTH. 

Cedar Mountain, west of Pilot Knob and considerably less in height, 
contains a large vein of specular iron ore, discovered by Francis Tunica, 
then topographical engineer connected with the State geological survey. 

The "Ozark Hills" region of the State abounds in scenery that is by 
turns beautiful, picturesque and sublime. Scenes like the following in 
Iron County might be painted by the hundred, without exhausting the 
beauties and interest of that wonderful region. 

The Granite ^warry, about six miles north-west from Ironton; the 
Shut In, about two miles south-east; and the Cascade, about ten miles 
west of the same place. The Granite Quarry is a solid bed of granite 
60 or 70 feet high, covering from 100 to 200 acres. Scattered over the 
top of this mountain of stone are huge boulders rounded and worn 
smooth, some of them 25 feet high, and weighing hundreds of t(ms. 
Some of them have but a small base resting upon the solid ledge, and 
it seems as if a man could set his shoulder against them and send them 
thundering to the mountain's base. A trial, however, will prove to the 
contrary. The granite is of a superior quality, and has been extensively 
used by the Government in the erection of public buildings, and 300 
men are now employed in the quarry. The Shut In is a cleft-like 
mountain-pass, at its narrowest point about 100 yards wide, a mile in 
length, and its sides of rock from 30 to 50 feet high. Through this 
chasm runs a bright and sparkling stream that empties into the St. Francis 
River. The Cascade runs over the top of Cascade Mountain, falling 
down its perpendicular rocky sides about 200 feet to the bottom of a 
narrow mountain gorge. Opposite and almost within stone's throw, rises 
another mountain 300 feet high, and nearly perpendicular. In summer, 
one standing at the top of this cascade and looking into the abyss, sees 
the foliage and vegetation at the bottom wear a funeral blackness ; higher 
up, the color changes to a dark green, and grows paler as it nears the 
top, where it is of the hue of summer. The continual rush of water 
in the spring floods over this precipice, and the continued dropping of 
the summer stream, have worn in the rock large tanks or cisterns holdmg 
from 10 to 200 hogsheads of water. These reservoirs seem to be always 
full. In Dent Township there is a cavern of wonderful beauty and 
great extent, that has never been fully explored. Stony Battery is a 
gorge or canon about three -fourths of a mile long, between the 
mountains in the southern part of the county. The stones, which in 
past ages had fallen into.it from the mountain above, have been removed, 
and it now serves for the bed of a stream and for a road. It opens at 
the south into a fertile valley of considerable extent. 




CHAPTER II. 



^, Mineral Resources.— The Coal Measures.— 
Iron, Lead, Zinc, Granite Quarries, etc. 



Scene in Iron County 

Missouri was known as a country of mineral wealth long before it was 
under the control of the United States. The pioneers, who first visited 
this country, came in search of minerals and furs, and the region became 
famous for both about the same time. From that time to the present, 
the most sanguine enthusiast has not fully measured the magnitude of 
our mineral wealth, the knowledge of which has been increased by new 
discoveries, until now, new as is the country, and undeveloped as are our 
richest deposits, we are in point of mineral productions, the ninth State 



556 3MATERIAL WEALTH. 

in the Union. This rank does not at all represent the rank in the value 
of mineral deposits, and hence of possible production, but only the rank 
in annual production, which can be, and ere long will be, so increased 
that Missouri will rank in iron, coal and building stone, as she now does 
in lead, the first State in the Union. 

The census of 1870 showed that the mining interest employed 3,423 
hands, paying $1,938,792 in wages, expending $570,781 for material, 
using a capital of $3,489,250, and producing ore valued at $3,472,513. 
Since that time some of the mines then known have been more exten- 
sively worked, and new discoveries, as well as more thorough develop- 
ments of known deposits, have largely increased the known mineral 
wealth of the State. 

For instance, the lead interest of the State is, in the census report of 
1870, credited with employing a capital of $208,000; 457 hands, and 
producing $201,885 worth of metal. But the single county of Jasper, 
which, in 1870, employed five hands, and produced $37,500 worth of 
lead, in 1876 produced over $750,000 worth of lead, almost four times 
as much as the entire State product in 1870, and more than the entire 
nation produced that year. While the other mining interests have not 
all increased in this proportion, this will serve to illustrate the possi- 
bilities of the future, when Missouri will take the rank her natural 
advantages render inevitable. 

There is no possible doubt that when Missouri shall by an enlightened 
and liberal policy secure an exhaustive geological survey and examination 
of the State, that the mineral deposits will be so clearly defined, their 
quantity, quality and situation so definitely described that they will invite 
from eastern states and foreign countries the capital and experience 
which will place her as the leading mining State of the Union. We 
have had plenty of " glittering generalities ;" what capitalists and prac- 
tical manufacturers want is metes and bounds, established by reliable 
surveyors ; quantities, calculated from actual examinaticm and measure- 
ment ; and percentages of ore and metal deduced from careful and 
repeated analyses by scientific, reliable and responsible chemists and 
metallurgists. 

Whenever the State shall decide to determine these facts and employ 
a force of sufficient number and intelligence to do the work carefully, 
thoroughly and speedily, then a new era of prosperity will dawn upon our 
Commonwealth. A good beginning has been made ; let it be only a 
beginning which shall be speedily and generously finished. 



THE COAL MEASUKES. 557 

Coal. — Whatever may be the mineral resources of any state or country, 
much of the success in mining, manufacturing and commerce, must largely 
depend upon the quantity, quality and situation of its mineral coal. No 
very great and independent success can be had in any of these depart- 
ments without a bountiful supply of these "black diamonds." Fuel 
must be had, for the use of fire is one of the most distinguishing character- 
istics of man over animal creation. 

Heat must be generated for the thousand avocations of civilized life, 
and nothing is so avaihible and so reliable, either to warm a room, drive 
an engine, smelt an ore or generate a power to raise and transport its 
own latent strength, as coal. These precipitated sunbeams were laid away 
in ante-diluvian times under the earth, and there stored up for the use, 
comfort and progress of mankind in these latter glorious days. 

While coal has been for a long time known to exist in some scattered 
localities, it remained for the geological survey of the State to discover 
the great area of our coal deposits, and to determine their thickness, 
situation, availability and boundary. Coal is spoken of as hlackdiamondy 
the difference being only one of form and color ; but the difference is 
vastly in favor of the coal, which is immeasurably more valuable — for the 
muscular strength of earths' inhabitants from Adam down to the present 
and continuing on until the Millennium, would scarcely constitute a unit 
or factor by which to determine or compare the incalculable latent power 
stored up in the Missouri coal fields. 

In any attempt to calculate the power or appreciate the value of this 
unmeasured deposit of earths' most bountiful and most available mineral, 
and its influence on the State at large, as well as upon every inhabitant, 
we must bear in mind that this almost infinite power is ready to come 
forth at the touch of man, and may be controlled by his lightest wish. 
A match can release, and a finger may direct, the force which can minister 
to the wants of all mankind, by clothing the entire earth in beauty, or 
which could send the world flying in fragments from the force of the 
explosion, rendering the earth unfit for man's habitation, even if a man 
should by a miracle be left to live upon it. We must bear in mind, too, 
that these coal beds underlie one of the richest agricultural regions on 
the continent, within a State whose manufacturing and commercial 
facilities and resources are scarcely inferior to any, and adjacent to the 
Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and our numerous railroads, and especially 
that they are near the two great trans-continental lines. 

The coal fields of Missouri not only cover a greater area than any other 
mineral deposit in the State, but also employ more hands in their working, 



558 MATEKIAL WEALTH. 

use a larger capital, and produce more wealth, which is more generally 
divided among the operatives. 

Another very important fact in relation to our coal fields is, that while 
it makes comparatively little difference to the consumer whether the iron 
or lead that he uses is mined in Missouri, Pennsylvania or Sweden, it is 
of the utmost importance to him whether his coal is mined in his own 
county or a distant part of the State. Coal in the county, or on the 
same railway or water-course, within easy distd,nce, means cheap fuel 
for the household, and a cheap supply of an indispensable element in 
successful manufacturing. 

Coal mining requires only a small amount of permanent investment, 
and none of the expensive appurtenances for reduction which are 
demanded by iron, lead and zinc ores. Lying, as it does, near the 
surface, over a large area in this State, it requires only a limited capital 
for its successful production, and it finds a ready and constant cash 
market at the mouth of the mine, or in the towns along the railway 
lines or rivers. This speedy and certain return for a moderate outlay 
will readily explain why coal mining continues to flourish, when other 
mining interests languish, and why the amount of its volume is only 
slightly reduced while some other mines are closed altogether. 

The Missouri coal fields underlie an area of nearly 25,000 square miles, 
including about 160 square miks in St. Louis County, 8 square miles in 
St. Charles, and some important outliers and pockets, which are mainly 
canuel coal, in Lincoln, Warren and Callaway Counties. This area 
includes about 8,400 square miles of upper coal measures, 2,000 square 
miles of exposed middle, and about 14,600 square miles of exposed 
lower measures. 

The upper coal measures contain about four feet of coal, including 
two seams of one foot each in thickness, the others being thin seams or 
streaks. 

The middle coal measures contain about seven feet of coal, including 
two workable seams of twenty-one and twenty-four inches, one other of 
one foot, that is worked under favorable circumstances, and six thin 
seams. 

The lower measures contain about five workable seams of coal, varying 
in thickness from eighteen inches to four and one-half feet, and thin 
seams varying from six to eleven inches, and several minor seams and 
streaks. In all, thirteen feet six inches of coal. We therefore have 
in Missouri a total aggregate of twenty-four feet six inches of coal. 
The thinner seams of coal are not often mined, except in localities 
distant from railroad transportation. 



THE COAL MEASURES. 55 ^ 

Miners usually prefer to work in a bed of two feet to two and one-half 
feet in thickness to even one of greater thickness. 

All beds over eighteen inches thick are workable coals. The area 
where such may be reached within two hundred feet from the surface is 
about 7,000 square miles. Most of the State underlaid by the coal- 
measure, is rich farming land. That underlaid by the upper measures 
includes the richest, and equal to any upon the globe. The southeastern 
boundary of the coal-measures has been traced from the mouth of the 
Des Moines, through Clark, Lewis, Scotland, Adair, Macon, Shelby, 
Monroe, Audrain, Callaway, Boone, Cooper, Pettis, Benton, Henry, 
St. Clair, Bates, Vernon, Cedar, Dade, Barton and Jasper counties into 
the Indian Territory, and every county on the north-west of this line is 
known to contain moie or less coal. Great quantities of coal exist in 
Johnson, Pettis, Lafayette, Cass, Chariton, Howard, Putnam and 
Audrain. 

Outside of the coal-fields, as given above, the regular coal rocks also 
exist in Kails, Montgomery, Warren, St. Charles, Callaway and St. Louis, 
and local deposits of cannel and bituminous coal in Moniteau, Cole, 
Morgan, Crawford, Lincoln and Callaway. Prof. Swallow said in 1865, 
"If the average thickness of workable coal be one foot only, it will pive 
26,800,000,000 tons for the whole area occupied by coal rock. But in 
many places the thickness of the workable beds is over 15 feet, and the 
least estimate that can be made for the whole area is 5 feet. This will 
give over 134,000,000,000 tons of good available coal in our State." 

And the same authority adds in 1874: "Such were our estimates of 
the coal in Missouri in 1855. Since then new beds have been opened in 
the area above designated and large tracts discovered in other parts of the 
State, along the whole line of the south-eastern outcrop of the lower 
coal strata, from the mouth of the Des Moines to the Indian Territory. 
Along the lines of all the railroads in North Missouri, and along the 
western end of the Missouri Pacific, active and systematic minino- has 
opened our coal beds in a thousand localities, and developed a series of 
facts which render it absolutely certain that our former estimate falls far 
below the real quantity in the State. Prior to 1855 no coal beds had 
been disovered on the Missouri River between Kansas City and Sioux 
City, save a few thin beds in the upper coal-measures, and practical men 
were slow to believe the . geologist could detect the existence of coal 
beneath the surface. But some brave men at Leavenworth City have 
sunk a shaft to one of the lowest coal beds, 700 feet beneath their city, 
and more than 500 feet below the Missouri River at that point. The 



560 MATERIAI. WEALTH. 

success of this enterprise proves the deductions of science, that our 
lower coal beds, which crop out along the eastern boundary of our coal- 
field, from Clark county to Vernon, dip beneath the surface and extend 
to the west as far, at least, as Leavenworth, or beyond the western 
boundary of Missouri. 

"This and other similar developments prove that our estimate of the 
coal in the State at 134,000,000,000, tons is much too small. But since 
that is enough, we need not make figures. But it is not the coal of 
Missouri alone, which is tributary to St. Louis. The 12,000 square 
miles of coal-measures in Kansas, as much more in the Indian Territory 
and Arkansas, and still larger areas in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and 
Kentucky, are so located as to form around St. Louis a circle of fuel at 
once accessible and inexhaustible." 

And later explorations add still another important area to the known 
coal-fields of Missouri, by defining the recently-discovered and profitably- 
worked, deposits in Barton and Jasper Counties. 

Lead. — There is probably no country on the globe so rich in lead 
deposits as Missouri. The mineral occurs in lodes, veins and disemi- 
nations, which are as yet only partially determined. The number, extent, 
dip and thickness of these deposits have not been but partially ascertained, 
but enough is known to show that their range and richness exceed any 
other known Lead-beai'ina^ res-ion in the world. 

Galena occurs in this State in ferruginous clay that becomes jointed, 
or, separating in distinct masses, quite regular in form, when taken out 
and partially dried also in regular cubes, in gravel beds, or with cherty 
masses in the clays associated with the same. 

These cubes in some localities show the action of attrition, while in 
others they are entirely unworn. Lead is found in the carboniferous 
rocks, but perhaps the greater portion is obtained from the magnesian 
rocks of the lower Silurian, and, in one or two localities, galena has been 
discovered in the rocks of the Azoic period. At Dugal's, Eeynolds 
County, Lead is found in a disseminated conditon in the porphyry. 

South-East Lead District. — The topographical character of the 
disseminated belt which, so far as known, occupies about one-half of the 
northern portion of Madison and the same amount of land in St. Francois 
County is a succession of elevations, valleys and in several localities, 
considerable hills or small mountains. 

The elevations in the region of the Fox Mines, two miles west of 
Fredericktown, present a dark reddish porphyry cropping out from their 



THE LEAD DEPOSITS. 561, 

summits and scattered along their sides. Further down, and near the 
bottom of the valleys, also in many places lapping the porphyry s are the. 
second sandstone and third magnesian limestone. Over the greater part 
of the disseminated lead region mdicated, the rocks will be found to 
carry the same lithological character as those ah^eady named, and over 
none of this region have we observed rocks of a later geological age 
than the Lower Silurian, but let it not be inferred that these fora:iations 
are uniform throughout this district, for, at the Fox Mines the second 
sandstone is entirely wanting, its place being occupied by twelve feet 
of a hard, brownish, crystalline silico-magnesian limestone. 

Mine LaMotte, discovered about 1720 by LaMotte and Renault. 
It was not, however, until this territory was ceded to Spain, that any 
considerable mining for lead was done in this part of Missouri. Mine 
a Breton, was discovered by M. Le Breton. 

Moses Austin of Virginia, secured from the Spanish. Government a 
large grant of land near Potosi, and sunk the first regular shaft, and 
after taking out large quantities of lead, he, in 1789, erected the first 
reverberatory furnace for the reduction of lead ever built in America. 

In some portions of Ste. Genevieve, JeflTerson and other south-eastern 
counties, lead has been found, but not in any considerable quantity. 

In all this region, we find crystallized cubes of galena in the tallow 
clay, occurring as float. In Franklin, Washington and Jefferson counties, 
galena is found in ferruginous clay and coarse gravel, often associated 
with small masses of brown hematite iron and the sulphuret of iron ; 
sometimes lying in small cavities or pockets. The most noted of the 
Franklin County mines are the Virginia, Mt. Hope, Golconda, Evans, 
Skewes, Elliott, Darby, Patton, Massey, Berthold, Gravelly, Enloe and 
Hamilton. The first mentioned has produced by far the greater portion 
of lead from this section. 

At the Webster Mines the silicate and carbonate of zinc are found 
always accompanying the lead. At the Valle Mines, silicate of zinc 
and baryta occur as well as hematite iron ore. The great Mammoth 
Mine was a succession of caves, in which millions of pounds of lead 
were found adhering to the sides and roof, and on the bottom with cby 
and baryta. The Sandy, Tarpley, Edging, Yankee, Miller and many 
other diggings are well known, though now producing but little lead. 

The Frumet or Einstein Mines are the most productive that have ever 
been opened in Jefierson County, and are now yielding also large 
quantities of zinc ore. The Jenner Mine near by, is perhaps as rich 
in ore as the Frumet. 
36 



562 JIATEKIAL WEALTH. 

Dr. Dyer's mine has attracted considerable attention from the riclmess 
of the ore and the presence of silver in the same. The Darby Diggings, 
on the Benton claim, are valuable mines, but tlie galena is so mixed 
with baryta that crushing and separating is necessary to secure the lead 
ii: a condition for reduction. 

In Washington, lead-mining has been carried on for a greater length 
of time uninterruptedly, and more acres of land have been dug over that 
have produced lead than in any other county in the State. The galena 
has been usually found in the gravel and clay overlying the magnesian 
rocks, and in a few instances assumes a lode form in fissures of the same. 

At the mines of the Memphis Lead Company, southeast of Potosi, are 
found small cubes of lead disseminated through a hard geodic limestone, 
in which sulphate of baryta and silicate of zinc are in association. At 
Mine a Reed the lead follows a well-defined fissure in the second magne- 
sian limestone, occurring in flattened masses or depressed cubes with 
laminar structure ; but all resting upon their edges in the fissure. 

Old jNIines, Cannon, Scott, Bellefontaine, Austin, Burts, Layton, 
Cook, Elliott, Shore, Old Ditch, Turkey Hill, Richwoods, and more 
than a hundred other mines need no special description. 

In St. Francois County lead deposits are found in the ferruginous clay 
and gravel. Though they have produced many millions of pounds in 
past years, these mines are not now extensively worked. 

Over portions of Madison County considerable lead is found in the 
clay. 

Several locations in Iron County show a good prospect for lead. 

In Wayne, Carter, Reynolds and Crawford lead has been found, and 
in the eastern portion of the last named county considerable was mined a 
few years ago. 

Ste. Genevieve County has a deposit of lead known as the Avon Mines 
on Mineral Fork, where mining and smelting has been prosecuted for 
many years. In this vicinity lead has also been found as "float" in 
several places. 

Lead exists in the small streams in several places in the western parts 
of Cape Girardeau County. 

In the region described, at least two thousand square miles are under- 
laid with lead, upon which territory galena can be found almost anywhere, 
either in the clay, gravel openings, or in a disseminated condition. The 
lead production of this portion of the State, though on the increase, is 
not one-tenth what it would be could capital and skilled labor be made 
to understand its galeuiferous wealth. 



THE LEAD DEPOSITS. 563 

The Central Lead District comprises, as far as known, the connties 
of Cole, Cooper, Moniteau, Morgan, Miller, Benton, Maries, Camden 
and Osage, and here, again, a marked difference is observed in formation 
and association. 

The galena is first discovered in isolated caves scattered through a joint 
or tallow clay of a yellowish color. 

In two localities, the cotton rock has been found to carry galena in 
paying quantities. 

At the Pioneer Mines and many other places In the vicinity, galena 
occurs in the clay, but a few inches below the surface. Large masses of 
lead in crystallized cubes are found in the clay at a depth of from six to 
eight feet, sandwiched between masses of cotton rock, sandstone and 
chert, associated with sulphate of baryta and tallow clay. There is no 
regularity to the dip, inclination or association, until the regular beds of 
second magnesian limestone are reached. Here the galena passes into 
large openings in the rock, and becomes disseminated in the edges of the 
walls as well as completely mixed with the baryta. 

In Cole County the lead is uniformly met with in the joint clays, 
-cherty conglomerate, finally assuming the vein and lode form in the 
magnesian limestone series. In this region lead is more uniformly found 
where surface exposures are met with, than in any other part of the 
State. In shafts that have been sunk nearly one hundred feet in the 
rock, rich deposits of lead have been found. Near Locust Mound, in 
the western part of the county, lead is found in magnesian limestone 
passing down between well defined walls, and held by a gangue of baryta, 
calc spar, and brown hematite iron in the form of "pipe ore." It is a 
most singular and interesting formation and association. The galena and 
baryta are formed into round bale-like masses, with the pieces of pipe 
iron stuck through them in all directions. The " Old Circle," three or 
four miles distant, was discovered several years ago, and more than 
3,000,000 pounds of lead mined; but the water came in, the war began 
and operations ceased. 

Eeceiitly the lead development of Cole County has been more to the 
northwestern corner, passing into Moniteau and Cooper Counties. In 
the former several, valuable mines have been opened. The West Diggings 
liave been extensively developed and proved rich. The mineral is found 
in connected cubes in limestone rock and lies in lodes and pockets. 

Lead has been found in several places in Cooper County. Near Otter- 
Tille, there are two probably-paying leads. Galena has been found at five 
places in Osage County. Carter's and Hunsucker s mines, seven miles 



564 MATEKIAL WEALTH. 

from Shiler's Ferry, have yielded considerable galena of excellent quality. 
The lead was discovered in a horizontal lode running along the surface 
of the ground, and resting in an opening in the second magnesian lime- 
stone. Lead has been found thirteen miles vrest of Vienna, associated 
with sulphuret of iron. 

Many discoveries have recently been made in the vicinity, which have 
not been fully developed but give promise of great richness. 

Camden possesses considerable deposits of lead, and in the vicinity of 
Linn Creek a number of mines have been successfully worked, and new 
developments are yielding large quantities of mineral. Lead has also 
been found in many localities along the Little and Big Niangua, and as 
the entire northern portion is underlaid with the magnesian limestone 
formation, it may be discovered in many places where its existence has 
never been suspected. Miller County is particularly rich in galeniferous. 
ore. 

Paying lead has been found north of the Osage Kiver. On the Gravois,. 
Big Saline, Little Saline, and Bush Creeks, and the Fox, Walker, Mt. 
Pleasant and Saline Diggings have yielded millions of pounds of lead. 
Benton County contains a number of lead deposits, the most important 
being the Cole Cany Mines. Lead has been found as a "float" in many 
localities. 

Morgan County, like Washington, can boast of having lead in every 
township, either as " clay mineral," " float" or in veins, lodes, pockets 
and caves. The magnesian limestone series of Morgan, in which the 
lead ores now are or have all existed, 'are the most complete and well 
defined of any in Missouri. 

Mineral was first found here in the clay and among the loose chert and 
conglomerate covering the surface. Going down to 2d magnesian lime- 
stone, openings or crevices were found filled with clay, baryta and lead 
in irregularly-formed cubes of masses. These lodes are quite regular, 
and give more and richer ore as they are followed down into the 3d 
magnesian limestone. There seems to be a region here, representing 
more than a thousand acres where lead is everywhere found by digging 
a few feet. 

The most extensive deposits of lead in Morgan have been found south 
of the center of the county, yet in the north-western part are several 
well known lodes. 

We cannot even name the hundreds of places in this county where 
lead is found in paying quantities. There seems to be a region, covering 
two hundred square miles, entirely underlaid by lead. These wonderful 
deposits are as yet but partially worked. 



THE LEAD DEPOSITS. 560 

When deeper mining is done, tlie region will probably be found much 
richer than is now anticipated. 

The Southern Lead Kegion of the State comprises the counties 
of Pulaski, Laclede, Texas, Wright, Webster, Douglas, Ozark and 
Christian. The mineral deposits of this region are as yet undeveloped, 
very little practical mining having been done. 

In Pulaski County, lead has been discovered in several localities. 
Laclede County has a number of lead deposits : one about eleven miles 
from Lebanon, where the ore is found in a disseminated condition, in the 
soft magnesian limestone.^ 

In the south-western portion of Texas County, along the head waters 
of the Gasconade Eiver, there are considerable deposits of lead ore. 

Wright has a number of lead mines almost unworked, which are 
located in the southeastern portion of the county, and are a continuation 
of the deposits in Texas County. 

In Douglas County, near the eastern line, and near Swan Creek, are 
considerable deposits of galena. 

Ozark and CJiristian have a number of lead deposits, zinc being invari- 
ably found in connection. 

The Western Lead District comprises Hickory, Dallas, Polk, 
St. Clair, Cedar and Dade Counties. 

In Hickory County, quite extensive mining has been carried on, the 
largest deposits having been found near Hermitage. In the northern 
portion of the county and along the Pomme de Terre River, lead occurs 
as "float" and in the rock formation. The mo*e prominent lodes are 
found in the second magnesian limestone, with a deposit occurring in the 
third.- The lead deposits of Hickory County are richer and more fully 
developed than any other in this district. 

Dallas County has a few deposits of lead, but no developments have 
been made sufficient to determine their extent. 

Float lead has been found in various localities in Polk County. 

In St. Clair County, the galeniferous deposits are in the second sand- 
stone, and in the ferruginous clay, with chert, conglomerate and gravel. 

Cedar County presents a deposit of lead, copper and antimony. 
Galena is found in the clay and gravel. 

In Dade, a considerable quantity of galena has been found in the 
south-eastern corner of the county. 

The South-West Lead District of Missouri comprises the counties 
of Jasper, Newton, Lawrence, Stone, Barry and McDonald. The two 
counties first named, produced more than one-half of the pig lead of 



566 MATEKIAI. WEALTH. 

Missouri, and may well be proud of their immense deposits of gale- 
iiiferous wealth. 

The lend mining resources of Jasper and Newton Counties are simply 
inexhaustible. The Granhy Mines, discovered in 1855, yielded, up to the 
commencement of the war, 35,414,014 lbs. of lead; and since that time 
to May 1873, 19,675,205 lbs., in addition to large amounts of which no 
account was kept. The yield is now larger than ever, and eleven 
furnaces, which run night and day, are barely sufficient to smelt the ore. 
These mines are in and around the town of Granby. Other mines — the 
Cornwall, township 26, range, 33 ; and the Thurman, township 27, 
range 33 — have been and are now yielding largely. The Mosely, Cedar 
Creek, Bowman, Seneca, and other mines, have produced more or less,. 
and new and wonderful deposits are continually being found. Lead ore 
seems to have been obtained here from the earliest recollection, and 
furnished supplies to the Indians during their occupation. Formerly, 
smelted lead, merchandise and "spirits" were the principal return to the 
miner for his labor, as the distance from market and general condition 
of the country precluded enlarged capital and enterprise. Since the 
war, capital has developed the hidden wealth, and systematized labor and 
rendered it remunerative. This, with the additional railroad facilities, 
has brought the county prominently and rapidly before the public, as^ 
one of the wonderful mining districts of the world. 

Among the public-spirited men whose enterprise and energy most 
largely contributed to the development of the lead region, the late Peter 
E. Blow and his brother, the Hon. Henry T. Blow, stood foremost. 
Before the civil war, the former had established mining and smelting 
works in Newton County. These were destroyed by the contending 
forces which early in the struggle overran that portion of the State; 
But when the tread of armies had ceased, the works were re-constructed, 
and operations renewed with increased energy and large reinforcements 
of capital. The success which followed their undertaking, and the 
abundant returns on their investment, led many others to embark iui 
similar ventures ; population poured in, and the fame of the lead deposits- 
spread to all points of the compass. 

New mineral lands are constantly being thrown open to miners, and 
developed, and it is reasonable to predict that the future production of 
lead will gveatly exceed that of the past. Nearly all the companies have 
control of large tracts of land which they wish developed, and liberal 
inducements are offered to miners who wish to secure claims. Zina 



THE IRON ORES. 567 

mining is also becoming an important interest; the ore, large quantities 
of which are shipped to La Salle, Illinois, sells at $10 per ton. 

The total production of lead in Jasper County for the Centennial year, 
was, according to the estimates of the best authorities, over half 
the entire lead production of the State, more than the entire lead pro- 
duction of any other State in the Union. Then, all hail to Jasper, the 
banner lead county of the world, that all the world will know as such. 
But all the world will not know that this, the greatest lead-producing 
county of the greatest lead-producing State, does every year raise from 
her farms, products of more value than has ever been in any one year 
dug in lead from her mines. 

Iron. — Missouri is one of the richest States in iron ores on the 
American Continent. These ores are, however, very unequally dis- 
tributed over the State. The districts covered by the coal measures, 
although containing clay ores and carbonates of iron, do not contain 
them in such quantities and in such positions as to make them workable. 
These (jres in the coal measures occur either as single nodules or as thin 
beds, and lie from twenty to sixty feet below the surface, and not close 
enough to the coal beds to be mined conjointly with them. These ores 
are, besides, not very rich in themselves. The only point w^here the 
region of workable iron ore reaches north of the Missouri River is in 
Callaway County, where red, earthy hematite occurs. 

South of the Missouri River, and between it and the fortieth township 
line, there are valuable deposits, mostly of limonite, in Franklin, Osage, 
Morgan and Benton Counties.. This kind of ore also occurs nearly over 
the whole central and southern parfc of the State. In the southern part, 
the counties of Stoddard, Bollinger, Wayne, Ozark, Douglass, Christian 
and Greene, contain considerable deposits of it. But by far the richest 
portion of the State in iron ores is that zone lying between the Missis- 
sippi in the east, and the Upper Osage River in the west. Limonite 
banks are scattered over the whole of this region, being, however, con- 
centrated in three districts. The most eastern of these districts is 
composed of Bollinger, Wayne and the southern part of Madison Counties ; 
the second, but smaller concentration, is in the southeastern part of 
Franklin County ; while the third and most important one of this ore 
is found ill the middle Osage River, between Warsaw and Tuscumbia, 
in Benton, Morgan, Camden and Miller Counties. This latter district 
extends also to the Upper Osage, above Warsaw, into St. Clair and Hemy 
Counties. The Upper Osage also contains good deposits of red hem- 
atites. 



5G8 MATEKIAL WEALTH. 

The specular ores are raucli more concentrated than either the limonites 
or the carboniferous hematites, and also occur in much larger masses. 
There are two important specnhir ore districts, different by their geogra- 
phical positions, different entirely by the mode of occurrence, and the 
geological position of their ores ; but quite similar, on the other hand, 
in the mineralogical character and the chemical composition of these 
ores. The one of these districts is the Iron Mountain District in the 
east, extending only over a small area in southern St. Francois and 
northern Iron Counties, but containing two enormous deposits, besides 
numerous smaller ones. The ore is here in veins, beds and other less 
reo-ular forms in the porphyry. The second specular ore district lies 
more towards the center of the State, yet mainly in the eastern half. 
Its principal deposits, as far as known, are concentrated in the three 
Counties of Crawford, Phelps and Dent. The occurrence of the specular 
ores, however, extends somewhat into the surrounding Counties of 
Washington, Franklin, Maries, Miller, Camden, Pulaski and Shannon. 
Many of these deposits are disturbed and broken and altered in regard 
to their position and contents. 

We infer, then, that there are three piincipal and important iron 
regions in Missouri, namely : — 

I. The eastern region, composed of the south-eastern limouite district, 
and the Iron Mountain specular ore district. This region has its natural 
outlet, at present, over the Iron Mountain Railroad. 

II. The central region, containing principally specular ores, and 
havino- its commercial outlet over the St. Louis, Salem & Little Rock 
and the St. Louis & San Francisco, formerly Atlantic & Pacific railroads. 

III. The western or Osage regian, with its limonites and red hema- 
tites. This region will ere long establish an iron industry of its own. 
It is remote from the present ore markets, and near the coal fields on the 
west. Its present connection with these markets is down the Osage 
River to Osage City, and from there either over the Missouri Pacific 
Railroad, or down the Missouri River. 

These three principal regions combined form a broad ore-belt running 
across the State from the Mississippi to the Osage, in a direction 
about parallel to the course of the Missouri River, from south-east to 
north-west, between the thirtieth and fortieth township lines. The spec- 
ular ores occupy the middle portion of this belt, the limonites both ends 
of it. The latter are besides spread over the whole southern half of the 
State, while the subcarboniferous hematites occur only along the southern 
border of the North Missouri coal field, having thus an independent 



THE IRON OEES. 569 

distribution, and being principally represented in Callaway, St. Clair and 
Henry Counties. 

Iron Mountain is the greatest exposure of specular iron yet discovered. 
It is the result of igneous action, and is the purest mass or body of ore 
known. The work of years has only just uncovered the massive 
columns of specular ore that seems to pass down through the porphyry 
and granites, to the source of its existence. The region about, so 
covered with the ore debris, is being cleaned up, and the specular ore 
chips that are being shipped by thousands of tons, will last many years 
longer. The broken masses have the same general color and quality as 
the vein ore of Iron Mountain. The fresh fracture presents alight gray, 
tinged distinctly with blue. The crystallization is often coarse, presenting 
an irreo-ular fracture. All the ore is more or less mao-netic : the streak 
is a bright cherry red, and possesses the hardness of 6. Analysis shows 
it to contain from 65 to 69 per cent, of metallic iron. 

The ore of Shepherd Mountain is called a magnetite. In some por- 
tions of the veins, it shows itself to be granular, brown in color, and to 
have a clear black streak. Other portions present all the qualities of 
a specular ore. In portions of the specular, as well as magnetite, beau- 
tiful crystals of micaceous ore are found. The streak of the specular 
and micaceous is a dark red; the hardness about 5, with 64 to 67 per 
cent, of metallic iron. The magnetic qualities of this ore are quite 
variable, usually the strongest at or near the surface, but this is not the 
case in all the veins. The ore of Shepherd Mountain is superior to any 
yet developed in Missouri, not quite as rich as that of Iron Mountain, 
but so uniform in character, and devoid of sulphur and phosphoric acid, 
that it may be classed as superior to- that, or any other ore that we have. 

The ore of Pilot Knob is fine-grained, very light bluish gray in color, 
and with a hardness representing 6, with a luster sub-metallic. There 
is a most undoubted stratification to the deposition, occurring as before 
indicated. The ore of Pilot Knob gives 53 to 60 per cent, metallic iron , 
and is almost free from all deleterious substances. The ore below the 
slate seam is much the best, containing only about 5 to 12 per cent, of 
silica, while the poorer ores show sometimes as high as 40 per cent. 
There have been more than 200,000 surface feet of ore determined to 
exist here ; the depth of the deposit has probably not yet been reached. 

The Scotia Iron Banks, located on the Meramec Eiver, in Crawford 
County, are most remarkable formations. They have been worked a 
number of years, supplying the Scotia Iron Works wnth ore and also 
shipping quantities to the East. Here the specular ore is a deep, steel- 



570 MATEKIAL WEALTH. 

gray color, and with a metallic luster. The crystals are fine and quite 
regular in uniformity. This ore is found in the shape of small to 
immense boulders, resting in soft red hematites, that have been produced 
by the disintegration of the specular ores. These boulders contain a 
great number of small cavities in which the ore has assumed botryoidal 
forms ; and upon these, peroxide iron crystallizations are so formed, that 
a most gorgeous show of prismatic colors is presented. The hardness 
of this ore is about 6 ; the soft red ore in which it occurs not more 
than 2^. 

In these banks, there are some carbonates and ochraceous ores, but not 
in any quantity to deteriorate or materially change the character of the 
other ores. Many of the boulders present a soft, red mass with a blue 
specular kernel in the center. This ore is found to be slightly magnetic, 
and gives 58 to 69 per cent, metallic iron. 

The Iron Ridge ores, in Crawford County, which have been worked for 
a number of years, are very much of the same character as those of 
Scotia. Specular boulders, imbedded in soft red hematite, make up the 
deposit. Some portions of the specular ore masses are remarkably 
metallic in luster, while others are a dull, dark, grayish-red. These 
boulders are very uniform in character, showing about sixty per cent, of 
metallic iron. 

Leivis Mountain Iron bank, situated in Iron County, near Arcadia, is 
a vein of hard, blue Specular iron ore, about four feet thick, in porphyry. 
It has not been worked sufficiently to determine its extent. 

Buford Mountain^ Iron County, contains an extensive bed of decom- 
posed specular ore, that possesses highly manganiferous qualities, which 
can be economically worked. 

In the mines of Hogan Mountain the ore, which is specular, of mica- 
ceous structure, of good quality, coarsely crystalline and giving 50 to 60 
per cent, metallic ore, is found in pockets or chambers, many of which 
have been developed. 

The Shut-in, Russell, Ackhurst, Culherston and Big Bogy Mountain 
banks are located in Iron County. These ores exist in porphyry and 
are all specular; those of Ackhurst's bank are also manganiferous. 

GedOjV Hill ore is a grayish, hard specular, without any magnetic 
qualities, and with a sub-metallic luster. It contains silica in about the 
'proportion that Pilot Knob ore does, and lies in porphyry that is clearly 
stratified. It has not been sufficiently developed to determine its extent. 
It gives 65 per cent, of metallic iron. 

The Meramec bank is six miles south of St. James, Phelps County. 



^HE IRON OEES. 571 

The ores are specular and red hematite which occur in the second sand- 
stone, and yield 62 per cent, metallic iron. This bank has been worked 
for more than twenty years, and the ore yield is yet liberal in supply. 

The Benton Greek bank is situated in Crawford County, on a creek 
of that name. The hill, on which this bank is located, shows a great 
amount of brown hematite and specular boulders upon the outside. The 
ores are also very much broken up, but compacted b}- the central dip 
of the hill. Across the elevation there is a large dyke of excellent spec- 
ular ore. The center of this elevation is probably a mass of specular 
ore. 

Simmons Mountain, one-half mile south of Salem, Dent County, is 
about 100 feet high, and covers , nearly 40 acres. The second sandstone 
is the country rock, and at the summit is uncovered, and mixed with spec- 
ular and brown ores. Down the elevation larger masses of ore are met 
with, that have the appearance of being drifts from the main deposit 
higher up. Shafts have been sunk in this elevation, determining more 
than 30 feet of solid ore. The ore is a splendid close, compact, brilliant 
specular, very hard and free from deleterious substances. The ores of 
this mountain do not show near as much metamorphism as many of the 
other banks in the second sandstone of this region. The ore is quite 
strongly magnetic, and gives a bright red streak. Pretty extensive 
mining operations are now being carried on this deposit. It is one of 
the largest specular iron deposits (Iron Mountain alone excepted,) that 
is known in the State. 

The Taylor bank, about 8 miles north of Salem, has an extensive 
deposit of brown hematite ; at or near the foot of the elevation the 
specular ores present themselves in considerable quantity. 

The Pomeroy bank is about 3 miles north of Salem ; the ore is first 
discovered upon the west side of an elevation 140 feet high. The ore is 
first found in clay and chert, and like the Taylor, has brown ore high up 
the elevation. Farther down the hill the second sandstone is in place, 
and the center of the elevation is probably an immense storehouse of 
specular ore. 

Beaver Greek bank is situated about 5 J miles south-west of Rolla, 
in Phelps County. The body of ore seems to be immense, and the work 
already done fully confirms the highest anticipations of its owners. The 
ore is a heavy specular, changing to a red hematite. 

The Thurmond bank north and east of Stanton, lies pretty well upon 
the south side of a sharp hill, with hematite and red ore down almost 
to a ravine to the south. A number of holes have been dug, in all of 



572 MATERIAL WEALTH. 

Avliich brown and red, specular and ochraceous ores are found. A shaft 
was sunk here a number of years ago for copper, and nearly 40 feet of 
red hematite, oxide and specular ore was passed through, indicating a 
large deposit. 

The Cherry Valley banlcs, east of Steel ville, are considerable deposits 
of specular ore, large quantities of which cover several hundred feet of 
the hills upon the surface and occupy the center of the elevations. The 
banks seem to be entirely undisturbed, and are probably important 
deposits. 

Steelville bank, two miles west of Steelville, is a very disturbed 
deposit. The ore is presented in the shape of soft red hematite, with 
masses of specular ore, in no regular beds or formation. 

The Arnold bank, near Benton Creek, Dent County, has large 
quantities of specular ore scattered over the hill. Shafts sunk to gain 
an intelligence of the extent of the bank, have struck ore at the foot of 
the elevation. 

The Orchard bank, at Salem, shows the hill to be made up of yellow 
and red sandstones impregnated with iron, the ore being found in small 
fragments in considerable quantity. 

Santee & Clark's bank, is situated on the east side of Dry Fork 
River, about four miles from St. James, in Phelps County. 

The ore is specular and red hematite, and is found very irregular in 
a high elevation. 

The BucMand bank, in Phelps County, shows considerable soft red 
hematite and specular ore. 

Kelley banks No. 1 and No. 2 are in Phelps County. No. 1 is in 
second sandstone. The ore is a heavy, pure specular of good quality. 
No. 2 is also in sandstone, with clay chert and carUonate of iron. The 
deposit is very irregular ; up the elevation a large mass of brown ore is 
found ; while farther down, the specular ore rests in beds of debris. 

At Taylor's bank, near EoUa, the ore is found in clay and sandstone. 
The soft red ore is found in a bed almost isolated from the specular, and 
with it, as well as with specular boulders, the carbonate of iron is found 
in considerable quantity. The main body of this deposit has probably 
not yet been reached. 

The Fitzivater bank in Dent County, Anderson, Carson, Eeuben Smith 
and Ganter, situated in Crawford County, are very much the same in 
character. The ores are specular boulders that overlie the sandstones, 
and very probably will be found to occupy irregular beds in the 
elevations, and possibly pass down through the sandstones. 



THE ERON OKES. 573 

Ferguson bank in Crawford County, presents fully eight feet of depth 
in specular and red ores, the surface covered with specular boulders. 

At Smith's banks, 1 and 2, Phelps County, the elevations are covered 
with a great quantity of small masses of specular ore, and shafts sunk 
disclose red j^aint ore with the specular boulders. In No. 1, the ore ui 
many places has crystallized in the pipe form. The true body of ore 
in both these banks has probably not yet been struck. 

At Primrose bank, in Washington County, a number of shafts sunk 
failed to reach the main body of ore that the surface boulders indicate is 
there, from their occurrence in a depression on the elevation. 

The Jameson bank, 3 miles south of Salem, is upon a high elevation, 
where sunken places show considerable quantities of specular ore. Upon 
the easiern slope of the elevation, a great quantity of ore is scattered 
upon the surface. 

The Zeigler bank, east of Salem, shows specular ore upon the surface 
and gives promise of good results. 

There are also several other important banks in Crawford County, 
among which we may name BucMand, Dovey, Isabella, Clarlc and Oard 
banks. 

Some of the most extensive red hematite banks in the State are located 
in Franklin County. Along the Bourbeuse, upon the lands of General 
L. B. Parsons, there are 13 exposures of fine red hematite iron ore. In 
another place there is presented a large deposit of red hematite, 
undeveloped, but probably quite extensive. 

Near Dry Branch Station, is an elevation, capped at the summit with 
saccharoidal sandstone, beneath which there is a large body of red and 
specular ore. The red hematite, however, predominates, and is remark- 
ably pure and free from sulphur or other deleterious substances. The 
sinking of a number of shafts upon this hill reaches the deposits in 
several places, in all of which the red hematite shows itself to be the 
prevailing ore. This ore will be found to work well with the hard 
specular and ores of the silicious character, like Pilot Knob. 

The Kerr bank, situated two and one-half miles northwest of St. Clair 
Station, is a large deposit of brown and red ore. A number of shafts 
have been sunk upon the hill occupjdng 50 or 60 acres, and ore struck in 
most of them. A drift has been run in at the base of the hill, and 
several feet in thickness of red hematite exposed. Here has been found 
a large deposit of spathic ore in most beautiful crystallization. 

Adjoining this on the west, is a bank where shafts sunk 38 feet, have 
gone down all the way in solid red hematite, with boulders of blue 
specular ore. 



574 MATERIAL WEALTH. 

Ill the vicinity of Stanton, are 13 exposures of red hematite iron ore. 

In Gasconade County, 3 miles west of Japan Post Office, there is a 
considerable deposit of red hematite. Masses of ore are found over 
the surface mixed with boulders of saccharoidal sandstone. 

The Shaft Hill bank, in Callaway County, is a quite extensive red 
hematite deposit. The ore occurs all around a considerable elevation 
upon the surface, in the form of loose boulders. The ore in the hill, 
where it has been struck by shafts sunk, shows complete lines of stratifi- 
cation, and is about four feet thick. 

The Dun,Knig1it, IIenderso7i and Bloomjield banks, Callaway County, 
are all of like character. 

The Parker, Brown and Miller banks in Henry County, and the Mar- 
maduke, Gover and Collins banks in St. Clair County, are all exposures 
that have not been developed. They lie in sandstone, much of which 
is highly impregnated with iron. 

In Miller, Maries, Cole and Camden Counties, there are a number of 
red hematite banks of considerable promise. 

The Qhenoz bank, in Wayne County, is a very large deposit of red 
hematite ; within a circuit of five miles there are a number of very 
promising exposures. 

In Bollinger, Stoddard and Butler Counties, along the line of the 
St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Kaiiroad, there are a number of 
red hematite banks of considerable promise. 

In the northern portion of Texas and Wright Counties, are some half 
dozen promising red ore banks. There are banks of red hematite in 
Morgan, Benton, Cedar and Laclede Counties. 

At the Loufey bank, one mile from Castorville, there are more than 
two thousand tons of fine brown hematite ore in sight from the top of 
the hill to its base. The masses that will weigh ten to twenty tons 
partly exposed, while the whole hill is so ferruginous that vegetation has 
scarcely secured a foothold upon it. 

At Cornwall Station, the Ford bank is a very large bank of limonite, 
and has furnished a large amount of good ore. 

The Lutz, Francis, Bess and many other banks in Bollinger County 
are of the same character. 

In Wayne County there are over seventy different limonite ore banks : 
the Crane, Ford, Clarkson, Williamson and Hulse being fair represent- 
atives. 

In Miller, Maries, Camden, Cole, Moniteau and Callaway Counties, there 
are very extensive limonite banks. In Morgan, Benton, St. Clair, Cedar, 



N 



THE ZINC MINES. 575 

Hickory and Yernon Counties, considerable brown liematite has been 
found. In Franklin, Gasconade, Phelps, Crawford, Laclede, Christian, 
Webster and Green Counties, large limonite beds have been found. In 
the Moselle region very large deposits have been opened and worked for 
many years. In Osage County there are a number of promising brown 
ore banks, as well as fine specular and red hematite. 

Zinc. — The ores of zinc m Missouri are almost as numerous as those 
of lead. They are distributed thronghout nearly all the geological 
strata and scattered through nearly every mineral district ; but the 
principal supply of the metal for commercial purposes is obtained from a 
very few ores, the more important of which are zinc blende (sulphuret 
of zinc), the carbonate of zinc and the silicate of zinc ; and furnished by 
a comparatively few localities. 

In reference to their geological position, the ores are in two classes. 
The first class includes all zinc ores which occur in the regular veins of 
the older rocks and hence associated with other metalliferous ores. The 
second mode of occurrence, and the ore by far of paramount importance 
in Missouri is that of the Third Magnesian Limestone of the Lower 
Silurian series, where it usually occurs in association with galena in the 
cave formation. The localities where the ore is principally worked are 
the Granby, Joplin and Valle Mines districts. 

Zinc blende (33.10 parts of sulphur and 66.90 of zinc) is frequently 
found in beautiful crystals, especially in the southwest part of the State. 
When pure it is transparent, white or honey-color, with a resinous lustre. 
It usually, however, contains more or less iron and is then opaque and 
dark brown or black, under which form it is known to miners as black- 
jack. Although widely diffused and abundantly found, this form of ore, 
on account of the necessarily long and careful roasting required in its 
reduction is not economically or generally smelted. 

Silicate of zinc is certainly the most abundant and valuable zinc ore in 
Missouri, and furnishes a large percentage of the zinc produced in the 
State. It is known among the miners as "dry bone" and usually occurs 
orystallized, associated with the lead ores in the cave formation, usually 
colorless but occasionally passing into different shades of yellow and gray 
— transparent with a glassy lustre. It has, through heating, acquired 
polarity — ^the positive pole being at the upper end and the negative at the 
lower end of the prismatic crystals which are found very small and fine, 
fixed on the inner walls of cavities, whose incrustations are found to be 
of the same material. 



576 MATEEIAL WIJALTH. 

Carbonate of zinc— zinc spar — smithsonite, and like the above also 
called "dry bone" by the miners, is very similar in general appearance to 
the silicate. Its crystallization is hexagonal (the silicate is prismatic.) 
It is softer than silicate, less brilliant and heavier. It is easily tested by 
the application of muriatic acid, when the carbonic acid which it contains 
win effervesce. Before the blow-pipe the carbonic acid is discharged, 
when it acts like oxide of zinc. The carbonate is, in Missouri, always 
associated with the silicate, though not so abundant as the latter. It is 
also usually found with the sulphuret of zinc, from which some claim it 
is mainly produced, as it is often found joined with sulphuret at the 
inner surfaces and with a Sulphuret nucleus iii the interior and still of an 
unchanged structure. 

There are three zinc-reducing works in the State, all located at Caron- 
delet. They have an aggregate capacity of reducing dbotit forty-five 
tons of ore, producing about sixteen tons of speltei* daily. These three 
establishinents use about two-thirds of the ore produced in the State, the 
balance being shipped to other points. Owing to the low price of and 
limited deniand for spelter, the pi'oductibn of ore arid "its' reduction has 
been limited. A revival of business will, however^ call into immediate 
activity the miners and smelters of izinc. 




Manufactures of the Olden Times 



CHAPTER III. 



MANUFACTURING. 

The State of Missouri presents every facility for successful and 
extensive manufacturing :— abundant timber of the best quality ; exhaust- 
less deposits of coal, iron, lead, zinc, marble and granite ; unmeasured 
water-power, distributed over theState ; a home market among an indus- 
trious and wealth-accumulating people, and a system of navigable rivers, 
and railway trunk lines and branches, that permeate, not only the State, 
but reach out in direct lines from gulf to lake, and from ocean to ocean! 

The Centennial year showed Missouri as containing 14,245 manufac- 
turing establishments, using 1,965 steam engines, representing 58,101 
horse power; 465 water wheels, equalling 7,972 horse power ,''and em- 
ploying about 80,000 hands. The capital employed in manufacturino- 
was about $100,000,000; the material used in 1876 amounted to abou't 
$140,000,000, the wages paid were $40,000,000, and the value of the 
products put upon the market was over $250,000,000. 
37 



578 ■ MATERIAL WEALTH. 

Of the manufacturing in Missouri, over tliree-quarters of the whole 
is clone in St. Louis, which produced in the Centennial year nearly 
$200,000,000 worth of manufactured articles, thus clearly placing her as 
the third manufacturing city in the Union, leaving a large gap between 
herself and Boston and Chicago, each of which manufactures a little 
over one-half as much as St. Louis, and are nearly tied as to third place. 

The leading manufacturing counties of the State are St. Louis, about 
$200,000,000; Jackson, $1,250,000 ; Buchanan, $6,000,000; St. Charles, 
$4,000,000; Marion, $3,000,000; Franklin, $2,750,000; Greene, 
$1,250,000; Cape Girardeau, $1,200,000; Platte, $1,100,000; Boone, 
$1,000,000; Lafeyette, $1,000,000; followed by Macon, Clay, Phelps, 
St. Francois, Washington, and Lewis. 

The products of the different lines of manufacturing interests are 
as follows: Flouring mills, $38,194,000; carpentering, $18,673,000; 
meat-packing, $16,679,000; tobacco, $12,496,000; iron and castings, 
$12,000,000; liquors, $11,245,000; clothing, $10,022,000; lumber, 
$8,652,000; bagging and bags, $6,914,000 ; saddlery and harness, $6,- 
508,000; oil, $5,^520,000; machinery, $5,400,000; printing and publish- 
ing, $5,123,000; molasses, $4,968,000 ; boots and shoes, $4,920,000 ; 
furniture, $4,800,000 ; paints and painting, $4,320,000; carriages and 
wagons, $4,300,000; marble, stone-work and masonry, $3,874,000; 
bakery products, $3,792,000; brick, $3,780,000; tin, copper, and 
sheet-iron, $3,600,000 ; sash, doors and blinds, $3,120,000 ; cooperage, 
$3,000,000; blacksmithing, $2,712,000; bridge building, $2,400,000; 
agricultural implements, $2,400,000 ; patent medicine, $2,400,000 ; soap 
and candles, $2,400,000; plumbing and gas-fitting, $1,800,000. For 
more extended notices of the manufacturing interests of the State see 
notice of different industries and manufactories in the several cities. 








CHAPTER IV. 



Agriculture.— Comparative Value of the Minkral and Agricultural Products of 
Missouri.— Acreage and Value of Farms.— Classification of Soils.— Timber and 
Prairies.— Staple Products, Eic. 

" The Farmers are the founders of civilization. ' ' 

Agriculture is the original, most constant, most certain, and only never-failing source 
of independence and wealth. Mining, manufacturing and commerce flom-ish when 
agriculture gives bountiful returns, and when- the latter languishes, they die. They may 
well be termed the younger sisters, who at all times look to their elder sister. Agriculture, 
for their supplies, and who in every emergency call upon her for defense. 

The mining interests of Missouri are so vast, it being the ninth State 
in the Union in that department, and so much has been written on that 
subject, that many are apt to think of and speak of our mineral wealth 
as though it overshadowed all other interests. Missouri is, however, 
the seventh State in the Union on the basis of agricultural production. 

We have elsewhere spoken of and somewhat described our untold 
mineral wealth, which fully merits all the glowing encomiums ever 
bestowed upon that department by the most enthusiastic writer. Con- 
ceding all that may be said about the magnitude and importance of the 



580 mateeiaIj wealth. 

mineral and manufacturing interests of the State, we think the least 
examination of the statistics must convince any one of the superior 
magnitude and importance of the agricultural interests of the State ; and 
the more extensive the examination, the more apparent the difference and 
the o-reater prominence is given to the overwhelming importance of 
tilling the soil. The census of 1870, which is the latest we have, and 
taken at a time when mining and manufacturing and agriculture were 
less productive than at present, and far from being peifect, is never- 
theless the best source of statistics we have. While the figures are 
undoubtedly too small for the Centennial year, they are probably 
proportionably more correct than can be compiled. 

So that if any one, by critical examination, increases any single item, 
it is only fair to assume that similar care will, in like manner and nearly 
in like proportion, increase any other item. We therefore present the 
following figures from that census to show the magnitude of our mining 
and manufactiu-ing interests, and then to exhibit the immensely greater 
importance of our agricultural resources : 

HANDS EMPLOTED. CAPITAL. PRODUCTS. 

Mining 3,423 # 3,489,250 $ 3,472,513 

Manufacturing 65,354 80,251,244 206,213,429 

Agriculture 263,918 492,789,746 103,035,759 

For convenience of reference we give the above important figures in 
another form : 

AGRICULTURE. MNING-. MANUFACTURING. 

Hands Employed 263,918 3,423 65,354 

Capital $492,789,746 #3,489,250 $80,257,244 

Value of Products 103,035,759 3,472,513 206,213,429 

The value of farm products is mainly the net result of the capital and 
the labor employed, while in manufactures it represents the same items ^ 
with the addition of the material used and the depreciation by wear of 
the machinery employed. After making these allowances in such manner 
as to give, net, the increased value of the manufactured articles over 
material used and wear of implements employed, the result, instead of 
$206,213,429, would be, as near as we can estimate, about $50,000,000. 

Another and a very important item in the valuation of these three great 
pillars of all prosperity, must be borne in mind : that, whereas the value 
of mining property must lessen as the ore is taken away and thereby the 
quantity diminished ; and whereas, all property and machinery used in 
manufacturing must depreciate in value by wear and tear ; that, on the 



AGEICULTUKE. 581 

the contrary, farms increase in value as they are tilled, and the more 
thorough the tillage the more rapid the increase in value. 

We speak here simply of the intrinsic value, not calculating the 
naturally increasing value of all real estate, which will affect all classes 
of real estate in nearly the same proportion, and hence need not be 
considered in a comparative statement. 

Taking our vast mining interest as a unit of measurement, we see that 
our agricultural interest employs nearly eighty times as many men, and 
one hundred and forty-one times as much capital. 

Again, the value of the agricultural products of St. Louis County is 
each year equal to or exceeds the entire annual mineral products of the 
whole State. The annual agricultural products of Saline, Franklin and 
Johnson counties each exceed in value two-thirds of the annual mineral 
products of the State. 

The counties of Pike, Clay, Cooper, Lafayette, Platte and St. Charles 
each produce yearly from their farms more than one-half the value of 
all the annual mineral product of the State. 

The greatest mineral product of any one county, except St. Louis, in 
Missouri for 1876, was valued at $750,000, while there were in 1870 
fifty-six counties (and probably seventy-five counties in 1876) which 
exceeded this in value of agricultural products, while eleven counties 
in farm products each more than doubled that amount. 

And while we all hear of Joplin as the wonderful "Lead Center," and 
while Granby has a world-wide reputation as a mining town, the fiict is 
that, even in the palmiest days of mining, the counties of Newton and 
Jasper, in which these famous mining districts are situated, produce 
each year more value from their farms than has ever been in one year 
dug from their mines. 

Again, taking the annual mineral production of the State as a unit, 
we have corn equal to ten; slaughtered animals equal to six; wheat, 
to four; hay to one; tobacco, about one; and butter, about three- 
quarters. 

In considering the agricultural capacity of the State, we must also 
bear in mind that while there are 41,824,000 acres of land in the State, 
that only 9,130,615 are under cultivation in any shape. This number 
of acres cultivated may easily be quadrupled, and the average yield per 
acre nearly as largely increased, so that ten times the present amount 
of yield is no fimciful or even exaggerated estimate of the agricultural 
possibilities of Missouri. It is only a fair anticipation of our future, 
that the time will come when Missouri will produce by tilling the soil 



582 MATERIAL WEALTH. 

one-half as much as is now raised in the entire United States .^ Then 
we may say with the poet, 

" Let her glad valleys smile with wavy corn, 
Let fleecy flocks her rising hills adorn." 

The census of 1870 shows that Missouri contains 148,328 farms, of 
which 691 contained less than 3 acres, 10,113 between 3 and 10 acres, 
17,431 between 10 and 20 acres, 55,988 between 20 and 50 acres, 38,595- 
between 50 and 100 acres ; 24,898 between 100 and 500 acres, 514 
between 500 and 1,000 acres, and 9 containing 1,000 acres or more. The 
average size of Missouri farms was 146 acres. The total value of Mis- 
souri farms was $392,908,047 ; tlie value of live stock on farms, $84,- 
285,273 ; the value of farming implements and machinery, $15,596,426 ;. 
total value of all agricultural property, $492,789,746. 

The average value of each farm in Missouri was $2,648 ; of live stock 
upon each farm, $558 ; of farming implements and machinery upon each 
farm, $105. The average value of each farm, including live stock and the 
farming implements and machinery thereon was $3,321. The total value 
of all agricultural products of the State was $103,035,759 ; the average 
value produced annually upon each farm, about $700.00 ; and the ave- 
rage value produced in each county, $903,822. St. Louis County is not 
only the commercial and manufacturing center, but, including the stone 
quarries, is also the greatest mining county in the State, and, strange as 
it may seem, also leads in agricultural productions, with an annual result 
of $3,556,476.1 Next in order comes Saline, $2,695,617; Franklin,. 
$2,551,092; Johnson, $2,417,873; Pil?e, $2,052,574 ; Clay, $2,032,770, 
followed in order by. St. Charles, Cooper, Platte, Lafayette, Lincoln, 
Callaway, Cass, Jackson, Pettis, Macon, Andrew, Audrain, Greene, 
Monroe, Lawrence, Ray, Chariton, Howard, Warren, Carroll, Buchanan, 
Sullivan, Henry, Lewis, Livingston, Harrison, Boone, Bates, Clinton, 
Perry, Caldwell, Jefferson, Linn, Knox, Nodaway, Atchison, Holt,. 
Davies, Gentry and Randolph. 

Some of the leading agricultural productions of the State were as 
follows : Corn, 66,034,075 bushels ; winter wheat, 13,222,021 bushels;, 
spring wheat, 1,093,905 bushels ; wheat, total, 14,315,926 bushels ; oats^ 
16,578,313 bushels; rye, 559,532 bushels; barley, 269,240 bushels;. 
Irish potatoes, 4,238,361 bushels; sweet potatoes, 241,253 bushels; 
cotton, 1,246 bales, wool, 3,649,390 pounds; honey, 1,156,444 pounds; 

1 The vegetable market of St. Louis is an important element in this item. 



AGKICULTUEE. 



583 



hay, 615,611 tons; wine, 326,173 gallons ; sorghnm molasses, 1,730,171 
gallons. 

Missouri seems to be the combined result of the gradual rising of the 
great sedimentary basin of the Mississippi, together with the volcanic 
upheaval of many different portions at different ages of the pre-historic 
times. 

The whole area of the State is excellently drained by the complete 
system of large rivers, and their innumerable tributaries. The hills and 
projecting ridges, with the channels worn by these various streams, are 
important features of the State's topography. 

Besides the broader and deeper valleys along the larger water-courses, 
which present vast alluvial deposits of inexhaustible fertility, there 




Mountain Scenery. 

are an infinite number and variety of lesser extent, especially in the 
central part of the State, among swelling hills and sloping ravines, 
where precipitous bluffs and rugged gorges add to the picturesque, effect 
of the landscape. 

The State contains nearly all classes of soil. Argillaceous, calcareous 
and silicious soils, arenaceous and alluvial loams, are represented by 
turns in the different geological formations, of the State, often blended 
with each other in such minute gradations as to make their classification 
a task of some difficulty. 



584 MATEKIAL IVEALTH. 

Missouri may be practically divided into two sections by an irregular 
line running from Hannibal to the south-west corner of the State. West 
of this line will be found nearly all the prairies of the State, while east 
of it lies the great bulk of its best timber land. To this general division 
numerous exceptions occur. Maiiy prairies, of greater or less extent, 
are found in the timbered portion of the State, while timber is frequently 
found, in considerable quantity and excellent quality, west of the line 
drawn, and groves of forest trees invariably skirt the streams flowing 
through the prairies. 

In this beautiful domain, so vast in extent and varied in feature, with 
pleasing contrasts of hill, slope and vale, meadow and table land, bottoms 
and sandy heights, timber land and prairie, the climate is so charmingly 
tempered between the extremes of heat and cold, and the soils are so 
varied in composition, exposure to the sun, and in the capacity for 
receiving and retaining moisture, that not only a fair, but an abundant 
crop of everything belonging to this latitude, may be readily, economic- 
ally and successfully cultivated. 

A volume interesting and profitable might, and we trust will some day 
soon, be written upon the soils of Missouri, "We have space for only 
a few general observations. 

The character and quality of soil depends largely upon the underlying 
geological formations. Where sandstones prevail, the soils over them 
need frequent rains, else the crops suffer from drouth. A sub-stratum 
of clay with a little lime, devoid of sand and poor in humus will retain 
too much moisture at the surface, and in dry seasons the clays become 
too hard for profitable cultivation. Where limestone underlies, the soils 
are dark, usually deep and productive. The soils having decomposed 
limestone are black, warm, productive and reliable. Iron in this 
soil imparts a red or warm color, and indicates fertility and long 
endurance. 

Missouri may be divided into five districts : 

First. What we may call the real prairie land of the State, is almost 
synonymous with the upper coal measures Ij^ing west of a line which 
leaves the Iowa boundary near northern line of Mercer County, and then 
running a little east of south into Chariton, near Salisbury, thence 
southwestwardly through the southern parts of Saline and Lafiiyette, 
the central part of Johnson, southwestwardly through the southern part 
of Cass, and the western part of Bates, and leaving the State near the 
northwestern corner of Vernon County. This district will include much 
of the richest farming land of the State. There are, of course, occasional 



AGEICULTIIRE. 



585 



tracts of inferior land included with these limits, but the soil is generally 
of uncommon fertility. This soil is generally based on a deep bluff 
deposit or on limestone, and is for the most part calcareous. It is 
generally at least a foot thick and quite black, yielding good crops of 
corn, grass, pumpkins, squashes, potatoes and turnips ; and lands that 
have been in cultivation thirty years, yield as abundantly as when first 
cultivated. Blue grass grows well when the prairies have been grazed 
down, and is probably for wheat about equal to the lands in eastern 
Missouri. 










Scene in Lafayette County. 

As an evidence of the desirableness of this part of the State for 
farming purposes, although it is the most recently settled part of 
Missouri, it is now the most populous. The counties in this district 
south of the Missouri River, had become almost entirely depopulated at 
the close of the war in 1865, but now are as thickly settled as any 
counties in the State. 

The Second Distetct lies just east and south of the above, bounded on 
the south and east by a line leafing the Kansas line near the south-west 



586 MATERIAL WEALTH. 

corner of Barton County, passing into the western part of Cedar, through 
St. Clair, Benton, the north-west part of Morgan, through the southern 
part of Cooper, the southern parts of Boone and Callaway, along the 
bluffs north of the Missouri River into St. Charles County, and thence 
south along the line of the Mississippi Bottoms to the Iowa line. Several 
counties lying south of the Missouri may yet be shown as properly 
belonging to this district. This district is mainly underlaid by the lower 
coal measures, and the better portion is based upon limestone. The soil 
near the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers is the rich mellow soil based 
on loose bluff formations, while in the interior the foundations are stiffer 
clays and the soil not quite so rich and warm. There are several well 
marked varieties among the soils of this district. That in the west and 
northern portion consists chiefly of prairie, often spreading out in North 
Missouri, into flat prairies. That in the south-west is rolling country 
with generally a sandy soil. The corn yield is generally good. The 
timbered lands in Eastern Missouri and in the counties along the 
Mississippi River produce very fine crops of wheat. A fine variety of 
tobacco is also produced on the thinner timbered lands. The hills near 
the Missouri River yield good crops of fruit nearly every year — the 
peach rarely falling, the grape always fine. 

This division of the State includes some extensive tracts of our best 
land. Such may be found in Howard, Boone, Callaway, Marion, Ralls, 
Pike, Lincoln, St. Charles and St. Louis. 

In the counties of North Missouri, and in St. Louis County, blue grass 
grows as fine as in the famous Kentucky blue grass region. 

The Third District occurs mainly in Southwest Missouri, and. is 
generally a strip lying along the border of the last described portion. 
It includes a strip in McDonald, Barry, Lawrence, Christian, Greene, 
Polk, Dade, Jasper, Barton, Cedar, Hickory, St. Clair, Benton, Morgan, 
Cole, Moniteau, Osage, Gasconade, Franklin, St. Louis and Jefferson, 
and thence passing southwardly. 

The soil is generally somewhat gravelly, and often mingled with red 
clay. Good crops of wheat and corn and fine crops of fruit are pro- 
duced, especially in those counties along the Missouri River, whose 
hills yield fine peach and grape crops every year. 

The Fourth District embraces all that portion of Southern 
Missouri not included in the above described sections, nor in the bottom 
and swamp lands. It constitutes an extensive tract, elevated higher 
than other parts of the State, it being from 1200 to 1500 feet above the 
sea. It is underlaid by sandstones and limestones, with an occasional 



AaKICULTlIRE. 



581 



elevation of porphyry or granite in the eastern part. The country is 
broken by stream channels, cutting down two hundred to three hundred 
feet below the tops of the bluffs, with valleys often as much as four 
hundred feet below the main distant ridge. 

Near the streams it is generally very rugged, with either abrupt or 
steep ascent to the hills. When the main streams are wide apart the 
country spreads back into a flat land, with light-colored soil, supporting 
chiefly a growth of post oak. When a little more hilly, black oak and 
black hickory are comm(m. 




Scene near St. Charles. 



There are extensive tracts within this district where the soil is either 
too thin or too rocky to admit of present cultivation. But all these 
lands will grow the grape. 

When those parts of Missouri that contain the richer soils are entirely 
settled up, and the land costs too much for careless farming or for men of 
moderate means to purchase, attention will then be tin-ned to this extensive 
district, where, by proper economy and thrift, good crops can be 
produced. There are frequently very rich valleys in this district which 
yield equal to any of the richer lands of the State. The valleys along 
the streams, near the south line, produce fine crops of corn and cotton. 

In the Fifth District will be found the bottom lands of the State, 
which are composed of finely-divided and thoroughly mixed sand, clay 
and humus in varying proportion, and are readily again divided into 
Bottom Prairie and Bottom Timber land. 

The Bottom Prairie has a rich, deep, dark, light, warm, productive 
soil of varying depth, Avhich, both in a state of nature and when 
cultivated, yields immense growths of vegetation. 



588 MATEKIAL WEALTH. 

The bottom prairies, when underlaid with porous sub-soil, are but 
little affected by excessive rains or drouth, while those (mainly in 
the north and west,) based upon clays are productive, and reliable when 
ditched or drained so as to carry off the spring freshets. 

The bottom prairie occupies a great part of the Missouri Bottom ; 
the largest areas being near Wyaconda, Huppan City, above Glasgow 
and near St. Charles. Some of these prairies contain from 20,000 
to 50,000 acres. 

The Bottom Timher land is in character very similar to the above, 
but ranges in all grades from high, dry, arable, productive land, bearing 
almost an upland growth and variety of timber, through the low bottom, 
wet bottom and swamp or cypress swamp. 

The radical difference in these varieties of Timberland Bottom is the 
amount of water in the soil or above the surface, and this varies from 
the best amount for production purposes, through the spongy bottom 
with constant saturation and occasional overflow, to the swamp, where 
water stands most of the year or constantly covers the surface, with 
varying depths depending on local rains or the height of the rivers. 
All these bottoms are valuable now for their timber. The higher bottoms 
yield bountiful crops. The swamp regions are mainly in the southeast 
part of the State, embracing most of the counties of Pemiscot, Dunklin, 
New Madrid, Mississippi, Scott, Stoddard, and parts of Butler and Cape 
Girardeau. These lands are surpassingly rich, and large areas are still 
covered with swamps, but the time will come, and that before many 
years, when these swamps will be drained, and these reclaimed lands will 
then compete in productiveness with the richest lands in the world. 
Fine crops of cotton are annually raised in this part of Missouri, and 
these 1,000,000 acres now given up to waste and water will yet be tilled 
until " the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and 
the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose." 

Timber. — "The groves were God's first temples." No description can 
adequately portray the beauty, grandeur and sublimity of our native 
forests. They are indeed — 

"Majestic woods of ev'ry vigorous green, 
Stage above stage, high waving o'er the hills 
Or to the horizon wide diffused, 
A boundless, deep immensity of shade." 

A few spots yet remain untouched by the leveling axe of the ever- 
advancing pioneer, but they are rapidly becoming less in extent and 

\ 



TIMBEE. 



589 



fewer in number, and a decade more will leave them only in the memories 
of those fortunate enough to have seen them, or in the words which the 
poet, inspired by their presence, has given to those less favored with 
genius and opportunity. In the rich warm soils of the river bottoms, 
especially in the southeastern part of the State, walnut trees 110 feet 
high and 22 feet in circumference, oak trees 125 feet high and 20 feet hi 
circumference, and sycamores 130 feet high and 12 feet in diameter, are 










recorded from actual measurement. These' monarchs of the forest, 
holding aloft their spreading branches, from which are beautifully fes- 
tooned the scarlet flower, the wild grape and other graceful drapery, will 
be recorded in scientific reports, sung in the nation's songs, or preserved 
in fact or picture as monuments of antique greatness, while their less 
prominent, but equally valuable, companions will be worked up for 
man's comfort, convenience and use. 

In many places within the State, various species of wood adapted to 
the mechanic arts are still found growing in great abundance. Ash, 



590 MATEKIAL WEALTH. 

walnut, birch, cherry , pojndus Canadensis or cotton wood, cedar, cypress, 
several varieties of oak, hickory and maple, mulberry, beech, chestnut, 
elm, locust, coffee tree, catalpa, tulip tree, and many other useful trees 
and shrubs, grow on the uplands as well as in the valleys. Large bodies 
of yellow pine cover several counties in the south and southeast. 
A portion of these lands is still held by Government, subject to entry. 

The preservation and renewal of timber is a question of vital import- 
.ance, not only to our State, but to the nation. The certain scarcity and 
consequent high price of timber, from the thoughtless waste and wanton 
destruction of our forests, now so frequently — we might almost say 
generall}' — in practice, demands the attention of intelligent and practical 
men. Fully one-half the full-grown timber of Missouri has been re- 
mored, much of it uselessly destroyed, within forty years. Should this 
wholesale destruction increase or even continue, we may well stand 
appalled at the impending ruin of such an essential element of comfort, 
necessity and prosperity. 

Prairies. — The prairies over the greater part of Western Missouri, 
do not exhibit the level and dreary uniformity common to some neigh- 
boring States ; they are, on the contrary, rolling in successive, wave- 
like ridges, and broken mounds, meandered by numerous streams, the 
irregular grooves skirting which diversify the scenery, and give a very 
picturesque effect. These fertile fields produce luxuriant growths of 
native grasses, almost equaling in nutritious properties the cultured 
varieties. 

In the spring and early summer, these beautiful prairies, clothed with 
their grassy carpets, and studded with innumerable flowers of various 
sizes and brilliant hues, present a scene of unsurpassed loveliness. 

" These are the Gardens of the Desert, these 
The unshorn fields, boundless and beautiful, 
For which the speech of England has no name — 
* * * * 

Man hath no part-dn all this glorious work: 

The hand that built the firmament hath heaved 

And smoothed these verdant swells, and sown their slopes 

With herbage ; planted them with island groves, 

And hedged them in with forests. Fitting floor 

For this magnificent temple of the sky — 

With flowers whose glory and whose multitude 

Eival the constellations ! The great heavens 

Seem to stoop down upon the scene in love. — 

A nearer vault, and of a tenderer blue. 

Than that which bends above the eastern hills." 



PEAIEIES. 591 

With the exception of a very few localities of unimportant extent, this 
immense area of prairie is not only tillable, but even of surpassing 
fertility, producing, with comparatively little labor, immense crops, 
especially of wheat, corn and other grain. 

In some of the southern counties, especially in the overflowed and 
swampy region of the south-east, extensive areas are covered by " cane- 
brakes," the dense foliage of which affords, during the entire year, 
shelter and food for stock, and a cover for numerous wild animals. This 
land is nearly all susceptible of drainage, when some of it will be the 
richest soil in the State. 

CoEN" far exceeds in value any other product of the State. It is in 
fact equal in value to one-fourth of all the agricultural products of the 
Commonwealth . 

The semi-tropical temperature of our summers, the arenaceous and 
clay loams of our uplands, and the alluvial and sandy loams of the 
bottoms, point to Indian corn as the great staple of the Mississippi 
Valley. 

Corn is a native of America, has been cultivated in Mexico and in Peru 
from time immemorial, and, next to rice, furnishes food for the greater 
number of the human race. It is the most valuable gift of the New 
World to the Old. 

A deficiency in this crop directly raises the price of beef, pork and 
butter, and indirectly affects the price of all other breadstuffs. It is 
one of the surest crops, and a total failure of this staple seems almost 
beyond the reach of possibility. No crop is so easily worked, so little 
liable to damage by variation of climate, or to injury in the field or 
granary, or yields so large an increase, — often a thousand-fold. 

Corn is profitably raised in every county in the State : Saline carrying 
the banner with over 2,000,000 bushels ; Johnson, Clay, Cass, Lafayette, 
Jackson, Platte, Holt, Atchison, Nodaway, Ray, Cooper, Carroll, Henry, 
Clinton, Boone, Andrew, Buchanan, St. Louis, Callaway, St. Charles, 
Pettis, Chariton, Howard, Bates, following in the order named, with 
from 2,000,000 to 1,000,000 bushels each. The product of the State for 
1876 was about 75,000,000 bushels. 

To fully appreciate the importance and beauty of this Queen of cereals, 
it must be seen as it covers the deep, porous alluvium bottoms of a west- 
ern river ; its millions of stalks clothed in majestic and richest green, 
waving their feathery plumes and swaying their pendant and silky tassels 



592 MATERIAL WEALTH. 

in the summer breeze, beneath the gleaming, glittering, life-giving 
radiance of a July sim. Well may the poet sing : 

"A song for the plant of my own native West, 

Where nature and freedom reside, 
By plenty still crowned, and by peace ever blest. 

To the corn ! the green corn of her pride ! 
In climes of the East has the olive been sung, 

And the grape been the theme of their lays, 
But for thee shall a harp of the backwoods be strung, 

Thou bright, ever beautiful maize. 

"With spring-time and culture, in martial array 

It waves its green broadswords on high. 
And fights with the gale, in a fluttering fray, 

And the sunbeams, which fall from the sky; 
It strikes its green blades at the zephyrs at noon. 

And at night at the swift-flying fays. 
Who ride through the darkness, the beams of the moon, 

Through the spears and the flags of the maize, 

"When summer is fierce still, its banners are green, 

Each warrior's long beard groweth red. 
His emerald-bright sword is sharp-pointed and keen. 

And golden his tassel-plumed head. 
As a host of armed knights set a monarch at naught. 

They defy the day-god to his gaze. 
And, revived every morn from the battle that's fought, 

Fresh stands the green ranks of the maize. 

"But brown grows the autumn, and sere grows the corn, 

And the hiUs are all mellowed in haze, 
And dry grow the leaves which protecting infold 

The ears of the weU-ripened maize. 
At length, Indian Summer the lovely, doth come. 

With its blue frosty nights, and still days. 
While Fall, creeping on like a monk 'neath his hood. 

Plucks the thick-rustling wealth of the maize. 

"And the heavy loads creak to the bam large and gray, 

Where the treasure securely we hold. 
Housed safe from the tempest, dry-sheltered away. 

Our blessing more precious than gold ! 
And long, for this manna that springs from the sod 

Shall we gratefully give Him the praise. 
The source of all bounty, Our Father and God, 

Who sent us from heaven the maize ! " 



LIVE STOCK. 593 

Live Stock. — ^^Next to the corn crop, and very largely dependent 
upon it, is the value of live stock, which aggregates nearly $100,000,000, 
the yearly product being about $25,000,000. Nearly half this value is 
imparted by the corn fed to animals intended for slaughter. Missouri 
very happily unites the most desirable requisites for successful stock- 
raising. Occupying a middle place between her Northern and Southern 
sisters, she suffers neither from the long-continued and excessive heat 
of the one, nor from the jfierce frosts and interminable winters of the 
other. Within her boundaries there are something over 67,000 square 
miles of country rarely blessed with hill and valley, and plain of 
unequaled fertility, watered by the innumerable tributaries of the Mis- 
souri and Mississippi, and suited to the successful cultivation of the 
products which supply the daily wants of man and beast. In nearly 
every section of the State, blue grass, the husbandman's staunchest 
friend, grows spontaneously and luxuriantly. Its solid sod, affords 
pasture for horses and cattle for nine months in the year, and even on the 
bare hills of the mining counties, fine range may be found for flocks 
such as might have been the pride of Job in his latter and better days. 

With an abundant supply of water in every section ; with extensive 
ranges of prairie and timber land; together with the abundant crops of 
corn, oats and hay for winter consumption, there is no reason why 
Missouri should not be the great stock-raising State of the Union. 

Saline leads in this element of wealth, followed in order by Audrain, 
Platte, Clay, Clinton, Cass, Andrew, Boone, Lafayette, Callaway, 
Johnson, Cooper, Pike, Howard, Atchison, Lincoln and Pettis. 

Wheat may be a native of Africa or Asia, and it matters little which, 
for we accept it, not on nativity, but on the sounder basis of character. 
While wheat is third on the list of agricultural productions in point of 
value, it confessedly and deservedly stands at the head in importance as 
an article of human food. The flour made from wheat, especially when 
not too finely bolted, contains more nutrition of a better kind than is 
given by any other cultivated cereal. 

Except in a few of the northern counties, spring wheat is but little 
grown, the main attention being bestowed on the winter varieties, which 
are especially a favorite crop upon the loess and clay loams and white 
oak uplands of the State. The fact that Missouri flour ^ carries the 

1 The Medal of Merit at the "World's Exposition at Vienna, in 1873, for the best flour in 
the world, was awarded to Colonel George C. Thilenius, of Cape Girardeau. This 
flour was manufactured at the Cape City Mills, from wheat grown in Cape Girardeau 
County, in 1872. 

38 



i94 



MATEKIAL WEALTH. 



Vienna premiums, is alike tlie glory of our farmers and millers, and 
gives our State just canse for congratulation. 

The average yield and certainty of the crop has been materially 
increased by the use of the drill in seeding. The drill saves seed, and 
deposits it in regular quantity and at any required uniform depth, thus 
protectino* the roots from, alternate frosts and thaws, a consideration of 
the utmost importance on sandy or thin clay soils, in our open winters. 

St. Charles County leads in this valuable staple, producing nearly 
1,000,000 bushels annually. Franklin raises nearly three-fourths as 
much, and is followed in order by Johnson, St. Louis, Pike, Lafayette, 
Howard, Saline, Cooper and Lincoln. 




Oats.— The oat is of all gramineous plants the easiest of culture ^ 
growing on any soil that admits of plowing and harrowing. Although 
better adapted to a more northern climate, whore it grows to greater 
perfection, both in quantity and quality, it is still an important crop in 
Missouri, where the yield is annually of more value thau the yearly 
product of all the mines in the State. While the oat crop is an important 
one, it does not figure very largely in our market, as it is mainly for 
home consumption. 



TOBACCO AND COTTON". 595 

Tobacco. — The variety of tobacco generally cultivated in America is 
a native of Mexico or the West Indies, and is an annual, belonging to 
the Solarium family, which also includes the potato, tomato and some 
other important plants. Missouri ranks sixth among the tobacco- 
producing States. While the late civil war exercised a depressing 
influence upon tobacco culture, it still forms one of our most important 
agricultural interests. Missouri tobacco enjoys a fine reputation for 
excellence, and the State, no doubt, embraces some of the best tobacco 
lands in the country. Careful and improved methods of cultivation and 
curing will no doubt increase the quantity produced, and ere long give 
a quality equal to any grown in the same latitude. It is a staple in every 
county in the State, Chariton leading off with an annual production of 
3,000,000 pounds, followed by Callaway, Lincoln, Howard, Franklin, 
Randolph and Pike producing nearly 1,000,000 pounds each. 

Cotton. — This textile plant is probably indigenous to both hemi- 
spheres. Herodotus of old described it as a tree "having for its fruit 
fleeces more delicate and beautiful than wool." The variety raised in 
Missouri is known as common or upland cotton, Gossypium Herhaceum. 
Only the southern part of the State comes within the isothermal line 
which incloses the cotton belt of the United States. It is only within 
this belt that we find the required mean summer temperature, and the 
necessary length of the growing season to render cotton profitable as 
a g;eneral crop. 

The principal cotton-growing counties of Missouri are, Stoddard, 
leading oft* with a yield of about 500 bales, followed by Scott, Pemiscot, 
Butler, New Madrid, Lawrence and Mississippi; while some thirty 
counties yield different amounts down to a single bale, besides important 
"garden patches" used in home consumption and not baled oi- reported. 
From this we readily see that while Missouri cannot hope to rank among 
the leading cotton States of the Union, and that while this greatest of 
all textile plants must in a measure ever remain as a leading staple to 
latitudes lower than our own, still its cultivation can be made sufficiently 
remunerative to very materially augment our agricultural production. 
All the southern counties will certainly give increased attention to its 
cultivation, and as the southeastern bottom lands are drained, the 
production of this important staple will doubtless be largely increased. 

Hay and Grass. — This very important crop is receiving more atten- 
tion, and as the State is more closely cultivated, the annual yield will be 
largely ijicreased in amount and very greatly improved in quality. The 
quality and quantity of live stock is so intimately connected with the 



596 MATERIAL WEALTH. 

grasses of the State, that this product wi'l merit and receive the increased 
attention which its magnitude demands. Although our winters are short 
and our hay crop almost exclusively used for home consumption, still, its 
value equals in amount the entire mineral production of the State. 

Potato. — This most valuable esculent is a native of South America, 
and was unknown in Europe until 1586, when it was introduced into 
England. It is the healthiest, most nutritious, most productive and 
cheapest edible plant grown. Although some parts of Missouri present 
too warm a soil and too tropical a climate to raise the best grade of 
potatoes, still the crop is a general one and the quality good, while the 
quantity is sufficient for home consumption with a considerable surplus 
for the southern market. 

The Sweet Potato is a member of the Morning Glory family and a 
native of the East Indies, and was known to civilization as a delicacy and 
an important edible long before "The Potato." It delights in a sandy 
loam and a semi-tropical climate, is one of our surest and most profitable 
crops, and fills the same place in the Southern States that the Irish 
Potato does in the north. 

Wool.. — The soil and climate of Missouri are peculiarly well adapted 
to sheep-raising. With adequate protection against dogs and for the 
extinction of wolves, sheep-farming will be greatly increased, and become 
highly profitable. 

Sorghum, which was so largely cultivated during the war, is still 
raised in considerable quantities for local consumption. 

Broom Corn, Buckwheat, Castor Beans, White Beans, Peas and 
Hops are successfully grown in limited quantities. 

Garden Vegetables are an important article both of food and com- 
merce. Peas, beans, turnips, onions, tomatoes, cabbage, and many 
other economic plants suited to our soils and climate, are found in our 
markets at all seasons ; and in St. Louis County this department of 
industry jdelds about $500,000 annually. 

Orchard Products. — The manao-ement of an orchard is among- the 
most delightful as well as most certain and remunerative occupations in 
the whole rano^e of ao;riculture. 

Fruits of every kind and variety usual to the temperate zone flourish 
in Missouri, and display their delicate luxuries in our orchards and upon 
our tables in great profusion. The golden apple, the juicy pear, the 
downy-cheeked peach, attract by their beauty and delicious taste, and 
afford a healthful and important article of consumption and domestic 
economy. Chills and fever, the stumbling block of the physician, may 



APPLES, PEAE, PEACH AND CHEKKTES. 



597 



be greatly controlled, if not entirely prevented by a liberal and general 
use of the fruit raised where the malaria exists. 

Apples. — The soil of Missouri is favorable to the Apple, and it attains 
its highest perfection on our numerous bluffs and ridges of moderate 
elevation. The fruit matures daring a long succession of months, and is 
found in our markets in abundance and at reasonable prices nearly all 
the year round. Apple orchards of greater or lesser size are met with in 
every pari of the State, and the products are shipped South and West in 
considerable quantities. 




Scene in Pemiscot County 

The Pear. — In the cultivation of this fruit a deep, well-drained, 
moderately fertile soil is indispensable to success. Oar pears, while not 
so showy or highly colored as the varieties grown in California, surpass 
them in juiciness and delicate flavor. The most serious impediment to 
profitable pear culture is the scourge known to pomologists as the Frozen 
Sap or fire blight, for which no certain remedy has as yet been found. 
It prevails with more or less intensity throughout every State situated 
east of the Rocky Mountains. 

The Peach is often chary of its delightful fjivors in the northern part 
of the State, but under the milder and more genial clime of the South 
and Center, peaches of the most excellent quality are produced in plenty. 
The consumption of peaches is confined mainly to home use and the 
St. Louis market. 

Cheeries of the acid Morrello type, abound in great plenty and bear 
constant crops. Duke, Bigarreau and other varieties of the sweet cherry 
are not entirely hardy, and are grown only in a limited way. Plums, 



598 MATERIAL WEALTH. 

Apricots and Nectarines succeed well, but their culture is neglected on 
account of the repeated and annually — recurring destruction of the 
unripe fruit by sevei-al insects belonging to the family of Ourculionidoe. 

Small Fruit. — Various kinds of cultivated berries come in during 
the summer, supplying the eye and the palate with a variety of fragrant 
and delicious dainties; while their pleasantly-acidulated jnices exert a 
wholesome influence upon the human system at this approach of warm 
weather. Great progress has been made in small fruit culture and a 
much wider area is now devoted to their cultivation than formerl}'-. 

Strawberries, Gooseberries, Currant, Baspberries and Blackberries 
yield satisfactory returns for the capital and labor invested. 

Grape-Growing has promised wonderful results for the State, but so 
far the promise has not been fully realized, and just now many are raising 
the vital questicm, "Will grape-growing and wine-making in Missouri 
pay in the future?" This question is one of vast importance, not only to 
those who have invested time and money in the vine, but also to the 
future prosperity of the State : for it is asserted, by those who ought to 
know, that Missouri contains more acres of land adapted to grape culture 
than is occupied by all the vine3'ards of France. 

There is no doubt that many who have entered into grape-growing 
with visions of luscious grapes, excellent wines, and plethoric purses, 
have not realized their anticipations. As a few engaged in viticulture 
and wine-making have been uniformily successful, while the many do 
not make it pay, there must be good reason for both results. The 
causes of failure will be found in ignorance of the cultivation required 
for the grape, or of the manipulation necessary in making the wine, or in 
the nesflect to use these fundamental and vital elements of success. 

From innumerable interviews with all classes of grape-growers and 
vintners, it seems certain that, in this department, disappointment and 
failure wait upon ignorance and neglect, while paying success just as 
certainly follows intelligent culture and scientific wine-making. 

Grape vines will grow anywhere, and produce grapes in almost any 
situation, but it is very foolish to suppose that every soil and situation 
will yield grapes, either of fair quality or in such quantities as to make 
it pay. There is a great difference in the quality and quantity of the 
same variety of grape, on different soils. This is fully appreciated in all 
grape-growing countries, and Missouri will not be any exception. 

Only careful study and large exj)erience can fully determine how the 
peculiar character and excellence of each variety of grajDe can be best 
developed, by giving it the required soil, necessary situation, best 
exposure to sun, breeze and climatic influence. 



GEAPE-GEOWING. 599 

Certain localities will ere long become as noted for their wonderful 
products of certain varieties of grapes and flavor of wine, as the famous 
districts of the Old World. Only intelligent, careful and persistent 
experiment can determine the locality, the variety, or the result. 

The localities selected must be properly prepared, and when the 
variety best suited to that location and the 'desired result, has been 
properly planted, the cultivation and attention must be careful, intelli- 
gent and thorough. Grafting of the finer varieties, on the hardier roots, 
may, and probably will, prove the panacea for many ills. 

If the grapes are to be marketed, take only good evenly ripened 
bunches ; pick out all unripe, decayed, dried or broken berries ; handle 
carefully, pack in shallow boxes or baskets, send them to market in the 
freshest and most perfect condition possible, and they will, as they 
always do, bring twice the price that can be obtained if they are roughly 
picked, thrown promiscuously into large boxes or baskets, with^the 
unripe and imperfect berries, hauled in lumber wagons, over rough roads, 
and presented in the market buised, broken, beaten into a jelly.'' 

Good wine can only be made from good grapes, by those who under- 
stand the business and have the facilities. To obtain the best results, 
the vintner must know what is required from the grape, and what from 
the treatment. He must be able to analyze the grape, and have the 
instruments and appliances to perform this" operation, thus determining 
the proportions of sugar, acid, flavor, etc., and must know how to assist 
Nature by adding what she has not supplied, as well as by diluting 
whatever may be in excess. Each variety will require peculiar handling 
during the several stages of pressing, racking and keeping the wines! 
He must have the necessary casks, cellars, buildings, all of which 
requires much capital. 

It requires but Httle thought to see that the best results will be attained 
here as it is in most wine-growing countries, when the many raise the 
grape, while a few in each locality who have skill, experience and capital, 
manufacture the wines. This division of labor is already adopted in 
most branches of combined agricultural and manufacturing industries. 
One class raises the grain, cattle, cotton, tobacco, while another class 
manufactures the flour, packs the meat, spins the cloth, or prepares the 
fine-cut or kinnikinnick. 

In addition to the Concord, and N'orton's Virginia, our grape-growers 
are giving attention to the Martha, an attractive market grape, a liealthy 
and hardy variety. The Herhemont, needing a southern exiDosure and 
warm light soil, is very productive, and makes a delicate wine. The 



600, :material wealth. 

Goethe, doing best in a sandy soil, needing severe pruning, and ripening 
late, is very productive, a splendid table and market grape, and makes 
a good wine. The Massasoii delights in a sandy soil, considerable care 
in pruning, is an excellent grape, very productive, of beautiful color, 
and early. It is a favorite in the market, and makes an excellent 
white wine. The Rulander and the Louisiana are superior grapes and 
yield very fine wines. The Oyntliiana is hardy, healthy and productive, 
and adapted to general culture. It yields the choice red wine, which 
received the Golden Medal at the Vienna Exposition, thus giving it 
a world-wide reputation. 

To show what is thought of Missouri wines abroad, we quote from 
a letter written by Mr. Dougsset, of Montpellier, France, and received 
by one of our most successful and reliable vintners. He writes : "I duly 
received the two boxes of wines sent by you. They were exhibited by 
me before the International Congress of Viticulture just held at 
Montpellier, and tested by a committee of thirty members, officially 
appointed for that purpose. They were about the best connoisseurs of 
France. Norton's Virginia and Cynthiana, as red wines ; Martha, 
Goethe, and above all, Hermann and Rulander, were highly praised ; 
and the general opinion is that after we have re-stocked our vineyards 
with American vines, we will not regard the loss of our own very much. 
As to Concord, Ives, Wilder, North Carolina, Clinton, Herbemont and 
Cunningham, they will very likely become the vines for general cul- 
tivation in our arenaceous and in our black soils." 

This flattering verdict from such a critical and rival source should 
stimulate our wine-growers to renewed exertions, and fill them with the 
brightest hopes for the future of ready sales and good prices for first- 
class wines. 

Missouri needs only feithful, careful grape culture to become one of the 
greatest wine-producing countries on the face of the earth. 

Floriculture — Which is an industry attaining its greatest growth 
in a community of taste, intelligence and wealth, is already a large 
factor not only in the development of the refinement and love of nature 
.which is the constant result of the study and cultivation of flowers, but 
is likewise an interest of considerable material value. It employs in 
St. Louis County alone about $250,000 of capital and 250 hands, with a 
constantly increasing volume. 

Shav^^'s Garden, the foremost botanical collection in the country, is 
an object of pride to every citizen of the State, and of interest to every 
visitor, and has done and is constantly doing a most valuable work in 



FLOKICULTUEE. 



601 



bringing to notice the great beauty of flowers and illustrating the 
methods of their cultivation. It was established in 1837, and has 
been ever since under the able and intelligent management of its founder, 
Mr. Henry Shaw. Within its hundred acres are collected an unbounded 
variety of native and exotic trees, shrubs, plauts and flowers, in the 
propagation and improvement of which is brought to bear every advan- 
tage of nature and every appliance of scientific cultivation. 

With such a park of floral magnificence, where all are invited and 
welcomed, the knowledge of and interest in floriculture, both ideal and 
material, must ever increase. And we will probably find this beautiful 
industry doubled within the next decade. 



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CHAPTER Y. 

KATLKOADS. 

St. Louis, however bouiitifiilly favored by nature's highways in the 
Mississippi and Missouri and their tributaries, at an early day felt the 
pressing need of reaching the fertile plains and vallej^s of the interior, 
as well as having more speedy and reliable routes than the trouble^ 
some Missouri to the west and northwest, and the Mississippi and Ohio ' 
to the south and east. Hon. John F. Darby urged, and the Board 
of Aldermen called, a meeting Avliich was held March 3d, 1836, "for 
the purpose of taking action to promote the building of railroads". 
Mr. Darby Avas chairman of the committee to draft an address to the 
people of the State, etc. Its scope and purport is suggested by this 
single paragraph : 

" In sketching the outline of any great scheme of internal improvement, 
the integrity of the interest of the whole State should be kept constantly 
in view, and those lines of inter-communication which would most effect- 
ually connect the distant parts of the State, and harmonize their interests, 
should in our opinion receive most favor from an enlightened public." 

A State Convention was called, which met at the Court-house in St. 
Louis, April 20th, 1836. It was attended by sixty-four delegates from 
eleven counties. The city government and many of the leading citizens 
joined in an enthusiastic welcome to the delegates, who were entertained 
as guests of the city. .. 

The Convention projected two railroads, one to Fayette and Howard 
county, via St. Charles, and the other to the Bellevue Valley, via 
Pilot Knob, and then celebrated the future roads in a grand banquet. 

The charter of the St. Louis and Belleville Mineral Railroad Com- 
pany was passed by the State Legislature, in the Avinter of 1836-7, 
but the State refused to aid the measure ; and, as the money could not be 
raised, the road Avas not built. A Board of Improvement was organized 
in 1840, and made the survey of a road from St. Louis to Iron Mountain. 

The plans of these pioneers yvere not executed at once, not as at first 
designed. The interest in railroads, although agitated, did not bear tan- 
gible fruit until a later day. At this date, however, the railroads of 
Missouri have an aggregate of over 3,000 miles, costing about $200,000,- 
000 and traversing eighty four counties. 



604 MATERIAL WEALTH. 

Missouri Pacific— An enthusiastic meeting held at the Court-house 
in St. Louis, February 10th, 1849, adopted a series of resohitions, intro- 
duced by Hon. Thomas Allen, asking the Legislature to grant a charter 
and right of way for a railroad from St. Louis westward across the 
State. This charter, providing for a capital of $10,000,000, was granted 
March 10th folloAving. 

The corporators named in the charter were Thomas Allen, John 
O'Fallon, Lewis V. Bogy, James H. Lucas, Edward Walsh, George 
Collier, Thomas B. Hudson, Daniel D. Page, Henry M. Shreve, James 
E. Yeatman, John B. Sarpy, Wayman Crow, Joshua B. Brant, Robert 
Campbell, Pierre Chouteau, Jr., Henry. Shaw, Bernard Pratte, Ernest 
Anglerodt, Adolphus Meier, Louis A. Benoist and Adam L. Miles. 

Mr, Allen prepared an address to the people of the United States, and 
a convention was called, which met at St. Louis, in October, 1849. 
Fifteen States were represented. A national Pacific railway across the 
continent was discussed, and unanimously endorsed. An address to the 
people of the Union was issued, and Congress memorialized in its behalf. 

A meeting of the corporators, at the call of Mr. Allen, was held Jan- 
uary 31st, 1850. He presented an elaborate address in favor of imme- 
diate organization of the company, and the commencement of work under 
the charter. $154,000 was subscribed on the spot, and the company 
was oro-anized with the followino^ officers : Thomas Allen, President, 
Secretar}^ and Treasurer; and James H. Lucas, Vice-President. James 
B. Kirkwood, of New York, was afterward elected "as Chief Engineer. 
Books- of subscription were opened, and within a month $1,000,000 was 
subscribed by the citizens of St. Louis. 

The contract for building the tirst division was soon let, and on July 
4th, 1850, a multitude of people assempled on the south bank of Chou- 
teau's Pond, west of Fifteenth Street, to witness the ceremony of break- 
ing ground. Luther M. Kennett, then Mayor of St. Louis, in presence 
of the Governor, removed the first spadeful of earth ; suitable addresses 
were made by the President of the road, Thomas Allen, and by Hon. 
Edward Bates. 

The first locomotive, the "Pacific", was placed upon the track and 
run out to the Manchester road, in November, 1852, and the next month 
an excursion train loaded with the prominent business and professional 
citizens of St. Louis, and invited guests, ran out to Cheltenham, where 
the multitudes were entertained with a magnificent banquet given by 
Thomas Allen, President of the road. The first division was opened to 
Franklin, a distance of thirty-eight miles, in July, 1853, and the event 



RAILEOADS. 605 

celebrated with appropriate ceremonies. Mr. Allen, who had devoted 
so much of his time, one year gratuitously, to this noble enterprise, and 
to whose energy and untiring efforts, its organization and successful 
progress so largely belongs, resigned the position, and Hudson E. 
Bridge was elected President in 1854. The road was completed to 
Washington qnd Hermann in 1855 ; to Jefferson City in 1856 ; to Tip- 
ton in 1868 ; and to Sedalia in 1861. 

In May, 1861, all the principal bridges belonging to the company, includ- 
ing those crossing the Osage and Gasconade rivers, were burned. These 
two bridges were at once rebuilt, but the whole line from St. Louis to 
Sedalia was not again open for travel until the last of September, 1861. 
Again, in September, 1864, when the road had been finished to AVarrens- 
burg, 218 miles from St. Louis, the Confederate forces, under General 
Sterling Price, destroyed bridges, depots, machine shops, locomotives and 
cars valued at over half a million dollars. All these having been replaced, 
the road was again opened for business to Warrensburg, February 20th, 

1865. The road east from Kansas City to Independence was finished 
August 1st, 1864. On October 10th, 1865, the whole line between St. 
Louis and Kansas City, 283 miles, was opened for business, and in July, 

1866, the Missouri Kiver Railroad, extending from Kansas City to Leav- 
enworth, was leased for twenty years. Li November, 1868, the Osage 
Valle}^ & Southern Kansas Railroad, extending from Tipton to Boonville, 
twenty-five miles, was opened and leased to the Pacific road for a term 
of thirty years. In January, 1870, the Leavenworth, Atchison & North- 
western Railroad, running from Leavenworth to Atchison, was also 
leased for twenty years. In addition to these, the branch from Sedalia 
to Lexington was completed, as well as the branch from Kirkwood to 
Carondelet, so that in 1872, and at the present date, the total length of 
the Missouri Pacific Railroad is 425 miles, thoroughly equijpped, and 
with an enormous and rapidly increasing business. 

The track is of heavy iron and steel rails, fastened with fish-bar 
joints, and the road being perfectly ballasted, it is as pleasant and safe 
as any road in the country. All the new improvements, including the 
Westinghouse air brake and Buck's reclining chairs — in a word, every- 
thing invented for the comfort and safety of passengers — is in use upon 
this road. 

Commodore C. K. Garrison is the President of the company, and Mr. 
Oliver Garrison, Yice President and Resident Director; while the line 
is under the able and efficient watch-care and direction of Mr. A. A. 
Talmage, the General Superintendent, who is alike popular with the 



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RAILEOADS. 607 

Directors of the company, the employees under him and the public along 
the line and doing business with the road. 

The St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad, as at 
present organized and operated, is the result of consolidating several 
other originally independent railroad enterprises. 

The St. Louis and Bellevue Mineral Railroad Company was chartered 
January 25th, 1837. The first survey for a railroad west of the Mis- 
sissippi River was ordered by the State Government in 1839, on the 
nearest and best route from St. Louis to Iron Mountain, and was made 
by W. H. Morell. Captain J. Barney, by order of the National 
Government, made a survey, in 1849, from St. Louis to the South-west 
corner of Arkansas. A survey was made by Colonel James H. Morely 
in 1852, for a branch of the Pacific Railroad from St. Louis to Iron 
Mountain. Mr. Thomas Allen, then President of the Missouri Pacific, 
received, at the same time that he obtained the first State aid for the 
main line, a grant of the State credit for $750,000 for this branch. 

Under the charter for this branch, however, a separate company was 
organized in November, 1852, and a Board of Directors was chosen in 
January, 1853. The State aid was transferred to the new company, and 
the present line of the road detei-mined by a new survey in 1853. The 
first section was put down under contract in 1853 ; the first locomotive, 
made in St. Louis by William Palm, brought on the road in 1856, and 
the road opened for business to Pilot Knob, eighty-five miles, in 1858. 

The main object, in building the road, was to reach Iron Mountain 
and the surrounding mineral region, without a definite object of 
immediately proceeding farther, Luther M. Kennett was the first 
President, folloAved by Madison Miller, Lewis V. Bogy and S. D. Barlow, 
the latter serving eight years, up to, and including, 1866. 

The Company received from time to time, from the State, loans of the 
State bonds, amounting to in the aggregate to $3,501,000, and having 
failed for several years, in common with some other railroads, to pay 
all the interest falling due upon the bonds, the Legislature, on February 
19th, 1866, passed an act under which the road was sold at public 
auction, on Septemper 22d, 1866, and bid in for the State, for the 
amount of the interest and principal due. ,. Three commissioners managed 
the road for the State until January 12th, 1867, when it was sold to the 
"highest and best bidders," McKay, Simmons and Vogel, who took but 
momentary possession, which they transferred to Hon. Thomas Allen, 
who assumed the bond to pay the purchase money and to complete 
the road as required. Mr. Allen immediately appointed James H. 



608 MATERIAL WEALTH. 

Morley chief engineer, wlio surveyed several routes, whicli were fully 
reported tlie next July, when the present route, from Bismarck to 
Belmont, was selected, located and put under contract. 

Mr. Allen and his associates, on July 29th, 1867, incorporated them- 
selves, in accordance with the State law of March 20th, 1866, adopting 
the same name as the original corporation. The St. Louis and Iron 
Mountain Raih-oad Company, and acquiring the same right of property 
and franchises as had belonged to thit corporatation. 

The Legislature, on March 17th, 1868, confirmed the sale of the road, 
and comfirmed the title to all its property and franchises to Thomas 
Allen, his heirs and assigns, etc. 

Attorney General Wingate in April, 1867, commenced a suit against 
the State commissioners and purchasers of the road, to set aside the sale, 
and enjoining the company from proceeding with the construction of the 
road. The court overruled the injunction, but the suit proved embarass- 
ing and very detrimental. 

The sworn statement, certified by the Governor, and filed with the 
Secretary of State, showed that, notwithstanding this annoyaiice, the 
company had by Janusu-y 1st, 1868, graded forty miles of road-bed, and 
expended $809,300.73, including $225,700 paid into the State Treasury 
upon the purchase. 

Alleging that the company had not made the expenditure, nor the 
annual statement as requiied by the terms of sale, the Governor, without 
previous notice, on the night of January 18th, siezed the road. The Gen- 
eral Assembly considering the act uncalled for and the prete:;t frivolous, 
ordered the Governor to restore the road and all its earnings and property 
forthwith, and at the same time confirmed the title forever by the act of 
March 17th, 1868 ; and in six days thereafter granted the balance due 
the State as a subsidy to aid the company in building the Arkansas 
Branch. The Governor and his agents operated the road just sixty days, 
when it was restored to the lawful owners. 

On August 14th, 1869, the last rail was laid in the middle of the 
tunnel in Bollinger county, and the first train ran over the entire line. 
Thus notwithstanding all opposition and violent interruption, Mr. Allen 
completed the extension in about one-half the time required by law and 
the conditions of the sale. 

In order to arrange for a speedy and convenient transfer of passengers 
and freight between Belmont and Columbus, the company put in an 
inclined plane down to low-water mark at Belmont, erected a freight 
house, a passenger station, a house for shelter of engines, and a hotel 



EAILROADS. 609 

for the accommodation of their own men and detained passengers, and 
built a steam transfer boat. The company also secured a personal privi- 
leo-e from the city of Columbus, to put an inclined plane on that shore, 
and to run a track through that city to a junction with the Mobile and 
Ohio Raih'oad. By means of these planes and this transfer boat, the 
company are enabled to interchange cars with the connecting roads, and 
to handle passenger traffic within the station grounds of the Mobile and 
Ohio Railroad in Columbus. 

The Arkansas Branch. — The acts of March 17th and March 23d, 
1868, appropriated the unpaid portion of the purchase money and in- 
terest accruing after the date of the act, for the Iron Mountain and Cairo 
tmd Fulton Railroads ($674,300), and at the rate of $15,000 per mile for 
every mile completed within a certain time, and authorized a separate 
company to build the Arkansas branch. It was necessary to complete 
the first twenty miles on or before the 23d of March, 1871, and a com- 
pany was organized April 7th, 1870, with a capital of $2,500,000. Work 
was commenced in the Ml of 1870, and the first thirty miles completed 
February 23d, 1871, and the whole line was completed, to the boundary 
of Arkansas, November 4th, 1872. It was duly accepted by the State 
and the debt cancelled. Trains commenced running regularly over the 
line April 2d, 1873. 

The Cairo, Arkansas & Texas Railroad, with a capital stock of 
$2,000,000, and a land grant of 65,000 acres, extends seventy-one miles 
from Poplar Blufi", where it connects with the Arkansas branch of the 
Iron Mountain Railroad, through Charleston, where it intersects the 
Belmont line, to a point opposite Cairo, where it makes connections 
with the Cairo and Yincennes, the Illinois Central, and the Mississippi 
•Central Railroads, and with the steamers of the Ohio and Mississippi 
divers. 

The Cairo and Fulton Railroad, of Arkansas, was completed in the 
latter part of 1873. Connecting with the Iron Mountain Railroad at 
the Missouri and Arkansas State line, and extending southwesterly 
through Arkansas, a distance of 304 miles, to Texarkana, on the Texas 
line, it was, in fact, a continuation of the Iron Mountain Railroad, the 
two roads having nearly the same management and entirely common 
interest. 

Consolidation. — The St. Louis & Iron Mountain and its Arkansas 
branch, the Cairo, Arkansas & Texas, and the Cairo & Fulton Rail- 
roads, being constructed by nearly the same stockholders and operated 
in the interests of all. nevertheless kept separate accounts of their 
39 



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KAILROADS. 611 

property, earnings and expenses. As a measure of economy, efficiency 
and security, the directors of each company in May, 1874, consolidated 
the different companies into one, under the name of the St. Louis, Iron 
Mountain & Southern Railway. By making joint stock, and consoli- 
dating all the indebtedness of each, and reducing all to one management, 
their operations were greatly simplified and the whole of their common 
property enhanced in value, and they have thus formed one of the 
grandest lines of railway in America. 

This company now owns and operates 783.15 miles of road, including 
98.90 miles of side track, 70 miles of the main line being laid with steel 
rails. The road is equipped with 120 locomotives, 51 passenger cars, 
22 baggage, mail, and express cars, 1,008 box freight cars, 452 stock 
cars, 53 cabooses *and 1,119 platform cars. This is one of the most 
important roads terminating in St. Louis ; for, with its various branches, 
it is a feeder and distributor between that city and the Gulf States. 
The connections at Cairo and Columbus give to St. Louis the South 
Atlantic and Gulf States, east of the Mississippi, as a large and rapidly 
growing market for her merchandise and manufactures, and return to her 
the products of that region seeking a market in the West and North. 

The Texas line opened to St. Louis, and through her to the world, the 
States of Arkansas and Texas; and not only that, but it has been the 
source of a wonderful development which is but just begun. These States 
alone are a vast empire of agricultural and mineral wealth, the present 
value of which — boundless, almost, as it is — is only a shadow of its 
possibilities. This is illustrated in the item of cotton, the sales of 
which, before this road were opened, was, in St. Louis, merely nominal, 
but now reach the magnificent footing of nearly $20,000,000. 

The value and importance of this road, and the ability and skill of its 
management, is clearly shown by the fact that though but recently built, 
through a country then almost unsettled, and as yet but sparsely pop- 
ulated, its business now compares favorably with any of the older trunk 
lines in the Mississippi Valley. Hon. Thomas Allen, of whom we give 
a more extended notice elsewhere, and who is, by right of early effort, 
successful operation, and present position, the Railroad King of Missouri, 
is the president and financial head of the company. In the operation of 
the road and the development of the country through which it runs, he 
has gathered about him a corps of associates worthy of his leadership. 
General W. R. Arthur, the General Manager, is known for his ability in 
connection with many successful enterprises. A. W. Soper, General 
Superintendent, has ud superior for such a position. Commencing rail- 



612 MATERIAL WEALTH. 

roadiiig as clerk in the freight department, thence as conductor, through 
the grades to his present position, he modestly and worthily wears the 
laurels of his success. 

The St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern Railway, so long known 
jis the "North Missouri", came into the possession of the present com- 
pany in 1872. Several millions of dollars, beside the earnings of the 
road, have been spent on improvements. The road-bed has received 
much needed attention ; better ties have replaced the old ones ; much 
of the track has been relaid with the best quality of steel and iron rails ; 
iron and stone bridges have taken the place of wooden ones ; new and 
commodious machine shops have been erected ; nearly seven hundred 
miles of new fence built ; and the road equipped with new rolling stock 
of the best quality ; in fact, all has been done that money could do to 
make it in every respect a first class railroad. 

In its operation is embodied a comprehensive telegraphic system of 
handling trains, and a patrol for examining the track before and after the 
passage of every train, so that accidents are reduced to the minimum, 
and traveling by rail on this road is safer than by carriage or street cars 
in the cities. While safety of passengers has received the first and best 
attention, comfort has also been carefully considered, and has received 
successful attention. Included in this road's excellent equipment are 
Pullman's finest sleeping and palace cars, of the latest style and most 
elaborate finish, with all the modern conveniences, which are run on all 
trains. This company also introduced on all night trains, without extra 
charge to its patrons, elegant passenger cars fitted up with Buck's cele- 
brated reclining chairs, which are more desirable than ordinary sleepers ; 
and is entitled to the credit of being the first road in the country to con- 
fer upon passengers such accommodations gratuitously. The patantee, 
Mr. C. S. Buck, is master mechanic of this road, and under his direc- 
tion these cars have been built, especially adapted to these chairs, which 
are richly upholstered, and may be placed in a great variety of positions, 
while the cars are carpeted and provided with excellent toilet accommo- 
dations. This line is one of the principal connecting links between the 
East and the West, and one of St. Louis' favorites. With the Chicago & 
Alton Kailroad, with which it connects at Mexico, is a favorite route 
between Kansas City and Chicago ; the traffic between these shipping 
points forming an important item in the company's earnings. In connec- 
tion with the Central Railroad of Iowa, with which it connects at Ottumwa, 
the St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern forms the shortest and quickest 
route between St. Louis and St. Paul. As the latter line passes through 



KAILKOADS. 613 

the most fertile and best cultivated portions of Missouri, Iowa and 
Minnesota, both the local and through traffic, large as it is, must be 
wonderfully increased when the country is more fully developed and its 
products find market via St. Louis, the Mississippi River and the Jetties. 
Its connections with the Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Blufi"s Rail- 
road give a through line to Omaha and the great region west and north- 
west, and besides its own line, another track to St. Joseph and north 
eastern Kansas. In connection with the Kansas Pacitic, it makes the 
shortest route between St. Louis and Denver and the minins^ reo-ions of 
Colorado. The length of the main line, ruiuiing through St. Louis, St. 
Charles, Warren, Montgomery, Audrain, Boone, Randolph, Chariton, 
Carroll, Ray and Clay counties, is 275 miles ; the Centralia & Columbia 
branch, twenty-two miles; the Northern Division, running through 
Randolph, Macon, Adair and Schuyler Counties, 131 miles; and the 
Brunswick Branch, running through Chariton, Linn, Livingston and 
Daviess counties, eighty miles ; making a total length of 508 miles, 
beside double tracks and sidings. Tiie general offices are in the Repub- 
lican Building, St. Louis, and the officers of the company are as follows : 

B. W. Lewis, President, St. Louis ; James F. How, Vice-President 
and Secretary, St. Louis; R. D. Kohn, Treasurer, St. Louis; Thos. 
McKissock, General Superintendent, St. Louis ; M. G. Carey, Superin- 
tendent Western Division, Kansas City; G. B. Parsell, Superintendent 
St. Louis Division, Moberly Mo. ; A. C. Bird, General Freight Agent, 
St. Louis; R. W. Green, Purchasing Agent, St. Louis; C. K. Lord, 
General Passenger and Ticket Agent, St. Louis ; D. B. Howard, Auditor, 
St. Louis; S. T. Emerson, Chief Engineer, St. Louis; W. H. Selby, 
Master Mechanic, Moberly, Mo. ; C. S. Buck, Master Car Builder, 
Moberly, Mo. ; E. O. Hudson, Contracting Agent, St. Louis ; J. J, Mor- 
com, Car Accountant, Moberly, Mo. ; E. R. Mofl'att, Ticket Agent at the 
St. Louis office, 1 13 North Fourth Street, under the Planters' House. 

The St. Louis & San Francisco Railway. — This railroad, known 
first as the Southwest Branch of the Pacific Railroad, of Missouri, after- 
wards as the South Pacitic Road, was completed to St. Clair December 
14-th, 1858, and to Rolla January 1st, 1861, where it remained in statu 
quo for several years. The Atlantic & Pacitic Railway Company was 
created by Act of Congress, approved July 27th, 1866, and embraces 
the South Pacific Railroad Company (originally the Southwest Branch 
of the Pacific Railroad of Missouri), which was organized under the 
provisions of an Act of the General Assembly of Missouri, approved 
March 7th, 1868. The South Pacific received a grant of lands under an 



614 MATERIAL WEALTH. 

Act of Congress passed June lOih, 1852, of 1,161,205 acres. Under 
the Atlantic & Pacific Kailroad Company's charter, about 500,000 acres 
have been already received and secured by the company, namel}' 480,000 
acres in Missouri, and 20,000 acres in Arkansas. The receipts from the 
sales of these lands are applicable, first, to interest on the bonded debt, 
and the balance appropriated to paying ofi' the bonds, at a jDrice not exceed- 
ing 110 per cent. It was authorized to construct a railroad commenc- 
ing at Springfield ; thence west to the Missouri State line ; thence west- 
wardly along the 35th parallel of latitude to some point on the Pacific 
coast. It was finished to Yinita, in the Indian Territory, 364 miles from 
St. Louis, Sejotember 1st, 1871. It had also extended its line northeast 
and formed a junction with the old South Pacific Road, and on June 
29th, 1872, it had leased the Missouri Pacific Road and its branches for 
a term of 999 years. The lease was terminated by litigation, however, 
in 1877. 

The mainline of the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad is in opera- 
tion from St. Louis to Vinita, in the Indian Territory, a distance of 364 
miles. The Beaver Branch increases this distance to 369 miles. At Cuba 
connection is formed with the St. Louis, Salem & Little Rock Railroad, 
for Salem and Steclville, and which opens up the muieral regions of Sim- 
mon's Iron Mountain and vicinity. At Pierce City is the junction of the 
Missouri & Western, late Memphis, Carthage & Northwestern Railroad, 
which gives communication with tlie lead regions of Joplin, Oronogo 
and Lead Creek, and also to the rich agricultural districts of Southeast- 
ern Kansas. At Vinita connection is made with the Missouri, Kansas & 
Texas Railroad, thus forming a short and direct route to all Texas 
points. When completed, this road will form a most valuable route from 
St. Louis to the Pacific coast — through a region romantic and rich. It 
will traverse the great Southwest, which is untouched by any other 
road. 

The line is built along the "water-shed," the streams are numerous, 
and flow off in either direction, so there is no fear of damage or deten- 
tion from freshets. The underlying limestones are a constituent of the 
best soils, and the road traverses some of the richest mining, farming 
and stock-raising districts of the State. It lies in a region of long sea- 
sons, which, on account of genial springs and prolonged autumns' with 
moderate temperature both winter and summer, is peculiarly adapted to 
crops requiring such a climate. The ground is frozen only a few weeks 
in winter, and snow seldom lies more than a day or two. At difierent 
points along the line of the road are iron, lead, copper, zinc, coal, lime 



EAILKOADS. 615 

and timber enough to supply the State for centuries. The road owns 
large amounts of valuable mineral and agricultural lands, located along 
its line in the garden of the West, which offer very special induce- 
ments to those seeking for homes or for investments. 

Mr. C. W. Rogers is the able and popular Superintendent of this line, 
and to his superior management is due much of its popularity and suc- 
cess. The land department is under the direction of Mr. A. L. Deane, 
who can give all desired information as to the rich mineral and agricul- 
tural lands for sale along the line of this road. 

The Chicago Alton & St. Louis Railroad is one of the best 
equipped railroads in the United States, and one of the main lines of 
communication between St. Louis and Chicago. It has a very import- 
ant leased branch line, the Louisiana & Missouri River Railroad, in Mis- 
souri, running from Jefferson City, the State Capital, through Callaway, 
Audrain, Ralls and Pike counties. It passes through the important 
cities of Fulton, Mexico — where it forms a connection with the St. Louis, 
Kansas City & Northern Railway, — Bowling Green, — where it meets the 
St. Louis, Hannibal & Keokuk Railroad, ^to Louisiana, at which point 
it crosses the Mississippi on the Chicago & Alton drawbridge. 

The Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Company control 650 miles of line, 
beside side tracks and double track, making an aggregate of 805 miles, 
of which nearly 300 miles is laid with steel rails. 

This railroad runs through the very garden of Illinois and Missouri. 
The entire road-bed traverses the most fertile and thickly settled por- 
tions of those States, and the frequency of thrifty villages and large 
towns, which the traveler meets during a journey over it, is, to a care- 
ful observer, a sufficient explanation of its financial success, and its favor 
with the traveling and freighting public. 

Pullman palace sleeping and dining cars, the Westinghouse automatic 
brake, and Blackstone's platform and coupler, which are on all passenger 
trains, make this route, under the management of Mr. J. C. McMullin, 
its General Superintendent, one of the safest and most popular railroads 
in the country. Its good name in St. Louis is largely due to its ener- 
getic and gentlemanly ticket agent, S. H. Knight, Esq. 

The Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad.— In 1846, a meeting was held 
in Hannibal to consider the feasibility of building a railroad to St. Joseph. 
It was decided to ask the Leo-islature for a charter, and R. F. Lakeman 
was appointed to draft a suitable memorial' address. The Legislature, in 
1847, granted the charter and amendments. The corporators were Joseph 
Robidoux, John Corby and Robert Boyd, of St. Joseph; Samuel J. 



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RAILED ADS. 617 

Harrison, Zachariah G. Draper and Erasmus M. Moffiit, of Hannibal ; 
Alexander McMnrtry, of Shelby county; George A. Shortridge and 
Thomas Sharp, of Macon County; Wesley Halley Morton, of Lmn 
County ; John Graves, of Livingston County ; Eobert Wilson, of Daviess 
County, and George W. Smith, of Caldwell County. In 1850 a vigorous 
effort was made to obtain subscriptions to the capital stock of the com- 
pany. In February, 1851, the Legislature granted the credit of the State 
to the extent of $1,500,000 in bonds, on condition that the company 
expend a lilse amount in instalments of $50,000. 

The Board of Directors was reorganized and tlie following officers 
elected : E. M. Stewart, President'; Washington Jones, Secretary ; 
E. M. IVIoffatt, Treasurer, and R. F. Lakeman, Attorney. In the fall of 
1851, ground was formally broken at Hannibal. In 1852, Congress 
granted alternate sections of land along the line of the road to aid in its 
construction ; and a contract was made the same year for building the 
road from Hannibal to St. Joseph. After constructing thirty miles, Duif 
and Seaman, the original contractors, relinquished their rights, and the 
road was completed under the direction of Colonel J. K. T. Hayward, 
who had been sent out from Boston for that purpose. The line was 
completed in 1858, and was the first railroad communication between the 
Mississippi and Missouri Eivers. 

The Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad operates a line, which, 
together with the branches, aggregates 786 miles in length. This line 
makes its connection with St. Louis from Sedalia, over the Missouri 
Pacific road. From Sedalia it runs down through a rich prairie country, 
through southeastern Kansas and entirely through the Indian Territory 
to Denison, Texas, where, under another name, it is continued to the 
Gulf at Galveston. The main line runs from Hannibal southwestwarly 
through Marion, Ralls, Monroe, Randolph, Howard, Cooper, Pettis, 
Henry, St. Clair, Bates and Vernon Counties, with a branch through 
Johnson and Cass, in all 289 miles in Missouri. This is an exceedingly 
fertile belt of country, a large portion of it being underlaid with coal, 
and this road has already done much to develop its wonderful resources, 
agricultural and mineral. The general office is at Sedalia. 

The Illinois, Missouri & Texas Railroad is located from Cape Giar- 
deau southwest through Cape Girardeau, Stoddard, Butler and Ripley, 
counties to the State line, a distance of eighty-six miles, of which about 
forty miles are graded. This road, when built, will traverse one of the 
finest timber belts in the State, and pass near large deposits of iron ore. 

The Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad, running 



618 MATEELAX WEALTH. 

up the east bank of the Missouri, from Kansas City to Council Bluffs, 
with a branch from Amazonia, north through Andrew and Nodaway 
counties, has a total length of 275 miles, of which 201 miles are in 
Missouri. The construction and equipment of the road represents about 
$11,000,000. Geo, H. Nettleton is the General Superintendent. 

The Keokuk & Kansas City Railway Company was organized in 
1865, and reorganized under its present name in 1873. It proposes to 
build a road through Clark, Lewis, Knox, and a line of counties among 
the richest in the State, which have been hitherto without adequate rail- 
road facilities. The road is finished from Salisbury to Glasgow, fifteen 
miles. 

The St. Louis, Salem and Little Rock Railroad Company was 
incorporated in 1871. The road is built from Cuba to Salem, 41^ miles, 
with four miles of branch roads. The general office is at Steelville. 

The Missouri and Western, late Memphis, Carthage & Northwestern 
Railroad, runs from Pierce City to Columbus, and is in progress to 
Independence, Kansas. 45 miles of the road is in Missouri. 

The St. Louis, Keokuk & Northwestern Railroad, late Mississippi 
Valley & Western, runs down the west bank of the Mississippi, and is 
finished from Keokuk to Louisiana, and graded most of the way to its 
junction with the St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern Railway. 

The St. Louis, Hannibal & Keokuk Railroad, is finished from Hanni- 
bal to Bowling Green, a distance of thirty-two miles. 

The Missouri, Iowa & Nebraska Railway, running from Alexandria 
to Centerville, Iowa, has seventy miles of track in Missouri. 

The Quincy, Missouri & Pacific Railroad runs from West Quincy 
to Kirksville, sevent}^ miles, and grading is in operation on a portion 
of the western end of the proposed route. 

. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway, crossing the State line 
at Lineville, Mercer county, runs south through Mercer and Grundy and 
southwest through Daviess, DeKalb, Clinton and Piatt, to East Leaven- 
worth, a distance of one hundred and forty-three miles, with a branch 
twenty-five miles in length, to Winthrop, giving the road one hundred 
and seventy-two miles of track. 

The Burlington & Southwestern Railroad has sixty-five miles of 
track in Missouri ; it forms a junction with the Hannibal & St. Joseph 
Railroad at Laclede, Linn county, running east-northeast up the valley 
of Locust Creek, through Linn, Sullivan and Putnam counties, giving 
this section of the country an outlet to the North and Chicago via Bur- 
lington, and to St. Louis and the South via Hannibal and St. Joseph. 



Part V. 



dudktioii ir| ^i^^oufi. 



BY W. T. HARRIS, LL.D., 

Superintendent of Public Schools in St. Louis. 




Washington Universii:y, St. Louis. 



EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF MISSOUKI. 



Missouri shares with the entire Mississippi Valley certain general 
educating influences, which are of vast importance in the future develop- 
ment of the geographical section to which this State belongs. 

I have, on the following pages, given an extended consideration to 
these general influences, and have reserved for a brief summary the sta- 
tistics of school education. These general influences are of a permanent 
character, while the statistics of schools are changing from one year to 
another. 

In order to understand the meaning and significance of the Mississij^pi 
Valley and its civilization as a factor in the growth of the United States 
as a Nation, we must study tlie material and social causes at work here, 
and notice particularly the climate, productions, and commercial means 



622 EDUCATION IN MISSOURI. 

of intercommunication, together with the natural and conventional rela- 
tions which exist with the older civilization on the East, and with the 
unsubdued wilds of the Territories of the far West. 



I. 

THE INFLUENCE FOR TOLERATION. »" 

Our "national idea" as it is called, has proved a very practical power 
in the growth and development of the Nation. It is no mere visionary 
conceit, but something altogether potent. "A government of all the 
people, by all the people and for all the people," is an idea and an ideal 
at the same time. It appeals alike to the intellect, the imagination, and 
the conscience of mmikind ; and such an ideal organized into such a 
reality very naturally kindles the aspirations of the peoples of the earth. 
What the story of the "Fountain of Youth" was to the romantic Spanish 
adventurers of the sixteenth century, now, to the laboring population of 
the entire world, is the name "America." Hence, wherever facilities 
offer themselves for emigration, the people flock to our shores. Even the 
oldest civilizations, the Chinese and Japanese, vie with the latest in shar- 
ing our opportunities. The consequence is that we have an immense 
conflux of nationalities within our boundaries, and our social and politi- 
cal problems assume entirely new aspects. This mingling of peoples of 
all races, climes and national cultures, takes place more especially in the 
Mississippi Valley. Hence we learn here to solve a more important 
problem than the other sections of our country. We form at present a 
kind of borderland, whereon what is native and what is foreign meets 
and mingles, and where the fusion must take place that is to form the 
dominant people of this continent. Thus we may look with interest to 
any tendencies or degrees of development that have a bearing on this 
issue. Our future development is not to be so much oceanic as conti- 
nental ; hitherto it has been the reverse. The differentiation of our 
resources now causes a continual ascendance of domestic commerce over 
foreign commerce. The growth of inland towns keeps pace with this. 
The growth of railroad cities, such as Indianapolis, Rochester, Syracuse, 
Atlanta, could have scarcely been believed possible a few years since. 
Water communication was deemed an essential condition for cities of ten 
thousand inhabitants ; and when fifty, sxity, and seventy thousand souls 
collect in an inland town, one begins to modify his opinion as to the 
relative importance of the ship and the railroad. 



EDUCATION IN MISSOUEI. 623 

All along our eastern frontier — the Atlantic coast line — our historic 
development has been productive of wide and wider differences ; it is for 
the jjeople of the Gulf basin to unite them in a deeper unity. There has 
been a natural separation in that region ; the lines of communication and 
immigration running south and west on the same line of latitude, so that 
very little intermingling of population has occurred on the Atlantic slope. 
In the great "central plain" all the means of communication bring 
together the northern and southern inhabitants. A great trunk, with its 
branches extending in all directions is the Mississippi, with its Missouri, 
Arkansas, and Red, its Ohio, Tennessee, and Cumberland rivers. Those 
people who come west of the Allegheny system come within the effects 
of this confluent tendency ; each jostles against the other ; the rough 
angles wear off; toleration on a large scale developes ; for where different 
peoples mingle, each must learn to put up with external differences, and 
acquire the habit of discerning the traits of common humanity under 
strange exteriors. Thus the lines of activity of our people as a civil 
community are from north to south, while those of our oceanic frontiers 
are from east to west. It follows that we furnish the woof to the warp 
that is provided by the coast population. The woven product is a "stable 
equilibrium", while the mere warp or the mere woof by itself is liable to 
get into inextricable snarls. 

The union of isolated peoples whose further development causes further 
divergence from each other in domestic, social and municipal institutions, 
is also an unstable equilibrium ; it can be supported only by the "fate of 
the modern world," which is political necessity. ^ But in the United 
States we have a counteracting and centralizing influence against the ten- 
sions or antagonisms of the coast regions ; the great central plain extending 
from north to south, and furnished with the most wonderful means of 
water communication in the Mississippi and St. Lawrence systems. The 
natural avenues of communication tend directly to bring about close 
relations between the northern and southern inhabitants of this plain. 
Not only this, but the diversity of climate and soil furnishes that diver- 
sity of productions which gives a basis of trade. On the Amazon, 
which flows for three thousand miles along the equator, there is one 
climate and no variety in soil or productions sufficient to stimulate 
domestic commerce. What is raised along its banks must go to the 
mouth of the river and be shipped on the ocean to find a market 
where its produce is a rarity. Not so with the Mississippi, which flows 
through the variations of the temperate zone; from the extreme north, 

1 Napoleon's utterance : " ia politique est la fatality.''' 



624 EDUCATION IN MISSOUEI. 

where the summer is short and the productions are those of high Lit- 
itudes, to the Gulf, where the temperate zone verges into the torrid, 
and the fruits, spices, saccharine phxnts and drugs are found. Here is 
continual stimulus for trade and interchange. Even constant intermigra- 
lion is invited by the facilities of escaping the summer's heat and the 
winter's cold, by var^'ing residence up and down the river — living at St. 
Paul in the summer and at New Orleans in the winter. These are the 
natural bonds. 

Now, when we consider the artificial means of transit — the railroad, 
which is becoming so important as to be the creator of a wholly unique 
phase of civilization, we shall find that the natural avenues of travel are 
not to be superseded but reinforced and emphasized by the same. This 
will be evident if we consider the fact that the railroad makes an indef- 
inite extent of back country tributary to the river and ocean commerce 
and recipient of its gifts. Thus the railroads, in the first instance, 
connect the river and lake towns with interior towns, and these latter 
with each other ; this enables the river commerce to penetrate the 
country thoroughlj'. Then the second demand for railroads is occa- 
sioned by the incomplete nature of water communication. Sufficient 
speed cannot be obtained on the latter for all purposes. Passenger 
transit and the transit of goods of an extremely perishable character, as 
well as the rapid transportation required by special emergencies, must 
develope sooner or later, along the river, the demand for a railroad 
system to complete the river system ; hence the northern and eastern 
shore lines of the great lakes and more recently the northern and south- 
•ern railroads like those from St. Louis to Hickman, and thence to New 
Orleans, or from Louisville to Mobile, and northward to St. Paul. The 
railroad route is at first determined and directed by the necessities 
arising from natural lines of transit ; but its influence is so great that it 
overshadows and eclipses these natural avenues. But this growth is not 
adverse to the natural lines of transit ; it increases the aggregate amount 
of interchange between the very sections that the river and lake had 
before connected. Thus we see that the combining influence of com- 
merce is to increase indefinitely the closeness of the relation between 
the northern and southern inhabitants of the central plain. 

The healthiest relation of one people to another lies in the business 
relation which trade and commerce bring about. An interchange of 
material goods leads to an interchange of ideas, and each becomes the 
richer thereby ; for the communication of ideas is a transmission which 
■enriches not only the receiver but the giver also. Everybody knows his 



EDUCATION m MISSOUEI. 625 

own thought better, when he has succeeded in putting it in so clear a 
statement that others may understand it. Then, again, the acquirement 
of a new idea from another people necessitates a course of thinkino- to 
reconcile it with the previous notions we held ; this deepens the course 
of reflection, and when the reconciliation is found, we have a new idea, 
deeper and richer than either of the previous ones. 

-With depth of ideas comes strength of directive power. Hence,' 
where we find the synthesis of the widest sectional differences accom- 
plished, there we shall find the dominant directive power of the country. 
That in America, the Mississippi \^alley or Gulf Basin is to be the 
theatre of this process is manifest destiny, and cannot be prevented 
by any untoward legislation, or civil, social, or domestic revolutions. 
Were this valley small and incapable of supporting the bulk of the popula- 
tion of this country, the issue here spoken of would be a slow one ; but 
the natural resources of the valley are such that the generation now 
growing up to manhood will witness this result. In the census of 1870 
the population of this valley was, in round numbers, 19,000,000, or one- 
half of the entire population of the nation. This section increased dur- 
ing the ten years previous to the last census, four and a half millions, 
while the remnant of the nation increased only two and a half millions. 
And yet the last decade was one rendered entirely nugatory, by the civil 
war, for the purposes of integrating or solidifying our population in the 
manner here discussed. 

As it is, the work of redintegration— or of combination into one 
homogeneous mass— has begun and must continue, and with it our 
condition as a nation will improve rapidly. The concentration of polit- 
ical and social power in this valley will not threaten the population of the 
coast regions with dangerous combinations in behalf of hostile interests. 
The new growth is to be of a more generous species. It is necessarily thus, 
on account of the wide difl'erences it must harmonize. Toleration grows 
wherever different peoples mingle in peaceful business relations. A 
broad, cosmopolitan manner of dealing with private and public affairs will 
characterize the future inhabitants of this section. This will be a pro- 
tection of the rights of other sections against their own intolerance. 

Americans are accused of boastfulness by Europeans. No doubt there 
is justice enough in the accusation. Compared with countries of the Old 
World, we have a land of dreams and anticipations while they have the 
finished reality. The bank of possibilities does not require any discount 
on our drafts. What we are now is a pitiful reality compared with the 
prospect we see coming. We bridge the chasm with imagination and 
40 



626 EDUCATION IN MISSOUEE. 

count ourselves already in possession. What Americans in general seem 
to the Europeans, we of the West seem to our relatives on the Atlantic 
slope. We seem intoxicated with the wine of possibility. 

However this appears, we may reckon among the foremost wonders of 
the world in our day, the growth of such cities as Cincinnati, Louisville, 
Chicago, and St. Louis. And if, as the profoundest thinkers tell us, we 
are not to count what is a fixed and dead result as the true actuality, 
but that . we are rather to consider the living process that is ever 
modifying things and new-creating results in this world — then we do 
right to look beyond what is now accomplished and to account ourselves 
as possessors of the living force which is realizing our dreams at an 
increasingly rapid rate. What we are doing is a better standard than 
what we are. 

That a composite population tends more to the development of civil 
liberty than does a homogeneous one, has been remarked in all history. 
It was only after the fusion of the Cimbric Celt, first with the Saxon and 
Dane, and then with the Norman, that the Magna Gharta became possi- 
ble and necessary. The new fusion made on the shores of this continent 
has led to new and newer political experiments, always tending in the 
direction of the largest personal liberty. 

When people of repugnant manners and customs mingle, the neces- 
sity of living in mutual harmony and co-operation cultivates a habit 
of toleration ; each one learns to distin2fuish between what is merely 
harmless idiosyncrasy and what belongs to the essential conditions of 
humanity and civilization. Thus there is perforce a profounder mode of 
thinking cultivated — " a faculty of seeing identity under differences" — of 
recognizing personal virtues under strange exteriors. This is undoubt- 
edly the spirit that will prevail in all future civilization ; for the 
telegraph and railroad communication — intellectual and material com- 
merce all over the world — bring, and are bringing, into so close 
juxtaposition, all mankind, that each one lives, as it were, on the border- 
land and shakes hands with the people across his frontier. Everywhere 
a new synthesis of national characters is going on. Meanness and 
narrowness cannot withstand such influences. The product which arises 
from the mingling of elements is more concrete — richer in what it 
contains. Each nationality has learned something essential from the 
other ; the unessentials have been put to the trial under new circumstan- 
ces, and have gradually fallen away. 

Each nationality, each peculiar sectional trait, is clashed against the 
other, and the idiosyncrasies perish ; the rough angles are worn off, 



EDUCATION IN MISSOUEI. 627 

the noble traits of character survive, for they have the most vitality. 
Thus this valley is destined to become the habitation of the cosmopolitan 
type of American character. 

II. 

THE INFLUENCE FOR CONSERVATISM. 

The influence of an extensive border-land of wild, unsettled country, 
is a very important item in forming a correct estimate of the social and 
political tendencies of the American people. Rapid transit has brought 
the inhabitant of the thickly settled regions on the Atlantic coast so near 
to the primitive wilderness that he may leave his home in the city of New 
York, ajid after one day's travel by rail, find himself among the Aborig- 
ines on the north, or by two or three days' travel he may reach the 
confines of civilization on the west. The newspaper and the telegraph 
make this relation a still closer one. 

This constant realization of a face-to-face connection with what is sun- 
dered from us by thousands of miles, and widely separated by the degree 
of civilization, has a most wonderful effect in neutralizing the extremes 
of our social life. We love sensations, but these instrumentalities, just 
named, keep us constantly before the wildest contrasts, and thus reduce 
the strange to the familiar. The " Great Eastern " sails over the ocean 
without pitching and tumbling about, first in the trough of the sea and 
then on the crest, like smaller vessels, for she alone is long enouo-h 
to extend across the crests of three waves while ordinary boats can- 
not span two waves. So our newspaper-telegraph life actually keeps 
our emotions "level" by balancing one tension with others in the same 
daily issue. There is no other education in our time at all to be com- 
pared with this in its social power. It goes on daily, from the time the 
child is old enough to read to the time when the gray-haired sire drops 
into the grave. What is alien is made familiar and common; the per- 
spective of the world, with its difi'erent states of society, its difi:ereut 
objects and aims, opens before each and all. 

Not only is this the education of the people here in our representative 
democracy ; it is increasingly the education of mankind the world over. 
Japan feels it so strongly at this day that a desperate leap has been made 
across a chasm four thousand years deep. A potato sprout in a dark 
cellar starts for a small crevice in the top through which a gleam of lio-ht 
penetrates its gloom, and expends all its substance in the attempt to reach 
the open day. Plants worship the material sun ; the oriental civilizations. 



628 EDUCATION IN MISSOURI. 

luxuriant vegetable growths of humanity, worship the intellectual sun, but 
do not seem to attain to its possession as an individual gift. What pos- 
sibilities are in store for them we shall see when their public education 
lifts them into the newspaper life of our civilization. In this process of 
neutralization — this process of suppression of one's own peculiar views 
through the continual study of foreign life — the positive outcome is a 
life in which each nation or section adds to its own what it finds, desirable 
or available in others. 

Notwithstanding this general tendency toward the removal of all dif- 
ferences and antitheses, they remain and will remain, although modified — 
for their source is perennial. We shall not lose the variety which is 
''the spice of life." 

There is one phase of the evolution of social and political difference 
that is immediately connected with border civilization. It may be briefly 
named as follows : The net results of the political and social action of 
the people in a thickly-settled region are of a conservative nature, but 
the popular aspirations are radical. In a new civilization — in a border 
country— the reverse is the case : people are radical in their undertakings 
and accomplishments, but conservative in their aspirations. These state- 
ments I will endeavor to explain and illustrate. 

In an old civilization the nits and channels of activity are worn deep,, 
and the individual is carried along in them irresistibly, while in a new 
civilization the individual is forced to enter into combination with his 
fellow-man, and mark out these ruts and channels — these prescribed 
modes of activity. In the old civilization, the established order of things 
presses with a tyrannical force on the individual, and constrains him to 
act in its fixed ethical forms, whether he will or no — whether he perceives 
the rationality of these forces or not. He accordingly reacts against and 
challenges its theoretical basis, in order that he may understand it, and 
thus reconcile his practical endeavor with his theoretical conviction. This 
struggle must go on continually in the old civilization. In the newly - 
settled country there is no tyranny of external established authority ; 
the pressure on the individual comes from the opposite side ; he has ta 
exert himself for the organization of institutions where there are none, 
— for laws where lawlessness prevails. His great labor is to establish a 
universal, impersonal authority, a civil government to direct and con- 
trol the caprice and arbitrariness of the individual. This tendency is 
felt even by the impulsive and lawless themselves. Accordingly there 
is a general unanimity throughout the community in the theoretical 
acknowledgment of the importance of established order and good gov- 



EDUCATION m MISSOUEI. 629 

ernment. But from the fact that institutions are still in a weak, infantile 
stage of growth, and are as yet only arbitrary creations of the individu- 
als who are engaged in founding them, they are easily set aside. 

It is not a serious matter for one individual ta trample on the ordinances 
lately set up by other individuals like himself, although it is quite above 
ordinary mortal daring to violate openly by deed the laws and usages that 
have descended from antiquity. The appeal of Antigone against the 
ordinance of Creon obtained its force from this dateless universality : 

" For not to-day or yesterday arose 
These laws unwritten, but eternally 
They live and no one knows from whence they came." 

The proceedings of lynch-law have this phase of informality that 
makes all men instinctively recoil from them as setting up one great crime 
to balance another. The element of ex post facto comes into every pun- 
ishment for the violation of a new ordinance. For it takes time for the 
community to become acquainted with its provisions theoretically, and 
still longer to change their unconscious habits so as to prevent accidental 
slips. 

Taking a general point of view, we may speak of ail new and growing 
communities, as being engaged in making new ordinances, introducing 
more and more precision into the definitions of practical conduct. The 
increase of population requires this continual new definition of the prac- 
tical relations of man to man. Thus new crimes are distinguished on 
the statute book. But codes do not keep pace with the actual demands 
of the community ; its growth is always in advance of the progress by 
which it is formulated. Hence, there is an undefined instinctive feeling 
that the general impersonal power of the State or of institutions should 
be increased in order to secure a greater degree of safety for the indi- 
vidual. In this stage ot development the individual consciously identifies 
his own private interest with that of the commonwealth — of established 
law. 

From the same general point of view, the old fully-developed 
community is engaged in training its own spontaneous activity to run 
in channels long since prescribed ; its rational limits have been already 
formulated, and it has nothing left to do but to conform to them. The 
acceptance of its own rational laws is, therefore, a process of determining 
its own action by the ordinances handed down to it by others, rather than 
a process of the free creation of its own rational limits. Hence, there lies 
in the popular consciousness in old communities a protest against its 



630 EDUCATION IN MISSOUKL 

own established order. " The world is governed too much " thinks the 
Londoner, although he quietly submits to prescriptions as minute as 
those of Confucius or Mencius. The realization of rational order is 
always beyond the individual insight into its necessity, and hence he 
preserves his self-respect and retains a semblence of spontaneity by a 
theoretical protest. The established order is so thoroughly grounded that 
he does not think of resistiug it by deeds. It is his own rational well- 
beinsf in substance, but it has for him an irrational form. Man should be 
guided, not by a blind obedience of the rational, but by an intelligent 
obedience of what he sees to be the necessity of the social and political 
organism in which he lives. 

From these considerations we see how it is that the most radical 
theoretical utterances have come from the centres of the highest refine- 
ment of civilization — from Paris and London, for example. Amid the 
splendor of French civilization, in the eighteenth century, Rousseau 
writes his Emile, and portrays the popular aspiration of his time to 
throw off the civilization under which it lived. All its network of 
customs and usages are artificial, and ought to be repealed: "We should 
go back to a state of nature." The wrappages of conventionality should 
be stripped off. Chateaubriand, in his Atala, portrays the life of the 
Indian as the ideal. In Rousseau's doctrines we have the utter divorce of 
the insisfht of the individual from the rational insight into the social and 
civil organization in which he lives. It is utterly negative to all organi- 
zation, and hence, when it became a practical principle for human action 
in the French revolution, it proved its destructiveness by annihilating not 
only the old institutions, but also whatever new ones sprang up in their 
places. It said practically, "There shall be no universal standard by 
which the individual shall be measured and controlled." This enuncia- 
tion contradicted itself, for it announced a universal standard itself. The 
necessary consequence was a limitation of each individual by every other,, 
and the supremacy of immediate brute force. 

The limits of the individual are necessary in order that he may be 
an individual. If the individual limits himself by adopting the universal 
norm laid down in established law, he may be self-limited and thus free. 
But if he limits himself by following his individual impulses he will 
quickly find himself limited by the deeds of an individual or combina- 
tion of individuals stronger than himself. Thus, the history of the 
French Revolution is the reductio ad ahsurdum of the doctrines of 
Rousseau. There is little likelihood of a repetition of that species of 
demonstration in our time. The contradiction exists, however, and will 



EDUCATION IN MISSOUKI. 631 

continue to exist, although with less and less violence in the struggle of 
the opposing sides. The reasons already stated lead us to this conclu- 
sion. The perfection of the arts of transit, and of intercommunication, 
make possible for each man, everywhere, a realization in his thought of 
the opposite conditions of civilization. Society becomes mobile to that 
extent that its individuals may gravitate freely to the locality where their 
ideal is to be found. European society is saved from periodic reigns of. 
terror, by migration to America or Australia. The immigrants being 
compelled to foinid colonies, become constructive and conservative. 
They are vevy apt to think of the established order of the " old country" 
as a desirable feature, especially as they approach old age. The volcanic 
impatience of youth needs a newly-settled frontier for its held of activity. 
The pioneer has full opportunity for the exercise of more directive 
power than even the most headstrong is likely to pessess. John Smith, 
in the infant colony of Virginia, is a conservative, while in England he 
was too radical to be useful. 

Thus the East and the West, the old and the new, tend to develop 
counter-impulses in social life, and to neutralize them by intercommuni- 
cation. 

These differences re-appear to some extent in the political life of the 
two sections. The popular impulse must tend toward the realization of 
what it lacks. In the old civilization it will seek a sphere for its individ- 
ual freeedom, and hence, will chafe against the institutions and ordin- 
ances with which it finds itself surrounded and controlled. To have all 
of one's life cut out beforehand according to fixed patterns, leaves the 
individual no scope for his own freedom. The most active and restless 
spirits, accordingly, challenge these forms und ordinances. Hence, 
while the mass of the people move quietly on in prescribed forms, and 
attract no attention, the more aspiring, original and self-directive 
portion of the population draw public attention by their protests. All 
self-determining activity must be, in the first instance, merely negative ; 
it takes the form of doubt or skepticism, and becomes radicalism. 

In the pioneer civilization, while the less aspiring intellects are content 
to suffer things to remain as they are, all the genius and self-directing 
activity finds scope for its endeavors in securing and fixing the ordin- 
ances and institutions necessary to its civilization. Hence, the public 
manifestation of the people of the Mississippi Valley is rather construc- 
tive than neo-ative. 



632 EDUCATION IN MISSOURI. 

III. 

THE GROWTH OF CITIES AND THE " URBAN" PHASE OF CIVILIZATION CON- 
SEQUENT THEREON : THE SCHOOL EDUCATION DEMANDED BY IT. 

The achievements of human industry have created a new phase of 
human life — not only here in America, but throughout all Christendom, 
civil society is the organization in which humanity develops the means 
and appliances wherewith to accomplish its elevation from barbarism. 
It is the realm of invention — the realm of magic. It realizes the dreams 
of romanticism as conceived in the heads of the authors of the Arabian 
Nights, of Orlando Furioso, of Amadis De Gaul, of the Helden Buch, 
and the legends of the Knights of the Round Table. 

The construction of eighty thousand miles of railroad in the United 
States means a most radical change in society. It means the creation of 
a myriad of cities, where there were only villages before. It means the 
extension of 'urban or city life into the vast regions of country where 
before was only patriarchal simplicity. The railroad, with its accom- 
panying telegraph, provides the daily newspaper for every one of its 
stations, and there is instant knowledge, for every one of its inhabitants, 
of all events in the world worth recording. This daily peep at the 
great world has rendered insipid the former dish of village gossip, and 
has done much more to remove the distinction between country and 
town, which once existed as an important element of social and political 
ditference . 

But there is another phase of this influence of the railroad still more 
important. The railroad is the creation of commerce. Its most im- 
mediate influence on the country population is to stimulate them to 
division of labor and to exchange of products. It comes to pass that a 
mutual interdependence of the individual upon society grows up quite 
rapidly. Where the farmer once obtained his food, clothing and shelter 
almost entirely fiom the products of his own farm, and thereby enjoyed 
a very limited number of luxuries at a great expense of labor, unassisted 
by machinery, now the farmer exchanges directly his raw produce for 
the manufactured products of machinery and skilled labor. By this 
means a given amount of human industry accomplishes far more than 
before, and the wealth of society increases proportionately. This explains 
the immense growth of cities during the present centurj^ Manufacturing 
has doubled once in seven years. Increased transit facilities have so 
abated the friction of exchange that the raw material has risen in value, 
while the cost of the manufactured product to the consumer has 
decreased in the same ratio. 





ax 




SV^S'.^ 




EDUCATION m MISSOUKI. 633 

With all this increase of wealth and the facility of seeing and knowing, 
or of the transmission of instant knowledge of events to any distance, 
people have become closely related and dependent — each upon all. The 
railroad and telegraph have moved by far the greater part of the country 
into the city, and our national character has unavoidably changed and is 
still further changing. Not only our national character, but that of other 
nations all over the world, is being modified essentially, by this means. 

Certain well-marked social and political effects have resulted from this. 
Where each individual lives in comparative isolation from his neighbor, 
relations are very simple, and very little govermental influence is re- 
quired. The political government is consequently very simple in a 
country where urban life has not been developed. After the railroad 
system has become a net-work over the country, relations of each to all 
have so multiplied, and rights have become so complex and intertwined, 
that the political government is a very delicate and difficult problem to 
adjust and solve, requiring the greatest insight and practical skill. 

In the modern (urban) status of society, new vocations continually 
arise, one after the other, based upon the necessity of unity in the 
organism which society has become. Before any close unity existed 
between country and town, and while the town was very small, its func- 
tions were very simple and little was needed to regulate the same. But 
think for a moment of the business management of a railroad, requiring, 
as it does, a system of subordination of all the parts and members to one 
head directing it, so complete that all shall be a perfect unit. 

What immense directive power is demanded to unify all the parts of 
the system and prevent accidents and the loss of property through care- 
lessness and fraud ! Tiiink of the complex business of Insurance, with 
its manifold departments, every one of which pre-supposes the organic 
unity of society and its elevation into urban life. A demand upon a 
highly-educated class of laborers is occasioned by these complex relations 
which come into existence through the changes in the relation of the 
individual to society, which we have just now portrayed. Manifold 
vocations — some being commercial, some having for their end protection 
of society, its culture or its amusement — have arisen from this source 
and have come to demand immense stores of directive intelligence. 
Think only of the literary profession, including the journalists, printers, 
and publishers, authors, book-makers, book-sellers, telegraph employees, 
artists, musicians, painters, sculptors, photographers, actors, etc. 

Society and the State have changed in such a way as to make demands 
upon the individual different from those of former times. Under the 



634 EDUCATION IN MISSOUKI. 

new regime the life of each individual is dependent upon the social whole, 
and it is requisite for him to be continually alert and observant of the 
movements of society and obedient to its behests. Then, again, the 
political and social demand for such an enormous fund of directive power 
is even of greater import to the individual. In fact, in the former simple, 
patriarchal state of society it was not essential that the individual be edu- 
cated to any considerable degree. If he could read and write, and under- 
stood a little arithmetic, he was educated beyond immediate necessities ; 
for there was little to read, little to write, and not much arithmetical 
calculation required. Neither did he find much need of a disciplined 
will and habits of regularity, pu.nctuality and attention. When it rained 
or after the harvest was cared for, he could louno;e about the village 
store and exchange gossip over the trivial affairs of his neighborhood. 

But with the new country-life all has changed. The railroad has 
reduced all to rhythm. There must be regularity, punctuality, attention 
and systematic industry. More than this, there must be an education far 
above the rudiments of reading, writing and arithmetic, in that great 
army of men who are to exert the directive power required to manage all 
the manifold complex relations that come to exist as a consequence of 
this instrumentality. Hence we see that modern society, resting, as it 
does, on the union of the country and town, or on the elevation of the 
country into direct participation in urban or city life, demands as 
its necessary condition a system of popular education carried out to a 
far higher grade than formerly. It is doubtful, indeed, whether the 
modern State and modern civil society, constituted as it is, with its com- 
plex inter-relations, can ever exist without a system of public education 
includino; free hio-h-schools and colleges. 

In a patriarchal state of society, such as finds itself in every agricul- 
tural country before it is penetrated by railroads or other facilities of 
rapid transit, and as yet has developed no towns ond cities, it is obvious 
that there is no such social or political necessity for education, but only 
a general demand for it on the grounds of humanity — a mere sentimental 
basis, one might call it. But the closely organized society that grows 
into existence with the instrumentalities of commerce and intercommun- 
ication — with the railroad, the telegraph, and the daily newspaper — finds 
public education simply an indispensable provision. 

The steam-engine has undertaken to do so much of the drudgery of 
life that it has emancipated the race from mere physical labor to a great 
extent, and changed the occupation of men to the business of overseeing, 
supervising and directing- — the employment of the head instead of the 



EDUCATION IN MISSOURI. 635 

hands. Directive power demands a higher and more general education. 
Society to-day peremptorily demands an educated people. The question 
of support of public schools at public expense is answered in this. Its 
extent is also determined. Public education must be carried so far as to 
enable the pupil to pursue intelligently his own self-education. 

Society, in its function of municipal corpoi'ation, looks after the weal of 
its members, and finds it to be legitimate and politic to perform various 
services for the commonwealth. It assumes to an extent the function of 
nurture, and provides for paupers, insane, orphans, deaf and dumb, and 
other unfortunates. It makes public improvements and taxes property 
for the general good. So, too, precedent establishes the right of the 
municipal corporation to educate its children at public expense. The 
necessity of civil society to have skilled labor in its arts and trades, has 
caused various European governments, France, Austria, England, Saxony, 
Bavaria, Switzerland, and many others, to establish at great expense tech- 
nical schools wherein artisans are trained to apply skill and decorative 
taste to manufactures and to the culture of its fields, forests, and vine- 
yards. 

The principle is that of self-preservation. If the wares of a particu- 
lar industry in a nation are thrown out of the market by the competition 
of a rival nation, civil society at home is burdened by pauperism ; and 
it is held to be as legitimate to prevent pauperism as to support it after 
it is made. The function of nurture legitimately belongs to civil society. 
Ignorance or imbecility is, above all, helpless to choose its proper 
remedy. Directing intelligence alone can choose the proper means for 
the elevation of society, and it alone can enforce it. 

IV. 

PRESENT CONDITION OF SCHOOLS AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 
IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 

Ample provision has been made in the State constitutions of Missouri 
and its sister commonwealths, for education. In young and rapidly 
growing States it often happens that institutions exist "on paper" upon a 
grand scale, while their realization is of very insignificant dimensions. 
But we must not underrate the importance of constitutional provisions 
although they may be " on paper." These announce an ideal which 
hovers before the mind of the people from generation to generation, and 
furnish in themselves an educating influence, political and otherwise, that 
will in the end be sure to produce the actual realization of the institu- 
tions thus projected. 



EDUCATION IN MISSOUEI. 



637 



As these States progress in wealth and population, and especially in 
the growth of cities, we may safely predict the realization, everywhere 
within their borders, of the magnificent system of popular education 
which now exists only in germ or in thrifty childhood. 

The following statistics show the condition of education in this section 
in the year 1875 : 



States. 



Alabama 

Arkansas 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Nebraska 

Ohio 

Tennessee . . . . 
West Virginia 

Wisconsin 

Texas 



a 
0-2 


6 

o 


« o 


■§1 


s-s. 


^ o 


O 3 


«^ s 


3 9. 


m ft 


anS 


^Z 


Cu 


< 


O 


406.270 


110,253 


3,898 


184,692 


73,878 


2,134 


958,003 


716,783 


11,451 


667,948 


502.362 


9,307 


533,903 


384,012 


9,610 


199,286 


142,606 


4,560 


437,100 


228,000 


6,457 


280,387 


96,557 


1.032 


210,550 


130,280 


3,085 


318,459 


168,217 


6,838 


720,186 


394,780 


7,387 


80,122 


55,432 


1,805 


1,017.726 


712,129 


14,868 


426,612 


199,058 




179,897 


115,300 


3,245 


461,829 


279,845 


5,260 


184,705 


125,224 


3,898 



,o o fl m 

tM ^ g (P 
02 CC 



I 565,042 

789,536 

7,860,554 

5,041,517 

5,035,498 

1,049,845 

1,438,146 

699,665 

1,861,158 

1,110,248 

3,013,595 

292,475 

11,749,360 

740,316 

753,457 

2.728,157 

244,879 



.^1 






f 562,000 
750,000 
7,389,209 
4,530,204 
4,605,749 
1,478,998 
1,559,452 
863,391 
3,550,542 
1,040,600 

' 92*8',i88 

8,170,959 

703,358 

715,160 

2,066,375 

726,236 



a os 



3,961 

2,322 

21,618 

13,133 

18,145 

5,383 

5,630 

1,557 

3.527 

4;968 

9,651 

3,091 

22,492 

4,210 

3,461 

9,451 

4,030 



States. 



Alabama 

Arkansas 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentuclcy . 

Louisiana 

Minnesota 

Mississippi — 

Missouri 

Nebraska 

Ohio 

Tennessee . . . . 
West Virginia 

Wisconsin 

Texas 



6 
1 

25 

1 

11 
1 

14 
4 
5 
3 

18 
2 

34 
9 
1 
4 
4 



10 

5 
31 
21 
17 

7 
12 
15 

7 
13 
17 

3 

35 
27 

5 
10 
12 



"a-'SS, 



26 
152 
200 
87 
13 
64 
15 
22 
27 
24 
24 
451 
31 
10 
30 
25 






638 



EDUCATION IN MISSOURI. 



The following institutions, mostly academies, were reported by the 
Commissioner of Education in 1875, for the State of Missouri: 



INSTITUTIONS FOR SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN MISSOURI. 
Arcadia College Located at Arcadia. 



St. Yincent's Academy 

Oliilieothe Acadenij- 

Grand Elver College 

Marioiiville Collegiate Institute 

Palnijra Seminary 

St. Piiurs College". 

Van Eensselaer Academj'- 

Shelbj^ High School . ~. 

StewartsviiJe Male and Female Seminary . 



Cape Girardeau. 

Chilicothe. 

Edinburgh. 

Marionville. 

Palmyra. 

Palmyra. 

Rensselaer. 

Shelbyville. 

Stewartsvlle. 



INSTITUTIONS FOR SUPERIOR INSTRUCTION OF WOx\IEN. 
St. Joseph Female Seminary (i) Located at St. Joseph. 



Christian College 

Stephens College 

Howard College 

Independence Female College 

Central Female College 

Clay Seminary 

Ingieside Female College 

Liadenwood College for Young Ladies. 
Mary Institute (Washington UniversitjO 

St. Louis Seminarj^ \ . 

Ursuline Academy 



UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES OF MISSOURI. 



Columbia. 

Columbia. 

Fayette. 

Independence. 

Lexington. 

Liberty. 

Palmj^ra. 

St. Charles. 

St. Louis. 

St. Louis. 

St. Louis. 



Christian University ' Located 

St. Yiilcent's College " 

University of the State of Missouri •' 

Central College i u 

Westminster College " 

Lewis College u 

Pritchett School Institute " 

Lincoln College .t 

Hannibal College <■<■ 

Woodland College " 

Thayer College '' 

LaGfrange College " 

William Jewell College " 

Baptist College «« 

St. Joseph College " 

College of the Christian Brothers " 

St. Louis University " 

Washington University " 

Drury College a 

Central Wesleyan College " 



at Canton. 

Cape Girardeau. 

Columbia. 

Fayette. 

Fulton. 

Glasgow. 

Glasgow. 

Greenwood. 

Hannibal. 

Independence. 

Kidder. 

LaGrange. 

Liberty. 

Louisiana. 

St. Joseph, 

St. Louis. 

St. Louis. 

St. Louis. 

Springfield. 
• Warrenton. 



SCHOOLS OF SCIENCE IN MISSOURI. 

Missouri Agricultural and Mechanical College (University of 

Missouri Located at Columbia. 

School of Mmes and Metallurgy (University of Missouri) . . " Rolla. 

Polytechnic Institute (Washington University) " St. Louis. 



1 Established in 1877. 



EDUCATION IN MISSOUKI. 639 

SCHOOLS OF THEOLOGY IN MISSOURI. 

St. Vincent's College (Theological Department) Located at Cape Girardeau. 

Westminster College (Theological School) " Fulton. 

Vardeman School of Theology (William Jewell College) . . " Liberty. 

Concordia College "' St. Louis. 

SCHOOLS OF LAW IN MISSOURI. 

Law School of the University of Missouri Located at Columbia. 

Law School of the Washington University. " St. Louis. 

SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE, DENTISTRY AND PHARMACY IN MISSOURI. 

Medical College (University of the State of Missouri) Located at Columbia. 

Kansas City College of Physicians and Surgeons " Kansas City. 

Missouri Medical College : " St. Louis . ' 

St. Louis Medical College " St. Louis. 

Homeopathic Medical College of Missouri " St. Louis. 

Missouri School of Midwifery and Diseases of Women and 

Children " St. Louis. 

Missouri Central College '• St. Louis. 

St. Louis College of Pharmacy " St. Louis. 

LARGE PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN MISSOURI. 

Volumes. 

St. Vincent's College, Cape Girardeau 5,500 

S . E. Missouri State ISTormal School, Cape Girardeau. . - 1,225 

University of Missouri, Columbia 10,000 

Athenian Society Columbia 1,200 

Union Literary Society, Columbia 1 ,200 

Law College, Columbia 1,000 

Westminster College, Fulton 5,000 

Lewis College, Glasgow 3,000 

Mercantile Library, Hannibal 2,21 9 

Library Association , Independence 1 ,100 

Fruitland Normal Institute, Jackson : 1,000 

State Library, Jefterson City 13,000 

Fetterman's Circulating Library, Kansas City 1,300 

LaAV Library, Kansas City 3,000 

Whittemore's Circulating Library, Kansas City 1,000 

North Missouri State Normal School, Kirkville 1,050 

William Jewell College, Liberty 4,000 

St. Paul's College, Palmyi-a 2,000 

Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy, Eolla 1^478 

St. Charles Catholic Library, St. diaries 1,71G 

Carl Fuelling's Library, St. Joseph 6,000 

Law Library, St. Joseph 2,000 

Public School Library, St. Joseph 2,500 

Walworth & Colt's Circulating Librarj^ St. Joseph 1,500 

Academy of Science, St. Louis 2,744 

Academy of Visitation, St. Louis " 4,000 

•College of the Christian Brothers, St. Louis , 22,000 

Deutsche Institut, St. Louis 1,000 

German Evangelical Lutheran, Concordia College, St. Louis 4,800 

Law Library Association, St. Louis 8,000 

Missouri Medical College, St. Louis 1,000 

Mrs. Cuthbert's Seminary (Young Ladies) , St. Louis l',500 

Odd Fellow's Library, St. Louis 4,000 

Public School Library, St. Louis 40,097 

St. Louis'Medical College, St. Louis 1,100 

St. Louis Mercantile Library, St. Louis ■ 45.000 

St. Louis Seminary, St. Louis 2,000 



640 



EDUCATION IN MISSOURI. 



LARGE PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN MISSOURI. — Continued. 

Volumes. 

St. Louis Turn Verein, St. Louis 2.000 

St. Louis Universitj^ St. Louis 17,000 

St. Louis University Society Libraries, St. Louis 8,000 

Ursuline Academy, St. Louis • 2,000 

AVasliington University. St . Louis 4,500 

St. Louis Law School,' St. Louis 3,000 

Young Men's Sodality, St. Louis 1,327 

Library Association, Sedalia 1,,500 

Public School Library, Sedalia 1,045 

Drury College, Springfield , 2,000 

CHARITIES OF MISSOURI. 

State Asylum for Deaf and Dumb Fulton. 

St. Bridget's Institution for Deaf and Dumb St. Louis. 

Institution for the Education of the Blind St. Louis. 

State Asylum for Insane Fulton. 

St. Louis Asylum for the Insane St. Louis. 

NORMAL SCHOOLS IN MISSOURI. 

Normal Institute Bolivar. 

South East Missouri State Normal School Cape Girardeau. 

Normal College (University of Missouri) Columbia. 

Fruitland Normal Institute , Jackson. 

Lincoln Institute (for colored) Jefi"erson City. 

City Normal School St. Louis. 

Missouri State Normal School Warreusburg. 

CITY SCHOOL SYSTEMS OF MISSOURI. 



Hannibal . . 

Kansas City 
St. Joseph. 
St. Louis . . . 



No. Pupils 

enrolled in 

Public 

Schools. 



1,888 

4,262 

3,485 

47,000 



No. Teach- 
ers. 



27 

60 

53 

950 



Value of School 
Property. 



I 44,700 
200,000 
117,896 

2,500,000 



Receipts. 



\ 22,000 
77,686 
61,484 

830.000 



No. Pupils 
in Private 
Schools. 



300 

805 
22,654 



Part VI . 



THE 



Gi:fekt Citie^ ciqd Towi\|^ 



— OF — 



MISSOURI 



— WITH — 



Biographical Sketches of Distinguished Citizens. 

Public Institutions, etc., 




i 



THE GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

ST. LOUIS. 

St. Louis, tlie principal city of Missouri, the largest city iuthe Missis. 
Hiippi Valley, and the fourth city in population and importance on the con- 
tinent, was founded by Pierre Laclede Liguest in 1765. The French 
Government, by a royal charter granted to Laclede Liguest, Antoine 
Maxant & Co., conferred upon them the exclusive privilege of trading 
with the Indians of the Missouri as far north as St. Peter's River. 
Seeking for a new trading-post location, Liguest, the active partner of 
the firm, in the fall of 1763, with a company of trappers, hiniters and 
voyageurs, and a suitable supply of appropriate medicine, left New Or- 
leans on their tedious voyage northward. Arriving at Fort de Chartres 
November 3d, he stored his goods, and with a select crew pr-oceeded 
north to the mouth of the Missouri, from which he retraced his course 
and landed at the present site of St. Louis. He carefully examined the 
place, blazed some trees near the river to mark it as his "claim," saying 
to Auguste Chouteau, a hardy, enthusiastic and fearless youth of four- 
teen, who afterwards became a pioneer and a historic character in the 
city, the site of which he now first saw: "You will come here as soon 
as navigation ojpens, and will cause this place to be cleared in order to 
form our settlement after the plan that I shall give you." On his re- 
turn to Fort de Chartres he remarked with enthusiasm to Monsieur de 
Neyon and his officers, "that he had found a situation where he intended 
to establish a settlement which might become hereafter one of the, finest 
cities of America." ' 

On the 16th of February following, Augute Chouteau, with the thirty 
men placed under his direction by Laclede Liguest, landed at the se- 
lected site and commenced a small clearing and the- erection of a few 
trader's cabins, forming a scattered hamlet in the wilderness. 

At this time a fine growth of timber skirted the river, generally ' ex- 
tending as far back as what is now know as Fifth street ; but it varied in 
width, and there were occasional openings leaving the margin of the 
river entirely free from trees. The heaviest growth was on the square 
now occupied by Barnum's Hotel, and this was the place where the fir^t 
buildmgs were erected. ' . . , 



644 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

A bluff, some twenty or thirty feet above the river, extended the 
whole length of the intend'ed village ; back of this was a gentle swell, 
upon which they built their cabins, and still beyond them were two 
other swells, the last bounded by what is now Fourth street, and then 
came what was long known in the records as La Grande Prairie. Early 
in March, M. Liguest arrived and laid off the village, and, with the loy- 
alty for which these Frenchmen were distinguished, named it St. Louis, 
in honor of Louis XV of France, little dreaming that their imbecile king- 
had, even then, ceded the splendid empire west of the Mississippi to 
their old enemy, Spain. They were, however, aware that England had 
acquired the territory east of the river, and Canada. St. Louis therefore 
became the "City of Refuge" for the Gallic settlers on the east shore of 
the Mississippi, who left the hated rule of Great Britain ; some abandon- 
ing a lucrative trade and comfortable homes to sit under the protection 
of France. When the transfer to Spain became known, they all, with 
one accord, transferred all their hatred of English rule, doubly embit- 
tered, to the more odious idea of serving their traditional enemy, Spain, 

Laclede Liguest was outraged in feeling at this transfer, and remained 
quietly but stubbornly at his new trading post, totally ignoring the 
Spanish authority. 

The young colony were enthusiastic in their love of M. Liguest ; but 
while he represented a company under the sanction of royal authority, 
and was possessed of many expressed and implied prerogatives, he cGuld 
only o-rant an usufructuary possession of land, remaining in force until 
the legal appointment of proper officers vested with power to confer 
grants. 

There was great need that land should be granted in fee, and the ap- 
pointment of Louis St. Ange de Bellerive, therefore as commandant, in 

1765, with all the necessary powers, was hailed with delight. He soon 
became a great fovorite with the little colony, gained almost unbounded 
influence with the Indians ; and as he held his position in defiance of the 
Spanish government, he was almost idolized by his countrymen in and 
about the village. 

The first grant made by M. de Bellerive bears date of April 27th, 

1766, and was recorded in the Livre Terrien, a book kept for this pur- 
pose. The grant was made to Joseph Labuxiere, and had a front of 300 
feet on Rue Royale (now Main street) with a depth of a 150 feet, run- 
ning to the river, — the same block upon which the Missouri State Bank 
stood for many years. Main between Vine and Washington avenue. 
Soon after, in the same year, M. Liguest received a grant of land upon 



ST. LOUIS. 645 

La Petite Kiviere, upou which he built a mill, after making a dam which 
formed what was subsequently known as the Chouteau Pond. He also 
received a grant covering the block upon which Barnum's Hotel now 
stands. These grants were made without legal authority on the part of 
Bellerive, but were subsequently confirmed by the Spanish Government. 
The quaint little French village of that time is a wonderful contrast to 
the city we know to-day. Main street, then called La Eue Royale, and 
afterward La Eue Principale, extended from Almond to Morgan, and 
upon it all the first houses were built. Second street, designated in the 
early grants as Une autre rue principale, (another principal street) after- 
wards called La Rue de I'Eglise (Church street), extended from Cedar 
to Morgan. Third street, not laid off until nearly 1780, was known as 
La Troiseme Grande Rue, and Fourth street as La Rue des Granges (the 
street of barns) . With the exception of the house built by Liguest in 
1764 on the square where Barnum's Hotel now stands, which had a cel- 
lar and its lower story built of stone, all the buildings until after 1766 
were of rudest character, built of logs placed upright, the crevices 
stopped with mud, the whole roofed over with shingles, which were 
about two feet long and six inches wide, and fastened to the cross pieces 
on the roof by means of wooden pegs, nails being unknown. It was 
not until after the appointment of M. de Bellerive, when quite a number 
of wealthy merchants settled in the town, that more comfortable habita- 
tions were built. Up to 1766 the names which seem to have occupied 
the most prominent place in the history of the little village are as fol- 
lows : Liguest, Labadie, Chevalier, Lajoie, Benito Vasquez, Labuxiere, 
Du Breuil, Chauvin, Guyon, Kiercereau Laf^bre, Conde, Cerre, Sarpy, 
Ortes, Chouteau and St. Ange de Bellerive. The first baptism was per- 
formed in May, 1766, by Father S. L. Meurin, in a tent, for although 
the block upon which the Cathedral now stands had been set apart for 
the church, one was not erected until 1770. The first marriage contract 
bears date of Aprir20th, 1766, the contracting parties being Toussaint 
Huneau and Marie Beaugenou. There is a worldly thrift and shrewd- 
ness about the document wdiich is in singular contrast with the simplicity 
and careless good humor which were characteristics of these people. 

Strong as was the hatred of Spanish rule, and determined as were the 
villagers to resist it, they were, in 1770, compelled to submit, and saw 
the lilies of France lowered, and the hated Spanish banner raised in its 
stead, with feelings of mortification and sorrow such as had never been 
before known in their experience. Notwithstanding this intense feeling 
of the villagers, the change in government affected them but little. The 



646 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

Spanish and French colonial laws were much the same, and happily the 
Spanish Lieutenant-Governor was a man of kindly disposition, who rap- 
idly conciliated the people. He made but little change in the laws, con- 
firmed all the grants of his French predecessor, appointed a Frenchman 
to the important office of surveyor, and gave many subordinate offices to 
the old residents. 

As in all French settlements, the system of common fields prevailed in 
connection with the village. Under this system the villagers, many of 
whom engaged in farming or gardening, received, with others, each a 
grant from the Government of a lot 120 x 150 feet (French measure) in 
the village, for residence, and a field at a convenient distance for farming 
purposes. These fields were 1 arpent (192 J feet) wide, and 40 arpents 
long, containing about 34 acres, and each farmer had one or more granted 
him, according to the number of his family, or his ability to work them. 
They were to be had free on the condition of their being worked, and 
were laid off adjoining each other, to save the expense of fencing. 
Twenty, thirty, and sometimes more were inclosed by one fence, which 
was built and kept in repair at the common cost of those whose land it 
protected. These inclosures, one or more of which were to be found 
near every French village, were known as "common fields." Several 
reasons have been assigned for the peculiarity in the shape of these farms, 
that of being so narrow and long. It probably grew out of an ancient 
custom in France. Incidentally, (according to the venerable Felix 
Valle, of Ste. Genevieve,) the proximity of the lots furnished our early 
French settlers, while cultivating them, a safeguard against the attacks of 
Indians. Besides these grants to individuals, there were also granted to 
the villagers as a community, a more or less extended tract of commune 
lands, or the commons, (usually located near the village,) which were 
not cultivated, but used in common by the villagers as pasture for their 
stock, and furnished them also wood and lumber. 

These commons have long since been sub-divided and sold, or leased 
for long terms, thus passing into the hands of individuals. In addition 
to these, other grants were made to individuals without pecuniary con- 
sideration, on the condition that the grantee should inhabit or cultivate 
them. A party wishing a grant addressed a petition to the Governor, or 
the man occupying that position, stating that he had "the honor" to ask 
for a certain quantity of land at a certain place, assigning almost any 
reason, good, bad or indifferent, which fact or fancy might suggest, why 
such grant should be made. A very estimable gentleman, claiming under 
the original grant, now occupies a tract of land which was granted to a 



ST. LOUIS. 647 

man who stated in his petition that he had become impressed with the fact 
that the people of tlie county were suffering for the want of peach brandy, 
and that he was desirous of supplying their lack by planting an orchard, 
and making brandy, and Avanted some land at a place designated, for that 
purpose. The Governor, in his answer, very cheerfully acknowledged 
that his people (and perhaps he might have added, himself, too,) were 
sadly in want of peach brandy, and so he gave the petitioner the land he 
had asked for. And the same man afterwards obtained an additional 
grant for the reason that the former grant was all prairie land, and now 
he wanted some timbered land, so that he could o-et wood to run his dis- 
tillery. In all cases where the Governor was disposed to comply with 
the request he granted the prayer of the petitioner and ordered the official 
surveyor to put theparty in possession. Near the village, on the small 
strips composing the common fields, the proprietor raised wheat sufficient 
for their families, corn enough for their small stock of horses, cattle and 
sheep — the Litter furnishing wool for their winter clothing, and leather for 
various uses. They also raise a little cotton for lighter clothing, with 
garden vegetables and a few fruit trees, the forest being the source of 
their principal supply of fruit, and a portion of their clothing in the 
shape of deer-skins, out of which pants, coats, vests and moccasins were 
manufactured. 

On the larger tracts much attention, doubtless, was given to the objects 
just named, but horses and cattle were probably the main production. In 
both cases, there being but little demand for them beyond the wants of 
producers and their dependents, the surplus of agricultural products was 
small, and this of necessity arising from the lack of buyers, or the want 
of that energy always displayed in active commerce. The implements 
used in those days were as simple and primitive as the people who used 
them. The axe with which they cut their firewood was made by some 
blacksmith who wandered into these western wilds to ply his trade, and 
who likewise fashioned their plow-shares, while some rough carpenter made 
the old wooden mold-board. The wheat was cut by hand and trampled 
out by horses or oxen, or beaten out with the flail. The corn was 
gathered in the little two-wheeled cart, a specimen of which can yet 
occasionally be seen. The grain was taken on horseback, or in the same 
little French cart, to some neighboring mill, run by water or horse power, 
and made into flour or meal, which was cooked in the old bake-oven or 
skillet, with hot coals before the fire. 

These French settlers were a lighted-hearted race, sturdy and enduring, 
possessing characteristics eminently qualifying them for pioneers and for 



648 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF IVnSSOUEI. 

intercourse with Indians. Happy in the gratification of their simple 
desires, they enjoyed tlie present with but few thoughts for the future, 
and adapted themselves with w^onderful facility to the manners of life 
among the Indians, with whom many of them carried on a profitable 
traffic, and all of them had more or less intercourse. Between their 
other occupations, their time was taken np in hunting, fishing, trapping 
and trading in furs, peltries and in the few articles necessary for such 
a state of civilization. 

The little town was plunged into grief for the loss of their early and 
tried friend and venerated leader, Pierre Leclede Liguest, who died 
suddenly, June 20th, 1778, on the Mississippi Eiver, near the mouth of 
the Arkansas. He was hastily interred on the south fork of the latter 
river, and the spot cannot now be identified. He was honored as a 
leader, prized as a counsellor, revered as a father, and loved as a sympa- 
thizer and ever helpful friend. His valiant lieutenant, trusted assistant 
and special favorite, Augutjte Chouteau, became his administrator, and 
his immense property was sold to strangers. 

The village ran the gauntlet of contesting governmental controls, 
changes in laws and rulers, attacks by the Indians, and internal feuds and 
quarrels, until March 9th, 1804, when Dellassus, the Spanish Lieutenant- 
Governor, transferred the province of Upper Louisiana to Amos Stod- 
dard, acting agent and commissioner for the French Government, who, 
the next day, as a French officer, transferred the same province to himself 
as Captain Amos Stoddard of the United States Army, who, until October 
1st of the same year was "Acting Civil Commandant of the Province of 
Upper Louisiana, with the powers and prerogatives of a Spanish Lieuten- 
ant-Governor." 

The extent of the town in these early days, if it did not form some 
faint prophecy of future development, still clearly proves that more than 
a mere trading post w^as intended by the founders. The principal street 
(La Rue Principale) ran along the line of Main street of to-day, extend- 
incr from about Almond to Moro-an street. The next west was about the 
same length, and corresponded to the present Second street, and, after 
the erection of a church in the vicinit}' of the present site of the Catholic 
Cathedral, received the name of Church street (La Rue de I'Eglise.) 
There were no dwellings on what is now Third, originally known as Baru 
street, from the number of buildings on it of the (character indicated. 
The square now occupied by the Planters' House was an enclosure used 
for the grazing of cattle. 

The topographical features of the site of the city had not yet been 



ST. LOUIS. 649 

altered by the course of improvements, and were materially different 
from the present. Citizens of to-day will find it hard to realize that 
originally a rocky bluff extended on the river front, from about Walnut 
to Vine street, with a precipitous descent in many places. As building 
progressed, this bluff was cut away, and the appearance of a sharp but 
tolerably even incline to the river from Main street was gained. At the 
corner of Commercial alley and Chestnut street, and at several other 
places, there are at present palpable evidences of this rocky ridge, por- 
tions of it yet remaining. 

The river front was covered with a growth of timber, in the rear of 
which was a large and gentle rolling prairie, with scattered groves of 
heavy forest trees, which received the title of "La Grande Prairie," and 
it is not difficult to believe that if the selection of the spot was not made 
because of its a^daptability as the site of a great city, it was because of 
its natural pleasantness and beauty. 

St. Louis at this time had no post office, and not even between New 
Orleans and St. Louis was there any established mode of transmitting 
letters. There was no ferry across the Mississippi, but immediately on 
the purchase of the territory by the United States, a slight Anglo-Amer- 
ican immigration infused new life into the sleepy little town ; and this 
impetus was felt to a limited extent throughout the province, which was 
an immense territory, rich in mineral and agricultural wealth, but wholly 
undeveloped, and possessing a population so deficient in energy and 
enterprise, that they could not be considered any acquisition to the young 
Republic. The principal merchants and traders at this time were, 
Auguste Chouteau, who resided on Main street between Market and 
Walnut; Pierre Chouteau, on Main and Washington avenue, choice fruit 
trees surrounding his house, — the store in the first story, and the family 
residence in the second ; Manuel Lisa, on corner of Second and Myrtle ; 
Labadie & Sarpy, on Main between Pine and Chestnut ; Joseph Robidoux 
(father of the Robidoux who founded St. Joseph), corner of Elm and 
Main ; and Jacques Clamorgan, corner of Green and Main. Among the 
residents were the following families : Hortez, Pratte, Gratiot, Tayon, 
Saugrain, Cerre, Le Roux, Lsijoie, Lecompte, Papin, Cabanne, Labeaume, 
Soulard and Victor Hab. The latter was, probably, the only German in 
St. Louis. It must not be understood that a merchant at that time 
approximated at all in his business relations to the merchant of to-day. 
A place occupying but a few feet square would contain all his goods, and 
indeed it was usual to keep the entire stock of merchandise in a chest or 
box, which was opened whenever a purchaser appeared. 



650 GREAT CITIES AND TOAVNS OF MISSOURI. 

Owing to the tcdioiisness of navigation and transportation, the prices 
of imported articles were enormous. Most dry goods came from Canada 
via Mackinaw; sugar and coffee (which were $2 per pound), and other 
groceries came from New Orleans. A post office was established in 1804, 
Rufus Easton being the first postmaster. 

St. Louis was incorporated as a town November 9th, 1809, and 
Auguste Chouteau was the first chairman of the board of trustees. 
Among the early laws, was one requiring that each inhabitant should 
have the chimney of his house swept once a month ; and if the chimney 
caught fire, the presumption was that it had not been swept, and he was 
fined $10. In 1811, the town is described as containing 1,400 inhabitants, 
1 printing office, 12 stores, 2 schools — 1 French and 1 English — and the 
merchandise and imports of the town were valued at about $250,000. 
Peltries, lead and whiskey made a large portion of the currency. During 
the spring of 1811, the first market was built on Center Square (La 
Place d' Amies), which was between Market and Walnut, Main and the 
River. 

St. Louis College was built, in 1818, on Second, between Market and 
Walnut streets, and drew sudents from Louisiana and Kentucky. 

A little directory published in 1821, describes St. Louis as follows. 
"Eight streets run parallel with the river, and are intersected by twenty- 
thee others at right angles ; those on the 'hill' are wide, while the lower 
ones are exceedingly narrow. The lower end of Market street is well 
paved, and the trustees of the town have passed an ordinance for paving 
the sidewalks of Main Street. This is a veiy wholesome regulation of 
the trustees, as this and other streets are frequently so muddy as to be 
almost impassable. On the hill, in the center of the town, is a public 
square, on which it is intended to build an elegant court-house. The 
various courts are now held in buildings adjacent to the square. A new 
stone jail of two stories, 70 x 30, stands west of the site for the court- 
house. Just above the town are several Indian mounds, which afford an 
extensive and charming view of the town and surrounding country. 
There are two fire engines, with properly organized companies, one of 
which is in the north part of the town, and the other in the south part. 
Mr. Samuel Wiggins is the proprietor of two elegant and substantial 
steam ferry boats that ply regularly and alternately from the foot of 
North H street ( Morgan ) near the steamboat warehouse to the opposite 
shore. The river at the ferry is 1^ miles in width. Opposite the town 
and above the ferry is an island, containing upwards a thousand acres. 
A considerable sand-bar has been formed in the river opposite the lower 



ST. LOUIS. 651 

part of the town, which has thrown the main channel on the Illinois side. 
The annual amount of imports is stated at upwads of $2,000,000. The 
principal articles of trade are fur, peltry and lead." About this time, a 
citizen writing to a friend about emigrating said, "Do not come unless 
you wish to live the life of a frog or a turtle in the unfathomable mud 
of St. Louis." 

St. Louis was incorporated as a city December 9th, 1822. The limits 
of the corporation were the Mississippi Eiver, Mill Creek (just below 
the present gas* works, to Seventh street, along Seventh street to a point 
due west of "Roy's Tower," and thence to the river — area encloed 385 
acres. William Carr Lane was, in 1823, elected the first mayor — salary 



The city received a great blow on May 19th, 1849. The White Cloud, 
lying at the wharf between Vine and Cherry, in some mysterious way, 
supposed by an incendiary, took fire, and the flames were quickly com- 
municated to four other boats lying contiguous. The White Cloud 
floated out into the stream, the current carrying her among the fleet of 
boats wdiich had cut their cables and drifted into the river to avoid the 
flames. The very means they had used to protect themselves proved 
their destruction, for their engines not being in operation, they were 
powerless to save themselves, and in a few moments the spectacle pre- 
sented itself of twenty-three boats in flames. The immense conflagra- 
tion was a mile in length. The levee was covered by bales, barrels, boxes 
and combustible materials. The flames reached these, and thence to the 
city, and as the supply of water failed, whole blocks were swept away 
before the work of destruction could be stayed. The property destroyed 
amounted to over $3,000,000. The Asiatic cholera also swept over the 
city this year with more deadly malignity than ever before or since. 
As it abated in the fall, the city presented a forlorn aspect. Nearly one- 
tenth of the inhabitants had been swept away by the scourge, and the 
business of the city had been fearfully crippled by the fire. However, 
the work of rebuilding was vigorously commenced. Main street was 
widened, th« levee improved, better buildings were erected and a system 
of sewerage commenced which has elevated St. Louis to its proud rank 
of healthfnlness among the cities of the Union ; and all this was done 
without the least outside assistance. The shipping interest very soon 
rallied, and magnificent steamboats were built which were far in advance 
of anything that had been known, and bore but slight resemblance to the 
quaint and awkward Gen. Pike, the first steamboat that touched the 
levee of St. Louis. Since 1855, which marked the inauguration of the 



652 



GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 



railroad sj^stem, St. Louis has moved forward with colossal strides. 
New streets and broad avenues in every direction have been opened ; ele- 
gant residences have been erected and tasteful parks laid off; the city 
has stretched out to various suburbs and made them her own. In the 
old part of the town the change has been scarcely less marked. Massive 
rows of substantial business houses have replaced the poorly-built ones 
of the past, and now, even on the oldest streets, scarcely a vestige of 
the quaint French trading house and residence remains. 



CHAIRMEN OF THE TRUSTEES OF ST. LOUIS FROM ITS INCORPORATION AS A TOWN. 
NOVEMBER 9TH, 1809, TO ITS INCORPORATION AS A CITY, DECEMBER 9tH, 1822 : 



1810, 
1811, 
1812, 
1813, 
1814, 
1815, 
1816, 



Aiiguste Chouteau. 
Charles Gratiot. 



Clement B. Penrose. 
Elijah Beebe. 



1817, Elijah Beebe. 

1818, Thomas F. Eiddick. 
Peter Ferguson. 
Pierre Chouteau, Sr. 



1819, 
1820, 
1821, 
1822, 



Thomas McKiiight. 



MAYORS OF ST. LOUIS FROM ITS INCORPORATION AS A CITY, DECEMBER 9tH, 1822, tO 1878. 



1823 
1824 

1825 
1826 
1827 
1828 
1829 
1830 
1831 
1832 
1833 
1834 
1835 
1836 
1837 
1838, 
1839 
1840 
1841 
1842 
1843 
1844 
1845 
1846 
1847 
1848 
1849 
1850 



Wm. Carr Lane. 



Daniel D. Page. 



Samuel Merry.* 
John W. Johnston. 
John F. Darby. 



Wm. Carr Lane. 

u u a 

John F. Darby. 
John D. Daggett. 
George Maguire. 
John M. Wimer. 
Bernard Pratte. 

u u 

Peter G. Camden. 
Bryan Mullanphy. 
John M. Krum. 
James G. Barry. 
Luther M. Kennett. 



1851 

1852 
1853 
1854 
1855 
1856 
1857 
1858 
1859 
1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867, 
1868, 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874, 
1875, 
1875, 
1876 
1877 



Luther M. Kennett. 

a a u 

John How. 

Washington King. 
John How. 
John M. Wirner. 
Oliver D. Filley. 

u u u 

Daniel G. Taylor. 

<.. a a 

Chauncy I. Filley. 
James S. Thomas. 



Nathan Cole.f 
Joseph Brown. 



Arthur B. Barrett. J 
James H. Britton.§ 
Henry Overstolz.|| 
Henry Overstolz.** 



* Johnson was elected to fill vacancy, as Merry held office under U. S. Government, and was hence 
disqualified. 

t Nathan Cole is the only native of St. Louis who has held the office of Mayor. 
J Elected April 6th, inaugurated on the 13th, and died on the 37th of same month. 
§ Elected to fill vacancy vice Barrett deceased. 
II Successfully contested Britton's election. 
** First Mayor under the New Scheme and Charter. 



ST. LOUIS. 653 

St. Louis, now stretching eighteen miles along the Mississippi Eiver, 
and extending eleven miles back from the river front, is skirted by roll- 
ing and fertile prairies, richly studded with groves, gardens and vine- 
yards. Nearly a score of trunk line railroads point to, and their cars 
arrive and depart from the great central depot, and over a mile of steam- 
boats are often seen at the levees, a thousand miles from the sea. The 
population has increased from 8,000 in 1835, to half a million. Her 
banking capital is nearly twenty millions, and her manufactories, mer- 
cantile houses and various industries are in proportion. But the scope of 
our work does not admit of details and statistics, which are published in 
various forms. He who mounts to the dome of the magnificent pile 
which the city has erected for the temple of justice, can hardly realize 
that the vast metropolis spread out around him is the growth of a 
century, that all but one twenty-fifth of it is the growth of one-third of a 
century, that seven-eights of it has grown there inside of twenty-five 
years, and that the population, wealth and commerce of this wonderful 
city has doubled in a decade. To ordinary observation the city seems as 
old as New York or London. The soft coal, so extensively used, has 
smoked the buildings to the dingy brown, which they assume in a few 
years after they are built, and the buildings are as varied and hetero- 
geneous, though the streets are not so crooked, as those of European 
cities. From the levee the ground rises, one ridge after another, and 
the streets parallel with the river, and those running up and back from 
the water's edge are solidly built with warehouses, magazines of com- 
merce, and immense manufacturing establishments ; while ^farther out 
they are bordered with dwellings ranging from the humble and time- 
worn homes of the laborer, nestled in between the business blocks or 
crowded together in tenement houses, up through all the grades of com- 
fort, elegance and luxury, to the palatial residences, with spacious and 
beautiful grounds, of the wealthier citizens. 

Long Unes of magnificent and beautiful steamboats plow the river up 
and down, or lie at the levee, delivering to the city the stores of agri- 
cultural productions from the upper country, and the cargos of merchan- 
dise from the gulf states or from foreign lands. The shrill notes of their 
whistles as they come and go are ever on the air. The levee is alive 
with all kinds and sizes of wagons, carts and drays, while stevedores and 
laborers of all sizes, nationalities and color give expression to their 
muscle, songs and profanity. The ferries are numerous, and the ever- 
movino; boats of the difterent lines are crowded with a trafiic that never 
slackens, much less suffers interruption or suspension. 



654 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

Tli.e divine teacher of old said : "Verily, I say unto yon, if ye liave 
faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye sliall say unto this mountain, remove 
4ience to yonder phice, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impos- 
sible to yon." James B. Eads had this faith, and wisdom and conrage 
to issue tills command to the iron in the mountains of Pennsylvania, 
sayino- : "Be thou moulded into steel tubes, and removed and stretched 
in proportions, with strong and graceful arches over the great Father of 
Waters, that the people, and their cattle, and their merchandise may 
pass over the deep waters thereof as upon the dry land." And it was 
done according to his faith, after the manner of his command. The 
result is the magnificent tubular steel bridge, stretching from the Illinois 
to the Missouri shore, which is ever a scene of busy life and the highway 
of a sioantic traffic. Tlie railroad tracks over it are ever worn with the 
thousands of passenger, stock and freight cars that are daily and hourly 
crossing east and west. The roadway is filled with all manner of freight, 
passenger and pleasure vehicles, and the foot-paths are crowded by the 
pedestrian on his wearisome way, by the elegantly-arrayed promenaders, 
the students of nature and the invalids who are watching the sweep, life 
and beauty of the river beneath, or the summer skies above them, ad 
drinking in the pure and invigorating breeze that ever imparts energy, 
vitality and health. 

The same divine teacher said: "Verily I say unto you, if ye had 
faith as a grain of mustard, ye might say unto this sycamore tree, be 
thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea, and it 
should obey you," — and "whosoever shall say unto this mouutain,be 
thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his 
heart, but shall believe that those things which shall come to pass, he 
shall have whatsoever he saith." And the same man of faith, wisdom 
and courage has said, "thou willow tree, be thou plucked iip and cut 
off, and be thou laid and planted in the river." It was done. And he 
has said, "ye mountains of mud in the mouth of the Mississipj^i Elver, 
be ye removed hence and cast into the sea of the Gulf of Mexico." 
And these same mountains of mud in the mouth of the Mississippi, 
which have ever heretofore barred the way of foreign commerce, are 
now removing into the Gulf of Mexico as they are commanded, and are 
thereby giving a deep channel, that tlie ships and commerce of all na- 
tions may have free course and passage upon our noble river, and that 
-the resources of its vast productive valley may thereby be more fully 
known, utilized and thereby magnified. The wonderful change wrought 
in the scenes at the river by this bridge, can be appreciated only by 



ST. LOUIS. 65S 

those who have been eye-witnesses to them before and after its building. 
Under the old regime, upon alighting from one of the many trains which 
arrived at East St. Louis from the north, east or south, one sees before 
him a row of four or six horse 'busses, baggage and express wagons, and 
their array of drivers. Within a few yards is the steep bank of the 
levee, paved Avith the hardest and roughest stones imaginable, and just 
beyond the deep broad current of the great resistless river, flowing 
swiftly and constantly towards the Gulf, and bearing upon its bosom the 
beautiful steimers and numerous tugs, the broad, flat ferr}' boats, the 
fisherman's yawl, with the trunks and branches of the upper forests of 
the two great rivers which unite near Alton, and in its embrace below 
the surface, the sand and mould of which winter frosts and spring fresh- 
ets have robbed the hillsides and valleys of the north, carrying them on 
and on to fertilize the overflow^ed land of the South, or mayhap to be 
deposited as bars to obstruct the channel or change the course of its own 
mighty current. The ferryboats are })eing crowded hy the most motley 
mid cosmopolitan passengers and the most heterogeneous cargoes. Here 
is the independent and Indian-colored Texan in his broad-brim and 
weather-worn toggery, with his contemptuous and defiant look at the 
efieminate cockney in store clothes, who takes off" his glasses when he 
wishes to see, and puts them on when he wants to be seen ; the 
excursion party from the land of railroads and full dress visiting, on 
their way to the western wilds with mountains of baggage that are appal- 
ling to all but themselves ; the foreign tourists Avith their hampers of 
13rovisions, the packets of comforts and outfits for hunting, fishing or 
sketching ; the German emigrant with his fatherland suit, long pipe, 
quaintly-dressed wife and floAving hair, and rosy cheeked children cling- 
ing to their parents; the "poor Avhite " dazed at the scene, and in a 
half unconscious Avay grasping his wife in one hand, and holding by a 
leather thong his " yaller dog" Avith the other; the wearied boys in 
Aveather-worn blue, directed by their trim and noticeable officers, on their 
Avay to some station or expedition out West ; the keen-eyed, quick-witted, 
well-dressed commercial traveler, who Avill register his name, engage his 
room, remove his linen duster, get out his samples, and in three min- 
utes be " ready for biz ;" the substantial merchant in his carriage ; the 
crowds of negroes, idlers and loafers which are ever entertained when 
seeing some one else do something, or coming and going someAvhere. 
The levee Avas in those days a pandemonium in earnest. Long lines of 
coal Avagons, draAvn by teams of two, four or six mules, urged on by 
ragged and profane drivers, all black-faced, some by nature and all by 



656 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

coal dust and smoke, who yelled and swore at the kicking and bewil- 
ered mules with savage shouts of anger, entreaty and profanity ; the 
nnmerous freight wagons carrying flour, produce, agricultural imple- 
ments, pig iron and hay; the farmeis with their grain, garden truck and 
families, tryino- in vain to soothe and encourage their bewildered country 
horses in such a tumult. Then intermingling with these wagons were 
generally droves of Texas cattle, not only wild by nature but maddened 
by hunger, thirst and fright, galloping and bellowing about, tossing 
their horns and not infrequently their tomentors high in the air. Droves 
of exhausted hogs, dripping with mud, loitered here or ran thither. All 
of these contending and intermingling elements of confusion, were ever 
incited to even greater turbulence by the omnibusses, express teams and 
baggage wagons, which, on the arrival or departure of trains, had right 
of way over all others. The levee being too steep for teams or omni- 
busses to drive directly down to the ferryboat, they took a coui-se along 
and down the grade in such a curvelinear track as would bring them, on 
their reaching the ferry, at right angles with the wharfboat, and at a 
speed over the rough pavement and uneven surface of the steep grade 
that seemed like being hurled hurriedly over or through the above named 
pandemonium into the muddy and chilling waters of the river below. 
We never heard of any colision or upsetting that resulted in death to a 
passenger, but how many have been scared to death, or frightened into 
insanity we have no means of determining. All this is much modified ; 
all passengers, baggage and express matter, most of the cattle, other 
stock and merchandise, is carried in the trains over the bridge, and the 
glories, the tumult and excitement of these scenes live only in the mem- 
ories of those who saw them, or in the imaginations of those who can 
call the picture before their mental vision. 

The site of the old French settlement is now entirely given up to 
business, and the influence of that element is little felt in St. Louis. 
Some of the oldest families and wealthiest citizens are of French descent, 
and retain in a modified form the language, manners and customs of their 
ancestors, but they are so thoroughly Americanized that information 
and not observation tells of their parentage. 

Streets thoroughly American bear the names of old French citizens. 
Laclede is commemorated in a mammoth hotel ; Chouteau, Pratt, Lindell, 
Gratiot, Cerre, Soulard and others, in avenues and streets ; but the 
primitive manners and simplicity of the pioneers are fast passing away 
from even Cahokia, where still lingers, clustering around the Notre 
Dame des Kahokias, the most ancient building and venerable church in 




l^UypyfCl^ 




^f^l-.^l^4_ 




ST. LOUIS. 657 

tlie west, a decayed and moss-grown relic of that early civilization. But 
few of the tangible memorials of early times are now to be found. The 
circular stone towers, with their connected walls of rock, dyke and 
timber, erected as protection against the Indians, are long since passed 
away ; the block-houses have been replaced by massive business blocks, 
and the " common fields " and private grants and garden spots are cov- 
ered by residences and manufactories. " The Hill, " the former hunting- 
ground of the early Mmrods, is now the business center, upon and 
around which cluster the extensive, elegant and fashionable retail estab- 
lishments ; it is traversed by the complete and commodious system of 
street railroads, most of which have within a few blocks have their start- 
ing points. The grades of the city rise in sweeping undulations west- 
wardly, and the character of the inhabitants as to their social position, 
follows, though not inflexibly, the same general course. Niched in be- 
tween the warehouses and business blocks, and manufacturing estab- 
lishments of Main, Second and Third streets, are numerous low, villain- 
ous bar rooms, saloons and dens of infamy, where vice, degradation and 
pollution gather their devotees. In the same vicinity are the tumble- 
down and dirty homes of ignorance and destitution, and the larger, 
though no less squalid, filthy and unhealthy tenement houses. 

On the next plateau are Fourth and Fifth street upon which, and upon 
those streets crossing them, are the principal hotels, the more extensive 
and elegant stores, places of amusement and fashionable restaurants of 
the city. Beyond this, stretching away, to and beyond Grand Avenue, 
are houses of the substantial mechanic, the prosperous merchant, manu- 
facturer and professional men, and the residences and grounds of the 
wealthy, with churches, school buildings, manufactories and the diflferent 
retail shops and markets usual to an American citizen. 

St. Louis is rapidly becoming rich in public buildings. Lucas Place, 
the most elegant street in St. Louis, is rich in costly houses and beauti- 
ful grounds. Stoddard's Addition and Compton Hill are fashionable 
localities, and there are large and well arranged grounds, and many 
comfortable, tasteful and substantial residences. The street life of St. 
Louis is attractive and various. The fruit stands, mostly kept in neat 
and tasteful style by Italians ; the auction stores, with their open doors, 
where a vast amount of sonorous eloquence and a chosen selection of 
cheap goods are the live long day dispensed to a gaping crowd ; the 
markets for meats, provisions, vegetables and trinkets are each worthy 
of elaborate description. Saturday evenings in the summer are especially 
characteristic. The markets are thronged by a wonderful crowd of 
42 



658 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

varied nationalities, conditions and colors, tliat spend the evening in 
buying, visiting, shopping and intriguing ; in the more thickly settled 
neighborhoods of the laboring and foreign classes all ages, sexes and 
sizes mingle in conversation, jollity and sports, and sometimes in a gen- 
eral disturbance on the sidewalk ; in the fashionable sections the ladies 
occupy the porches or sit on the front door steps, where they receive 
their friends and callers. 

A delightful and cordial, yet dignified social freedom prevails in St. 
Louis not found in any foreign or eastern city. Strangers are heartily 
welcomed. The ladies have the eastern and southern education blended 
with the western freedom, which adds to their charms, both in manner 
and conversation. 

There are in St. Louis fifty thousand inhabitants born in the German 
States, and the whole Teutonic population , including the children born of 
German parentage, will reach nearly or quite one-quarter of the city's 
inhabitants. They are, as a rule, an industrious element, believing in 
work and the comfort born of work, and have at all times proved them- 
selves useful citizens, advocating freedom, personal liberty, extended and 
practical public school education, and have taken a prominent rank in the 
various lines of trade and in the professions. This element has for many 
years, by its intercourse in all the business, professional and social life 
of the city, largely modified many of the American customs, grafting 
upon them many of the peculiar features and sweetest graces of Euro- 
pean manners, and accepting, in turn, numerous American peculiarities. 
This modifying influence' will continue until another generation will pro- 
bably see the fusion complete. 

The Catholic population of the Arch-diocese of St. Louis probably 
numbers nearly two hundred thousand ; they support about one hundred 
parish schools, attached to the different churches, and these are attended 
by twenty-five thousand children, who are thus removed from all secular 
educational influences. The Catholics now own nearly three million 
dollars worth of church and school property in the city. They keep 
fully up with the different denominations in the establishments of colleges, 
and claim to be well abreast of the public schools in the way of general 
education. 

St. Louis abounds in churches. The smallest church building in the 
city is on Lucas, near Ewing avenue, and is the neat little New Church 
(Swedenborgiau) Chapel, having little more seating capacity than an 
ordinary parlor, the simple service in which is in beautiful harmony with 
its chaste furnishing, its moderate size and neat but simple exterior. 



ST. LOUIS. 659 

There are many churches modera,te in size, well built and neatly furnished, 
and numerous large, substantial and elegant edifices, the rites and wor- 
ship in which range from the simple service of the Quakers through all 
all the varying formularies to the grand mass and gorgeous ceremonials 
■of the Roman Catholic cathedral. 

Among the prominent buildings of the city are the Court House, 
•Chamber of Commerce, Four Courts, Washington University, St. Louis 
University, the Insurance Building on Sixth and Locust streets, Lisur- 
ance Exchange on Fifth and Olive streets, the Republican Building, the 
Granite Building on Fourth and Market streets, Mercantile Library 
Building, the Polytechnic Building, in which is located the Public School 
library, the Listitution for the Education of the Blind, the Insane 
Asylum, City Hospital, and the Sisters of Charity Hospital. 

The parks of the city are numerous, some of them improved and 
adorned at great expense, and afibrd most delightful and healthful re- 
treats to all classes. 

Lafayette Park, containing thirty acres, is artistically improved and 
beautifully adorned with numerous shade-trees, fountains, waterfalls, 
lakes, grotoes, etc. In the summer it is a delightful flower-garden, with 
promenades, seats and shelters. Tower Grove Park, the gift of Henry 
•Shaw, containing 276 acres, is being continually improved. It is one of 
the finest carriage-drives in the city. Forest Parh^ containing 1,375 
acres, is comparatively new, but is destined to become a niagnificent do- 
main and a popular resort. Shawns Garden contains 110 acres, which 
have been under cultivation since 1857. In the flower-garden of ten 
acres can be found nearly every flower that can be grown in this latitude, 
and the several plant-houses contain thousand of exotics and tropical 
plants. The Experimental Fruit Garden contains six acres, and the 
A.rboretum of twenty-five acres, embraces most of the ornamental and 
forrest trees of this climate. A new fire-proof building is devoted to 
the Museum, Herbarium and Botanical Library. Besides the above are 
numerous other parks of various sizes and in diflerent degrees of im- 
provement, among them the Missouri Park, Washington Square, Hyde 
Park, Carr Square, St. Louis Place, O 'Fallon Park, Lyon Park and 
■Carondelet Park. 

The educational advantages of St. Louis are excellent, and, from the 
Kindergarden to the High School, the public instruction is under the 
superintendence of one of America's oldest educators, William T. Har- 
ris, who has associated with him a corps of teachers that will comj)are 
favorably with those of any city in the Mississippi Yalley. Washino-ton 



660 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWlsTS OF MISSOUEI. 

University, -witli its various departments, St. Louis University, the 
Christian Brotliers' College, Mary Institute, and the various Convents., 
Ladies' Seminaries, Medical, Theological and Technical Schools, give one 
and all ample advantages for pursuing such line of studies and culture as 
may be chosen. While there is no boast on the part of St. Louisans o-f 
any undue superiority over their neighbors in the . matter of the higher 
intellectual culture, still there are some of her citizens of whom they 
are justly proud, and the names of Brokmeyer and Harris, as philoso- 
phers, of Engelmann, Riley and Mills, as scientists, and of Eads as an 
eno-ineer, are familiar amono; the learned men of the nation and the 
world. 

St. Louis is rapidly becoming a leading cotton market. The opening 
of the railway lines giving direct communication with the Gulf States^ 
especially with Arkansas and Texas, has largely contributed to multiply 
the sales in the city of this national staple. Much cotton once handled 
in New Orleans and Memphis is now " compressed" in St. Louis and 
sent thence to New York by rail. 

South St. Louis, or Carondelet, is a busy and industrious ward below 
the business portion of the city, where are located immense iron furnaces, 
rolling mills and zinc works, in which the rich ores of the mining re- 
gions of the State are transformed ini^o metals. In these dingy and 
uncouth looking structures, half-naked men, wet with perspiration, their 
bodies begrirRed in dust and smoke, with their long iron implements 
handle the molten ores, lead the liquid metal into the needful and pre- 
pared channels, or guide the pliant bars through the rollers which shape 
the ductile mass into the desired size and form. 

The Vulcan Iron Works requires twelve hundred men to operate its 
blast furnaces, rolling mills and necessarily accompanying shops. These 
works occupy seventeen acres of ground, and the machinery in them 
cost over $600,000. 

If one would behold a scene suggestive of the infernal regions, let him 
conjure up in his mind the blood-curdling descriptions of the damned in 
their torments, so vividly portrayed by Jonathan Edwards, upon the 
readino- of which women fell screeching and fainting, and men with 
bleached faces, clenched fists and protruding eyeballs, groaned in agony, 
or fled from the audience in terror. . After pondering over this terrible 
description let him select a foggy night and visit the zinc furnaces at 
Carondelet. He will find there everything of a dusky indefinite hue. 
The air will be heavy with smoke and poisoned with innumerable dis- 
agreeable fumes and gases. The tall chimneys of the iron furnaces in 



ST. LOUIS. 661 

the vicinity will belch forth their forked tongues like flaming serpents, 
striking in their fury at the invisible stars. The tall, but unused blast 
•chimneys, the scattered derricks, the rugged and ill-shaped buildings, 
will stand out in indistinct and spectral relief against the lifeless sky, like 
giants coming from the land of shadows. The half-clad men in the zinc 
works will swing their long puddling-rods, thrusting them with seem- 
ingly cruel gestures into the furnaces, heated seven times hotter than the 
one prepared by Nebuchadnezzar for Shadrach and his companions. The 
green, red and yellow flames from the roasting ore will shoot out with 
gleaming darts, and lick around the crevices of the retort, like demons 
with death-dealing determinations. The molten metal will spurt out and 
ooze and tricl^le down the furnace like the red heart' s-blood of the tortured 
victim which they are eternally but unsuccessfully cremating. Their 
ghastly hues will be reflected in a hundred varying colors and shades 
upon the withered and apparently pallid ftices of the men. The furnace 
light will throw out into bold relief and in unutterable blackness the shad- 
owed parts of their smoke-begrimed and sweat-reeking bodies, while the 
lighter portions, with all their heat-contorted writhings, are flashed bright 
upon the vision in all the ghastly splendor of hell itself. 

We give on the folio wing pages brief biographical sketches of a few 
representative men in the various walks of life, whose talents, public 
spirit and business ability have largely contributed to raise St. Louis to 
its present proud rank among the cities of the world. 

THOMAS ALLEN, LL.D. 

Thomas Allen, President of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, 
was born at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, August 29th, 1813. Mr. Allen comes of a 
family well known and closely identified with the history of Massachusetts. His 
grandfather, after whom he is named, was the first minister at Pittsfield, where he 
was pastor from his ordination, in 1764, until his death, in 1811. He was a zealous 
patriot in the war of the Revolution, served as chaplain in several campaigns, and, 
with musket in hand, fought with the people at the battle of Bennington, in 1777. 
He married Elizabeth Lee, a descendant of William Bradford, one of the most 
<iistinguished of the Pilgrim Fathers, and the second Governor of the Plymouth 
•colony. 

Of Rev . Thomas Alleii's twelve children — nine sons and three daughters — all 
were of marked character. Of these the Rev. William Allen succeeded his father 
in the Pittsfield pastorate, and afterward became president of Bowdoin College and 
an author of considerable note. 

Jonathan Allen, the father of the subject of this sketch, was several times 
Representative and Senator in the Massachusetts Legislature ; was Quartei-master 
in the war of 1812 ; was one of the founders of the Berkshire Agricultural Society; 



662 GKEAT CITIES A^D TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

became one of the earliest importers of fine wool sheep in Massachusetts, and was 
postmaster at Pitlsfield at the time of his death. In a word, he was, through life^ 
a man quite faultless in all social relations — a devoted husband and father, a kind 
neighbor, a true and fast friend, a man of thought, enterprise and public spirit. 
By his first wife, Mr. Jonathan Allen had two children ; by his second (Eunice 
"Williams Lamed, daughter of Darius Larned, of Pittsfield) , eight, of whom Thomas 
was the third. 

During early boyhood Thomas lived with his father on the glebe of one hundred 
acres, which, with other lands, had been assigned to the first minister of the town, 
and attended the village academy. His preparatory studies were pursued at the 
Berkshire gymnasium, a seminary in Pittsfield, under the management of the dis- 
tinguished scholar and naturalist, Professor Chester Dewey, having the good 
foi'tune to be for a while a room-mate with Mark Hopkins, then one of the teachers, 
and the late venerable and eminent president of Williams College. 

He entered Union College in 1829, attaining the requisite age of sixteen between 
the day of examination and the beginning of the first term. 

His college life was distinguished by no remarkable incident, but he maintained 
with ease a good standing as a scholar, and remembers with special gratitude the 
great advantage to him through life of the senior year's instructions of President 
Nott. He graduated in 1832, and, in accordance with the election of the Philoma- 
thean Society, delivered a farewell address to the class. 

His legal studies, which had been commenced at Albany, were interrupted by the 
approach of the cholera to that city, in its first fearful visitation to America ; and, 
before they could be resumed, family misfortunes, involving much loss of money, 
had rendered it impossible to resume them as before. 

The young law student, under these circumstances, true to his good New England 
blood, education and character, under the impulse of a firm will, with twenty-five 
dollars, which his father had given him, for sole capital, started for New York,, 
arriving there October 18th, 1832. Through an advertisement, he obtained permis- 
sion to remain in the office of Hatch & Cambreleng, in Wall street, where he could 
read the books, paying for the privilege in clerical labor. Here his industry soon 
won him a clerkship, with a salary of three hundred dollars per annum. He 
remained for three yeai'S, learning the practice of the law from the labors thrown 
upon him, and employing his leisui-e moments in study. 

He frequently wrote for the newspapers, comments or criticisms upon passing 
events, and in September, 1834, he became the editor of the Family Magazine, a 
monthly illustrated journal of useful general intelligence— J. S. Kedfield, publisher. 
His editorial work, which was done at the odd hours he could spare from his law 
pursuits, continued above eighteen months, contributing materially to his support. 
About this time he assisted in compiling, for the leading law publisher of New York,, 
a digest of the decisions of the New York courts, from the earliest times down to 
that period. Upon this work he labored over a year. For his share of the labor in 
that work, he received a small but select law library. 

The Family 3fagazine flourished under his management, and some of his contri- 
butions to it have since been published in Sears' illustrated volumes, among others. 
The Digest, published and republished, was long a standard work. 

In 1835, at the age of twenty-one, he was admitted to the bar by the New York 
Supreme Court, received the degree of Master of Arts from Ms Alma Mater, and 
was elected an honorary member of the Phi-Beta-Kappa of New York, an honor 
not often lightly bestowed. 



ST. LOUIS. 663i 

In 1836, he supported, by addresses in his native town and elsewhere, the election 
of Mr. Van Buren to the presidenc3\ In the same season, his uncle by marriage, 
General E. W. Kipley, one of the well-known heroes of Lundy's Lane, and then a 
Representative in Congress from Louisiana^ invited him to remove to that State, 
oflfering to resign to him his law office and practice. The offer was accepted, but 
not carried out. 

In the spring of 1837, Mr. Allen made a visit to Illinois to inspect scattered tracts 
of lands which his brother owned in the military reservation of that State. While 
in Peoria, he first learned of the general suspension of specie payments and the 
crushing financial misfortunes which befell the country. While here he received 
letters from eminent statesmen, urging him to return to Washington and establish 
a new journal. He at once returned to New York, where, at the continued solicita- 
tion of the friends of the enterprise, he consented to undertake it. 

The first number of the Madtsonian was issued at Washington, August 16th, 1837, 
and met a favorable reception all over the country. The Madisonian had assumed 
its position and maintained it without regard to the unlooked-for opposition of Pres- 
ident Van Buren. An immediate opportunity to test its strength occured, and at 
the election for public printer, and after a hard contest for three days, Mr. Allen 
was chosen. 

In the preparation of the political campaign of 1840, Mr. Allen preferred for the 
Presidency Hon. William C. Eives of Virginia, a conservative democrat, but upon 
the nomination of Messrs. Harrison and Tyler, he gave them a zealous, laborious 
and persevering support, as the representatives of true democratic republican prin- 
ciples. 

In the midst of the campaign, on the 11th of April, 1840, his printing office was 
burned, as was supposed, by an incendiary. But on the 2d of May, the Madisonian 
appeared, announcing itself: 

''Self-born, begotten by the parent flame 
In which it burned, another, yet the same." 

Its rigor was not diminished by the ordeal of fire, and it reached, during the 
presidential campaign, the cii'culation — then very large — of twenty thousand. 

Nor was Mr. Allen's voice silent during that contest. He addressed the National 
Convention of young men, at Baltimore, as one of its vice-presidents ; spoke at a 
public dinner given him by the citizens of his native town, and made political 
speeches in several States. 

General Harrison, on his arrival at Washington, cordially acknowledged the great 
■ services of Mr. Allen, and consulted him on the formation of his cabhiet. Of the 
sad group who stood by his bed-side wiien the venei'able President died, Mr. Allen 
was one. 

Passing over much that is interesting in Mr. Allen's history^ we come down to the 
spring of 1842, when he moved to St. Louis, where, on the 12th of the following 
July, he married Miss Anna C. Russell, the daughter of William Russell, Esq., of 
this. city. He oijened a law office here, but soon closed it, and began to devote his 
attention to public interests, and was mainly instrumental in the establishment of 
the St. Louis Horticultural Society, of which he became president. In 1848 he 
began those labors in behalf of internal improvements in Missouri and neighbor- 
ing States, which have continued ever since, and have accomplished results which 
could hardly have been hoped for at that time. 



664 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

His first public effort in behalf of railroads was an address to the voters of St. 
Louis in behalf of a subscription to the St. Louis & Cincinnati railroad, written at 
the request of a public meeting, in 1848. 

In February, 1849, at a large meeting of the citizens of St. Louis, called to take 
action for a line of railroad to the Pacific coast, Mr. Allen reported resolutions 
strongly in favor of such a national central highway, which were unanimously 
passed, and were approved by the State Legislature. 

In the October following, under a call of the citizens of St. Louis, written by Mr. 
Allen, a national convention assembled in this city, delegates from fourteen States 
being present. Senator Benton, Mr. Allen and others made speeches in favor of the 
enterprise, and to Mr. Allen was intrusted the preparation of an address to the 
people of the United States, and a memorial to Congress. 

In January, 1860, Mr. Allen read an address concerning the Pacific Kailroad, so 
comprehensive of view, accurate and full in detail, earnest in manner, and so irre- 
sistably convincing, that $154,000 of stock was subscribed on the spot. In the fall 
of the same year Mr. Allen was chosen for four years to the Senate of Missouri^ 
where he was immediately made chairman of the Committee on Internal Improve- 
ments, and by persevering efforts succeeded in obtaining a loan of the State credit 
in aid of the road, to the amount of $2,000,000. 

In 1852, Mr. Allen proposed a plan which practically resulted in the following 
State loans and assignments of land, in aid of the railroad mentioned : The original 
Pacific with a State loan of $3,000,000, and an assignment of 1,250,000 acres of the 
national land grant ; the Southwestern branch — loan $1,000,000; Iron Mountain — 
loan $750,000; Hannibal & St. Joseph— loan $1,600,000, laud grant, 600,000 acres; 
North Missoiiri — loan $2,000,000. Thus, in three or four years of hard work, a very 
great part of which fell to Mr. Allen, and under his well-directed influence, the 
apathy which had hung over the State in regard to internal improvements was 
broken up and a policy established. 

In 1854, thirty-eight miles of the road being in operation, and over one-hundred 
more under construction, Mr. Allen resigned his postion as President and Director 
of the Pacific road, and also retired from the Senate, declining a re-nomination, 
which was tendered him. 

In 1857, Mr. Allen was chosen President of the Terre Haute, Alton and St. 
Louis railroad, but finding it deeply in debt, withdrew and recommended a 
re organization. 

In 1858, he founded the well-known banking house of Allen, Copp & Nisbet, of 
St. Louis, he furnishing the capital. 

Intrusted by the State of Missouri with $900,000 of her guaranteed bonds, in aid 
of the southern branch of the Pacific railroad, he disposed of them to great advan- 
tage, and without charge. 

When the civil war broke out, in 1862, Mr. Allen, with all the means at his 
command, aided the Union cause. 

In 1862, he was candidate for Congress of the " Unconditional Union men " of the 
Second Missouri District, and was defeated by means familiar enough in those dis- 
tracted days, but which we will riot here discuss. 

In 1865, Mr. Allen, with his eldest son and daughter, visited Great Britain and 
the continent of Europe. 

In 1866, he presented a plan for the liquidation of the national debt, by a grand 
patriotic subscription, in commutation of taxes, and also based, in part, on re- 
payment in public lands. 



ST. LOUIS. 665 

By purchase, Mr. Allen became the owner of the Iron Mountain railroad in 1867, 
it having been surrendered to the State with only eighty-six miles completed. In 
spite of the great natural and political obstructions, he finished the road to Belmont 
in 1869, one hundred and twenty miles further. He then extended a branch from 
Pilot Knob to Arkansas in 1871-72, and having, with his associates, purchased the 
Cairo & Fulton railroad to Arkansas, he completed that road in 1872-'73, from Cairo 
to Texarkana, some three-hundred and seventy-five miles. He thus constructed about 
one hundred miles of railroad every year for six years. While doing so he was 
president of four different raih'oad corporations, all of which, aggregating in length 
six hundred and eighty-six miles, were consolidated in May, 1874, under the title of 
the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway. Connected with this extensive 
property, in which, first and last, some $24,000,000 have been invested, is a landed 
-estate in Missouri and Ai-kansas of about 1,600,000 acres. 

Mr. Allen was a member of and took a prominent part in the organizing of the 
National Board of Trade at Philadelphia and Cincinnati, in 1868. In 1871, he en- 
dowed a professorship in Washington University, of St. Louis, with the annual 
interest on $40,000, at 7 per cent., which is known as the "Allen Professorship of 
Mining and Metallurgy." In 1872, he was elected, and still remains, president of 
the University Club, of St. Louis, its members numbering now three hundred and 
fifty. The same year, he was elected President of the Bail way Association of 
America, which is devoted to railway economy,. He has also established a free 
library in his native town of Pittsfield, Mass., and erected for it a beautiful stone 
edifice, at a cost of about $50,000. Here he habitually spends his summers, and 
amidst his native hills and vales he indulges himself in what he considers 
the luxury of a farm, and takes not a little pleasure and pride in his Jersey cattle. 
Southdown sheep, and other fruits of agriculture. He is .President of the Alumni 
Association of his Alma Mater, and, while engaged in an important land litigation 
in Mississippi county, in 1874, received from Union College, New York, the honor- 
ary degree of Doctor of Laws. Some men become doctors of law nominally by 
favor. Upon him the doctorate is thrust by force of circumstances. 

He is an honorary member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and a 
member of several other prominent societies, such as the New York and Wisconsin 
Historical Societies ; a fellow of the American Academy of Design, and of the 
American Geographical Society. He spent the summer of 1874 in London and 
Paris, Ms youngest son accompanying him. 

In 1875, becoming possessed of a street railway charter in St. Louis, he built and 
■equipped one of the best models in the city (the Cass Avenue line, four and a quarter 
miles double track), iu about ninety days, and placed his son at the head of it. His 
address on " The Railroad Pi'oblem," the same season, was exhaustive, ran through 
several editions, and had a marked effect on public opinion. He has always had a 
leaning to literary pursuits and intellect culture, and loves the society of his books. 
He has made many public addresses, which have been published. He is also fond of 
rural life ; and few are more skillful in the use of rod and gun. 

In 1875,. he was appointed President of the Board of State Centennial Managers 
for Missouri, and discharged its duties with fidelity and patriotic zeal, taking upon 
himself, alone, for want of public funds, the erection of a headquarters building for 
the State at Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, in 1876. His thoughts on the progress 
of the Republic, suggested by the centennial year, embodied in a discourse delivei'ed. 
before the University Club in April, 1876, and published by the Club, commanded 



Q66 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

attention. He was appointed b}^ the Governor to deliver the address for Missouri 
at the Centennial International Exposition. 

While he is the presiding officer of the several corporations mentioned, and of 
several others not named, he is also the head of a family, reared in Missouri, con- 
sisting of his wife, four sons and three daughters, and may be pronounced one of 
the busiest executive men in the nation. Several thousand persons have, at times,, 
been in his employment, developing the wealth and advancing the civilization of the 
country, their joint labors, with his, tending to promote the growth of his adopted 
city. His mind and character have strengthened with his labors. Innumerable 
questions in law and physics, in political economy, natural and moral philpsophy,. 
trade, commerce and finance, are pressed upon him, in the emergencies of his varied 
business, for practical solution. To perform his duties successfully requires robust 
health, clear brain, cool judgment, imperturable temper, varied knowledge, indus- 
try and great experience. He is one who makes history, and his works are his best 
monviment. When they are finished, truly may be said: " Exegi monumentum (Bre 
perennis.^^ 

Of Mr. Allen it would be faint praise to say that his private relations are above 
reproach. His personal morality is of the highest type. He is unostentatious, just 
and honorable. He is exceptionally consistent in all his personal connections. The 
ties of kindred are intensely strong and close with him, and he fosters the welfare of 
those to whom they bind him with excessive care. As head of a family, he is a model 
for men to applaud and copy. It may truly be said of him, that he walks all th& 
common ways of life with the upright carriage of a considerate, kindly, worthy 
Christian gentleman. 

WILLIAM TORREY HARRIS, LL. D., 

was born in North Killingly, (Connecticut, September 10th, 1835. He is descendent 
on his fathers' side, from Thomas Harris, who emigrated to Rhode Island with its 
founder, Roger Williams. His mother was a descendant of William Torrey, who 
left England and settled in Weymouth, Massachusetts, in 1640, with his son Samviel, 
who was twice elected to the presidency of Harvard College, and both times de- 
clined. Samuel was a clergyman, as was his son and grandson. He was educated 
at a country district school in Connecticut, attended academies at Woodstock, Con- 
necticut, and at Andover and Worcester, Massachusetts. After teaching several 
terms he entered Yale College, in 1854, being then in his eighteenth year. He 
remained hree years, leaving the College at the end of the school year, in 1857. 
He did not complete his course at Yale, but the College subsequently conferred 
upon him the degree of M. A. unsolicited. The degree of LL D. was afterwards 
conferred upon him by the University of the State of Missouri. 

In August, 1857, Mr. Harris arrived in St, Louis and engaged in teaching. He 
became connected with the public schools of the city in May, 1858, as assistant 
teacher in the Franklin school, corner of Eighteenth street and Christy avenue. He 
was appointed principal of the Clay school — the first graded school in the city — in 
1859. After eight years of service as principal of the Clay school, in which position 
he gave the utmost satisfaction, he was in 1867 appointed assistant superintendent. 
In May of the following year, the Board of School Directors elected him General 
Superintendent of the St. Louis Public Schools, and he has been regularly re-elected 
each year since, and now holds this important and honorable position. Upon 



ST. LOUIS- 667 

assuming the responsibilities of his office, Mr. Harris immediately commenced a 
series of improvements in the public school system as then taught, which have pro- 
duced the most beneficial results, and which have challenged the criticism and 
commanded the admiration of the most able and successful Eastern professors. 
Dr. Leigh's phonetic system of instruction in the primary grades, an improved 
method of teaching reading, was first put in successful operation by Mr. Harris, and 
has since been adopted in the Boston and other j)ublic schools. Mr. Harris also in- 
troduced the present method of German instruction. Instead of having German 
taught in separate schools, it is distributed in the diffej'ent schools in the city, thus re- 
moving all elements of caste or nativism. This system, which works so harmoniously 
and successfully in St. Louis, is now generally adopted in the West. Under Mr. Har- 
ris' system of classification and grading, the caste in character of the old schools has 
passed away and the mobility is such, that slow pupils are neither neglected nor 
over-worked, and the apt scholars not retarded nor unduly'stimulated. The method 
of teaching the natural sciences in the St. Louis schools is another marked feature 
of Mr. Harris' administration. It is so arranged as not to interfere with the other 
branches, having but one lesson of an hour each week. The plan is to give each 
pupil who passes through the grades three complete courses of instruction in natural 
science. The courses include the grand divisions of plants, animals and physics, and 
are so graded that the beginner is taught chiefly concerning his playthings, and the 
natural objects familliar to him, and advancing thence . 

Mr. Harris, as a teacher and superintendent of education, has no superior in the 
West, and is the worthy peer of the leading educational men of the nation. 

So much for Mr. Harris as an educator in the public schools. He is equally an 
educator and still more a leader in another department . He is the head of a school 
of Speculative Philosophy, which, under his guidance, has sprung up in St. Louis, 
and which has attracted the attention of every deep thinker of the age in America 
and in Europe. Mr. Harris, while at Yale, having studied Kant a little and also 
Goethe, in 1856, met the venerable Bronson Alcott, who in various conversations 
gave him many valuable hints, and very much stimulated and strengthened his love 
of philosophical studies. During his first year in St. Louis he met Mr. Henry C. 
Brockmeyer, a remarkable and brilliant German, and an enthusiastic student of 
Kant, who awoke in Mr. Harris a genuine fervor. He read Kant's " Critique of 
Pure Eeason," without, he says, at all understanding it. They formed a Kant class, 
which Mr. Alcott on one occasion visited, and soon the love of philosophical study 
became an enthusiasm. A number of highly-cultured Germans and Americans com- 
posed this circle, whose members had a supreme contempt for the needs of the flesh, 
and who, after laborious and exhaustive days of teaching, would spend the night in 
threading the mysteries of Kant. Mr. Harris claims they mastered Kant in 1858, 
and that in 1863 they had analyzed, or obtained the keys to, Leibnitz and Spinoza. 
Mr. Harris has written^out the results of this long study in his *' Introduction to 
Philosophy," in which he deals with " Speculative Insights." Everyone, he claims, 
will, by mastering this '^ Introduction," have the same insight as he did into Kant, 
Leibnitz, and Spinoza. 

Mr. Harris wrote a "Critique upon Herbert Spencer's First Principles," and 
offered it to the North American Beview. The editor failed to find in it aught but 
gveat audacity, and returned it to the author. Mr. Harris then, in thaface of many 
obstacles, boldly started his Journal of Speculative Philosophy, issuing his first 
number in April, 1867. This publication, which he has ever since edited and pub- 



668 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

lished, now in its 12tli volume, has achieved a permanent and gratifying success. It 
is gaining ground in this country, and has won a wide and hearty recog-nition 
among the thinking men of Germany, and throughout Europe. 

Mr. Harris was married, in 1858, to Miss Sarah Tully Bugbee, of Providence, 
Khode Island, and has an interesting family of three children, two sons and a 
daughter. In 1873 he prepared the ''Brief Statement of the Theory of Education 
in the United States," to present at the Vienna Exposition. He was elected Presi- 
dent of the National Educational Convention in 1875. He has prepared, among 
other important papers : (a) One on the Course of Study from the Primary School 
to the College. (&) One on Classification and Grading in the Public Schools, (c) 
One on Moral Education in the Public Schools. 

In 1875 he became associate editor of Johnson's Universal Cyclopedia, having 
the department of Philosophy and Psychology, and contributed more than forty 
original articles to that excellent work. His contributions to magazines and news- 
papers, and his lectures and addresses upon educational, metaphysical, scientific and 
artistic themes, are innumerable ; always able and clear, forcible and pertinent, 
illustrating, explaining, and usually deciding the point discussed. 

Mr. Harris is still at school ; for he regards the sensible universe as the institution 
for the education of man — birth the matriculation — life the academic course — and 
death the graduation. To him, life means our opportunity to come into more 
intimate relations, from day to day, with whatever is true, and good, and beautiful; 
to cultivate the most intimate acquaintance with whatever is, and is forever. "With 
this interpretation of life, which pre-supposes self-conscious intelligence as the final 
end of the Universe, and its i-ealization as the significance of existence, he has 
applied himself with great industry to the acquisition of a connected view of the 
various achievments of man in art, science, religion, and institutions — industrial, 
social and political— as selected parts of one self consistent total. What has ap- 
peared in public from his hand may be regarded as fragmentary results of this 
application, and bears evidence of a power of abstract thought, which together with 
his unwearied industry— which maybe regarded as his peculiar characteristic — 
promises well for the future. In his immediate practical sphere, as Superintendent 
of Public Schools, he endeavors to transform these views into a living actuality, by 
realizing, for his city, a system which, while it opens to the pupil a vista in the 
eternal significance of life, is in strict harmony with the political instiutions of the 
country . 

"We educate" he says, "the future citizens of the United States, not the future 
citizens of Prussia, of France, of England, of China, or of Japan. This must 
dictate our methods. Nor shall we forget, that, although citizens of the United 
States, that they are to be men and women. The particular shall not swallow np 
the general. We will not educate Spartans ; nor shall the general obliterate the 
particular. We will not educate blank abstract humanitarians^' 

He may be regarded pre-eminently a man of thought ; his erudition, though varied 
and extensive, is never produced for its own sake, but ever in the service of thought. 
His concrete results are achieved from the self-mediation of thought, and not by 
the intuitive methods, which will, while oblivious of the logical relations involved, 
appear under the character of makeshifts for the time being. Morally without a 
blemish, he is socially esteemed, but his absorbing industry withdraws liim from 
society as such. He combines the depth and industry of the German, the grace and 
poetic taste of the Greek, with the enthusiasm and practical tact of the American. 



ST. LOUIS. 669 

In physique he is strong, muscular and enduring, in mind clear, profound and 
" prompt, and in heart warm, generous and just. He is emphatically the man who 
would rather have truth than wealth, and x'ather be right than President. He is still 
young, his life-work but fairly begun, and his fellow-citizens naturally look for great 
things from him in the future, and if his life is spared, will not be disappointed. 

HENRY C. BEOKMEYEE, 

elected Lieutenant-Governor of Missouri in the Centennial year, was born near 
"Winden, Prussia, August 12th, 1828. His father was a well-to-do business man, 
and his mother a descendant of one of the kingdom's distinguished families. He 
attended the public schools of his vicinity, receiving religious and secular instruc- 
tion. He left his home, alone, at the age of sixteen, and took passage upon an 
emigrant ship for JSTew York, where he an-ived, a total stranger, with twenty-five 
cents in his pocket, and understanding three words of English. Not only willing 
but determined to earn an honest living, he was, for some time, a boot-black along 
the Bowery. He soon obtained a situation to learn the currier's trade, at three 
dollars and board per month. At the end of six months, having learned his trade, 
he demanded and received one dollar per day. 

During this time, all his spare moments were devoted to learning the English 
language, in which he was kindly assisted by his employer. He studied carefully, 
and was soon able to read such books as were useful to him. He came across a com- 
prehensive review of the trade and mechanical arts in the West, and having a 
wonderful faculty for understanding machinery, he turned his attention to tanning 
and shoemaking, in which he became proficient, and at which he saved enough 
pay his way west. He went to Buffalo, to Toledo, and thence to Fort Wayne, 
Indiana, where he found employment as a currier, and laid by two hundred dollars 
to be kept in case of misfortune. He has always believed in having a small reserve 
for a i^ainy day. From Fort Wayne he went to Dayton, and thence to Cincinnati, 
making the journey mostly on foot. There he took passage by river for St. Louis^ 
where he arrived in August, 1848. He found employment as a tanner with Mr. 
John How, and remained two months. He then, with an old class-mate, went to 
Memphis, Tennessee, and thence to Columbus, Misisssippi, where he obtained em- 
plojmaent at his trade. His thorough knowledge of his business, and his apt turn of 
mind, enabled him to introduce a number of improvements in the establishment 
where he worked, for which he was liberally compensated. Having accumulated 
some money, he went to Oktibbela county, where, being kindly received, he started 
the business of tanner and currier, with which he combined shoemaking, which he 
found very lucrative. By using dycrepid laborers, broken-down negro farm hands^ 
obtained at mere nominal wages, he was enabled to successfully compete with 
eastern- made work, and the result was a monopoly of the ' business. The unfavor- 
able climate told upon his naturally vigorous constitution ; he sold out, and becoming 
interested in religious questions, and desiring to prepare for a profession, he entered 
the preparatory department of Geoi'getown College, Kentucky, in the fall of 1850, 
He remained two years, applying himself very closely. Owing to theological dis- 
putes which arose between the president and Mr. Brokmeyer, the latter was 
threatened with dismission, when he withdrew and entered Brown University, 
where he took an eclectic course, and where Hon. Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, was his 
class-mate. He remained under Dr. Wayland's instruction, and was often, in the 
class, a full match, on religious questions, for that distinguished divine. 



670 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

On account of family matters, he seriously thought of returning to Germany; but 
while on the wharf, satchel in hand, he determined to return west, and arrived in 
St. Louis, the second time, in 1854. He remained but a few days, when, taking his 
books and his gun, he went to the woods of Warren county. Here he moved into 
an abandoned cabin, and provided himself with a few necessary articles of furni- 
ture. With a faithful dog as his only companion, he supplied himself with game, 
cooked his own food, and made his own clothes and shoes. He read the books 
brouo-ht with him, and studied deeply and well the book of nature opened befoi-e 
him, pursuing a course more for culture than for any special vocation. He had not 
yet decided what special one in life he would perform. Having thus spent nearly 
three years' time, he returned to St. Louis and obtained employment as an iron 
moulder in the foundry of Giles F. Ftlley, and remained six weeks. He subse- 
quently worked "piecework" in the foundry of Bridge, Beach & Co., earning 
fifteen dollars per week, at that time very high wages. His leisure hours and 
evenings were devoted to study. He accidentally became acquainted with William 
T. Harris, then a teacher, now Superintendent of Public Schools in St. Louis, who 
organized a class, consisting of himself, Francis C. Childs, Dr. Watters and a few 
others, for the study of German Philosophy, and invited Mr. Brokmeyer to become 
their instructor. He declined quiting his work in the foundry, but gave them his 
evenings and Sundays, and their studies were pursued to the mutual advantage of all 
concerned, for several months. Mr. Brokmeyer having saved up some money, bade 
his class and other friends good-bye, returned to Warren county and invested his 
cash in eighty acres of land. His philosophy class, upon his departure, as a token 
of their high regard and esteem for him, presented him with some useful books. 

He entered upon possession of his land, built him a cabin, gathered together there 
all his books and papers, and once more commenced the life of a recluse student. 
In the fall of 1858 he was stricken down with bilious fever, and lay dangerously ill, 
with no one near but his ever-faithfiil dog. He was discovered in this condition by 
a neighbor. Information was sent to Mr. Harris, who at once went to Mr. Brok- 
meyer's cabin home, and had him taken to St. Louis, where, under careful nursing 
and kind treatment, he, in due time, recovered. The class resumed their German 
philosophical studies, and Mr. Brokmeyer undertook a literal translation of Hegel's 
Logic, in three volumes, and completed the task in one year. But for the failure of 
a publisher in London, it would have formed a part of Bohn's Classical Library. 
The manusci-ipt is still in his possession. 

In the summer of 1861, Mr. Brokmeyer, still engaged in his studies, was married 
to Miss Elizabeth Robertson, an estimable lady of St. Louis, and at once removed 
to the independence of rural life upon his farm in Warren county. The State 
called its citizens to military duty. Mr. Brokmeyer enrolled himselt in the militia; 
was elected and commissioned captain of the first company organized. He was 
appointed provisional lieutanant-colonel, with authority to raise a regiment. The 
regiment was raised in three weeks ; the muster-roll was presented to the Governor, 
and with it the unanimous petition of officers and privates that Mr. Brokmeyer be 
commissioned colonel. The muster-roll and petition were rejected (subsequently 
found to be at the instigation of Colonel Merril, of Louisiana fame), and two days 
later he was arrested, charged with disloyalty, and confined in the. Gratiot Street 
Prison. Upon an examination of the facts in the case, he was released from 
prison. 



ST. LOUIS. 671 

Six weeks later, Mr. Brokmeyer was elected, by an overwhelming' majority, from 
"Warren county, to the General Assembly, where he boasted that his was the only 
county that gave a larger vote on that occasion than had ever been polled before. 
He was a war democrat; voted sixty- three times for Samuel T. Glover for United 
States Senator, and in general took political positions which he has ever since 
maintained. He had studied law without a teacher, been admitted to the bar in 
Warren county, and at the close of his legislative term of office, removed to St. 
Louis, without means, and entered upon the successful practice of his profession. 
In the fall of 1864 he was bereaved in the loss of his wife, who left two children, 
the youngest only four months old. 

He participated actively in the political movements of the day. Prior to 1865 he 
strongly opposed disfranchisement of citizens on account of their participation or 
sympath)^ with the Confederate cause, and subsequently laboi'ed earnestly to restore 
the rights of citizenship to those deprived of them. In 1866 he served the city well 
and faithfully as alderman, but was legislated out of office the following spring, and 
devoted all his time to his profession. 

In January, 1867, he was married to Miss Julia Keinlen, whose parents were 
among the early German settlers of the city. He was elected to the State Senate in 
1870. He took prominent part in every important question. He wielded great in- 
fluence in securing the passage of important bills, and in defeating others which he 
deemed detrimental to the best interests, and prejudicial to the general welfare of 
the people. He served two years as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and two 
years as Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. He was a strong oppo- 
nent of the Heard Eevenue Bill, for his success in which the St. Louis business men 
offered him a public banquet, which he declined, saying he had only done his duty. 
He was the author of a bill which passed the Senate, but failed in the Assembly, 
providing that when a party too poor to defray legal costs is in litigation with a 
moneyed corporation, the latter shall defray such expenses. 

In November, 1874, Mr. Brokmeyer, at the earnest solicitation of St. Louis' best 
citizens, became a candidate for member of the Constitutional Convention of 1875 
and was elected by a handsome majority. In this convention he took an active, 
prominent and influential position. He was Chairman of the Legislative Com- 
mittee, and as such devised, perfected and presented to the Convention, and by his 
persistent effort, logical arguments and wonderful power of presentation and 
illustration, succeeded in engrafting upon the proposed constitution the greatest leg- 
islative reform the world has ever seen. The unprecedented changes are these : 

1st. The Legislature is limited in its power to levy taxes. 

2d. The Legislature is limited in its power to expend the public moneys. 

3d. The Legislature is prohibited any right or power to create a public or State 
debt; the power to create such a debt being lodged in the people, who, by a two- 
thirds vote of the tax-payers, must so determine before a State debt can be 
contracted. 

4th. The Legislature is denied any power to grant exclusive rights, charters 
privileges or immunities such as are usually bestowed upon the few at the expense 
of the many. 

The restrictions were, of course, opposed by the lobbyists, corporations, lovers of 
precedents, and law importers, and by some very good and intelligent men, who 
denied their usefulness. The people of the State, however, showed their opinion 
of the proposed constitution, voting its adoption by a majority of seven to one. 



672 GREAT CITn^S AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

Mr. Brokmeyer was, in the fall of 1876, elected Lieutenant Governor of Missouri^, 
and as such, President of the State Senate. Here his powers as a presiding officer 
were fully illustrated, giving universal satisfaction, and calling forth only unmingled 
admiration and encomium. As this was the firs^ legislative session under the new 
constitution, which Mr. Brokmeyer had taken such an efficient part in framing, he 
now took an equally interested and effective part in moulding the action of the 
Senate to conformity with its provisions. 

Mr. Brokmeyer's chief characteristics are a piercing intellect, acute powers of 
analysis, keen observation, and great power of accurate express i'on, uniting severe 
technical precision with poetic imagery. In the grandeur of his invictives one is 
reminded of the ancient Hebrew prophets. As a thinker, he readily comprehends 
and expounds the most abstruse metaphysical philosophy — Greek or German. His 
memory is not good for names, dates and such details, but he has at his command 
the significant facts of histoiy and science. Goethe and Shakespeare are his favorite 
poets. He calls Homer the poet of the nation ; Shakespeare the poet of society ; and 
Goethe the poet of the individual. His '• Letters on Faust," published in Journal 
of Speculative Philosophy, 1867 and 1868, furnish, in outline, the best key to the 
meaning of that wonderful drama. He learned his English from Shakespeare, and 
his surprising familiarity with its resources for rhyme and rythm, and for strong and 
delicate expression, is shown in his drama, ''A Foggy Night at Newport," published 
at St. Louis in 1860. 

Mr. Brokmeyer is a most skillful hunter and a superior marksman, at both long 
and short range. He has thoi'oughly studied the habits, and understands the natural 
history of wild animals, interpreting their instincts like a magician. He always 
sees things as a whole, and is a most interesting aud instructive conversationalist, 
because he gives a poetical wholeness to his views of the times. He has a 
moderate competency, is pursuing his studies with all his youthful ardoi- and enthu- 
siasm, and will no doubt publish or leave for publication, that which will 
demonstrate his right to an honorable place amongst the great philosophers of 
the age. 

CHARLES VALENTINE RILEY, 

whose seiwices as State Entomologist of Missouri during several years have given 
him a strong hold upon the gratitude of the people of the State, was born in 
London, England, September 18th, 1843. He spent his boyhood at Walton, a 
charming little village on the banks of the Thames, between Hampton Court 
and "Windsor, where he early developed a taste for natural history, and espe- 
cially for entomology, which was no doubt stimulated by an occasional visit to the 
celebrated and unequalled collection of Mr. H. W. Hewiston, in the neighboring 
village of Oatlands, Weybridge. He subsequently attended private schools at 
Chelsea and Bayswater till the age of eleven, when he entered the C ollege of St. 
Paul, Dieppe, France. Hei-e he remained three years, receiving a severe classical 
course, mastering the French language, and developing a talent in drawing which 
enabled him to carry off most of the prizes in that department, and which has ever 
since been of the greatest assistance to him in his favorite study of natural history. 
He then spent nearly three years in a private school at Bonn, Prussia, in general 
study, giving especial attention, however, to acquiring a thorough knowledge of the 
German language. At Bonn, and at the neighboring village of Poppelsdorf, he met 



ST. LOUIS. 673 

many eminent naturalists, who stimulated in him his already great love of natural 
history, to which he enthusiastically devoted all his leisure hours. A love of adven- 
ture, travel, and free government, caused him to bid good bye to his relatives and 
turn his attention to the United States, where he arrived at the age of seventeen, 
determined to devote himself to practical agriculture in its various branches. He 
settled with Mr. Geo. H. Edwards, upon a farm in Kankakee county, Illinois, where 
he remained nearly four years. His naturally inquisitive turn of mind, and his 
propensity for investigation, led him, in the pursuit of his avocation of agriculture 
and horticulture, to a close obsei'vation of the various insects that prey upon vegeta- 
tion. The study became attractive, and soon one of absorbing interest. His taste 
in this branch of natural philosophy increased in proportion as it diminished for 
the active exercise of agriculture. In short, his mind was more active than his 
body. Concurrent with the interest he took in the subject, an ambition was 
awakened in his mind to perfect himself, and excel in this branch of natural science. 
The result was, he soon abandoned the farm to devote himself more exclusively to 
general study, but more especiallj^ to the subject of Entomology ; and to gratify his 
ambition and minister to his favorite tastes, he became connected with the Prairie 
Farmer of Chicago. 

Besides a close application to the duties of his position as reporter, delineator, 
and editor of the entomological department of this paper, he devoted his time and 
energies to the study of Botany and Entomology. His industry and versatility soon 
-made him, not only popular with his associates upon the paper, but gave him a wide- 
spread and favorable reputation as a writer upon natural history, especially on his 
specialty of economic entomology, the importance of which he soon made apparent. 

During his extensive travels in connection with the Prairie Farmer, he became 
personally acquainted with the leading naturalists and agriculturalists of the West. 

His connection with the Pi^airie Farmer was interrupted in May, 1864, by his 
enlisting as a private in the 134th Illinois volunteer regiment, as which he served 
until its disbanding in November of the same year, when he resumed his connection 
with the same paper; the proprietors, as a mark of their appreciation, paying his 
salary for the months he was absent. 

In the spring of 1868, Mr. Riley terminated his connection with the Prairie 
Farmer to accept the office of " State Entomologist of Missouri," which was ten- 
dered to him upon its creation. It is in connection with this important office that 
Prof. Eiley has developed his peculiar ability and earned his world-wide reputation 
as an Entomologist and a keen writer on practical agriculture and scientific sub- 
jects. 

During this year, in connection with Benjamin D. Walsh, a graduate of Cam- 
bridge, and a class-mate of Darwin's, State Entomologist of Illinois, he started the 
American Fntomologist, published by R. P. Studley & Co., of St. Louis. In 
ISTovember, 1869, in his sixty-second year, Mr. Walsh met with a sad and sudden 
death, and Professor Riley took sole charge of the journal, which so increased his 
labors, that at the close of the second volume, his health gave way, and he felt him- 
self obliged to suspend its publication, intending however, to start it again at some 
future time. The Magazine was copiously illustrated with drawings from Prof. 
Riley's pencil, and very popular among fruit-growers and farmers, as well as among 
entomolgists and botanists. 

Everyone who has given even a cursory examination to the subject, knows, in a 
general way, that an immense amount of damage is inflicted upon the agricultural 
43 



674 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

interests of the world by insect pests, but it is only those who have carefully 
studied the matter, who know the multitude in kind, and myriads in numbers, of 
these depredators, and the millions of dollars' worth annually destroyed by them 
in the United States, 

Upon this subject, Professor Riley, in a lecture at "Washington University, in 1877, 
says: 

" The United States, above all other countries, needs to consider seriously the best 
means whereby to protect her agriculture against its insect enemies, and to legislate, 
if need be, to that end. In no other country are insects so numerous in species and 
individuals, and in no other country do they commit such fearful depredations. 
The Cotton-worm, in 1874, cost the Southern States $20,000,000 in a single week. 
The Colorado Potato-beetle almost vetoed the growing of potatoes in some of the 
"Western States, until we learned how to successfully manage it. The Chinch-bug 
every few years saps the life from our same grains, until they are hardly worth 
harvesting. In 1871, it kept $30,000,000 out of the pockets of the farmers of .the 
Northwestern States, and in 1874, twice that sum would not have paid for its injuries 
in the same territory. The Hessian fly often ruins our wheat fields over immense 
areas, and $50,000,000 wou.ld not cover the country's loss from the Rocky-Mo untain- 
locust plague in the years 1873, 1874 and 1875, to say nothing of the suffering it 
entailed. The Army-worm last year again, very generally, marched through the 
wheat and oat fields of the country, as it not unfrequently does. The fruit-grower 
is beset on all sides with insect pests, that diminish the profits of Ms business, and 
not unfrequently oblige him to abandon it. And so the catalogue of insects injuri- 
ous to agi'iculture might be lengthened almost indefinitely, but enough has been said 
to give an idea of the losses continually sustained from them." 

Mr. Riley has demonstrated that, while it is impossible to save the whole of this 
immense damage from insects, it is still possible and practicable to avoid a large part 
of the destruction. 

A proper knowledge of the insect, its habits and transformation, usually gives a 
clue to its control, if not to its eradication, and enables the farmer to distinguish 
between his friends and foes in the insect world. This knowledge requires scientific 
training, close observation, and careful collations of experience and facts, which, to 
the average farmer, is simply impossible. 

Just here is where the great value of Prof. Riley's services are practically demon- 
strated. He has published nine annual reports, which show a large amount of 
labor, directed by profound scientific philosophy and experience ; and through these 
he has not only gained an enviable name and fame among scientists, but he has 
made himself known and honored, not only among the farmers, fruit-growers and 
stock raisers of our own State, but of the whole country, by teaching them how to 
successfully contend with and overcome most of their insect foes — giving remedies 
and suggesting preventive measures. 

Nothing shows more/ully the appreciation of and demand for the information he is 
enabled to give, than the manner inwhich he is constantly plied with letters of inquiry 
and flattering and grateful acknowledgements from agriculturists. This tribute 
to the popular phase of his labors is, however, more than equalled by contemporary 
scientists; and indeed, no one has ever more successfully combined the popular and 
practical with purely scientific work. The nine State Reports he has issued will 
prove perpetual monuments to his skill and industry, and the estimate placed 
upon them by the most competent judges is best illustrated by the fact that Charles 



ST. LOUIS. 675 

Darwin, in 1870, wrote of them that they contained a vast number of facts and 
generalizations valuable to know, and that he was struck with admiration at the 
author's powers of observation ; while the Entomologists^ Monthly Magazine, of 
London, in noticing his ninth, or last Keport issued, says: 

" The pleasing duty of noticing Professor Eiley's Annual Report again devolves 
upon us. In the ninth Keport, the author, in giving full scope to his keen powers 
of observation, minuteness of detail, and the skill with which he uses his pencil, 
and, at the same time in showing a report for that scientitic accuracy, unfortunately 
too often neglected in works on economic Natural History, maintains his rights to 
be termed the foremost economic entomologist of the day." 

In these Reports, the noxious, beneficial, innoxious insects are treated of in separ- 
ate divisions. They are written in plain and forcible language, with all the mere 
technical matter in smaller type than the text, and they are copiously illustrated by 
drawings made from nature, bj^ the author, and engraved at his own individual 
expense. Though their usefulness was lessened by their being bound with the 
bulky Agricultural Reports, their intrinsic value makes them eagerly sought after, 
and orders for sets, which can no longer be supplied, continue to come from all parts 
of our own country, and from Australia, ISTew Zealand, South America and Europe. 
They owe their value in no small degree to the fact that they are replete with the 
results of original research, and of newly-discovered facts in the life-history of 
most of our more injurious insects. The State would do well to have them re- 
printed in revised and more substantial form. 

Professor Riley, by his enthusiastic love of natural history, and especially of his 
particular branch thereof, and by his untiring energy and industrious habits, has 
already accomplished what many would consider a life-time success. He has dis 
covered the habits and shown how to prevent the injury, or how to contend 
successfully with most of our insect pests. He was the first to recommend Paris- 
green for the potato-bug, as it is now used, and in 1873 first recommended its use as 
a means of overcoming the cotton worm in the South, where it has since proven a 
perfect remedy. He made a special study of the grape-phylloxera, or gi-ape-root 
louse, and his discoveries and recommendations concerning this pest were so scien- 
tifically and loractically important that the French government, in appreciation of 
his services, especially to French grape ciilture, presented him with a gold medal, 
especially designed and cast for the occasion. He discovered that certain of the 
native American vines naturally resisted this pest, while others, and especially 
European varieties, yielded to them; and he recommended the grafting of the latter 
into the roots of the former, as a means of counteracting the work of the insect. 
This is now recognized as the best practicable remedy for this insect, and as a con- 
sequence there has been an export from America to France of immense numbers of 
the recommended American varieties of vines, which, in 1875, amounted to 14,000,- 
000 cuttings. Indeed, the business in American vines that has, in consequence of 
his discoveries, grown up between: this country and Europe, is such that various 
grape growers, and notably Messrs. Bush & Lonard, Meissner and Mr. Geo. 
Husmann, of our own State, have established agencies abroad, while a journal 
entitled La Vigne Americaine, edited by Professor J. E. Planchon, is now regularly 
published in France. 

Professor Riley has twice— in 1871 and in 1875— been to Europe to visit his rel- 
atives and assist his studies by the selection of books, and by the study of European 
museums. In 1871 he was able to stvidy the phylloxera as it occurred in Europe; 



676 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

and in 1875, while visiting the same locaUties, in Sonth France, he had the 
satisfaction of witnessing the resnlts of his recommendations. At this time the . 
Central Society of Agriculture of the Department of Herault, as a mark of their 
esteem, called an extraordinary session in his honor, and gave him a grand banquet 
at Palavas, on the Mediterranean. Professor Riley was the first to publish the 
natural history of the Colorado potato-beetle. He years ago foreshadowed its 
march across the continent, and predicted the time, within four years, when it 
would reach the Atlantic. Against opposite views of other entomologists, he in- 
sisted that there was danger even of it reaching Europe, and during the past year 
this opinion has been justified by the appearance of the beetle in Germany* and 
Enoland. Indeed, the name of Dor3rphoi'a lO-lineata has become as familiar to the 
members of the German Diet, the French Assembly and the British Parliament as 
the names of the towns and passes where the Turks and Russians have met each 
other in conflict, while all the principal European nations have given practical shape 
to Professor Riley's precautionary recommendations, by using colored placards, 
wax models, etc., of the insect, and in various other ways appealing to the people 
to destroy it. 

In 1874, when the grasshopper swarms were oveiTunning Kansas, and it was 
generally believed would overrun Missouri, he indicated within a few miles the 
eastern limit they would reach; and in the spring of 1875, when the farmers in our 
western counties were disheartened at seeing their fields as bare in June as in mid- 
winter, and wei-e fast leaving the State, he inspired them with hope and courage by 
confidently assuring them that the pests would leave in time to allow the growing of 
good crops of most products, and his predictions were borne out in a remark- 
able way. 

Aside from the nine Reports, Professor Riley has published a very large number 
of fugitive articles, answering questions in various agricultural and horticultural 
periodicals, and writing occasionally for such journals as the Scientific American, 
American Naturalist, Popular Science Monthly, American Agriculturalist, and New 
York Tribune. He is the author of a work entitled Potato Pests, published by Orange 
Judd & Co., New York, which was republished in 1877 by Routledge & Sons, of 
London, England, without his permission, and had an immense sale; and volumin- 
ous literature in Swedish, French, German and English is based upon it. He is 
likewise the author of The Locust Plagues in the United States, a handsome volume 
of 240 pp., with numerous wood cuts, and 3 colored jplates, published by Rand, 
McNally & Co., of (jhicago. He has published an extended article in Campbell's 
Atlas of Missouri, on "Economic Entomology; its relations to Agriculture, with 
directions How to Collect, Preserve and Study Insects;" and another in German 
entitled " Einige unseren Schadlicheren Insecten." He is a contributor to Appleton's 
American Cyclopsedia ; to Johnson's Universal Cyclopaedia, and is now engaged as 
associate editor on a Farmers' and Planters' Cyclopgedia, to be published by J. H. 
Chambers, of St. Louis. 

Of other papers, outside of his reports, the following are among the most im- 
portant, and will indicate their scope : 

FROM THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF ST. LOUIS. 

Notes on the Yucca Borer {Megathemus yaccoe). 

On a new genus in the Lepidopterous Family Tineidae, with remarks on the Fertilization of 
Yucca. 



ST. LOUIS. 677 

Description and Natural History of two Insects which brave the dangers of Sarracenia 
variolaris. 

Remarks on Canker-worms, and Description of a new Genus of Phalsenidfe. 

Notes on the Natural History of the Grape-Phylloxera {Phylloxera vastatrix Planchon). 

On the Larval Characters and Habits of the Blister-beetles belonging to the Genera Macrohasis 
Lee. and Epicauta Fabr.,' with Remarks on other Species of the Family Meloidce. 

On a remarkable new Genus in Meloidoe infesting Mason-bee Cells in the United States. 

Additional Notes on Megathymus Tuccce. 

Further Remarks on Fronuba yuccasella, and on the Pollination of Yucca. 

On the Differences between Anisopteryx pometaria, Harr, and Anisopteryx cescularia, W. V., 
with Remarks on the Genus Paleacrita. 

FROM THE PROCEEDIXGS OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF 

SCIENCE. 

On the Insects more particularly associated with Sarracenia variolaris (Spotted Trumpet- 
leaf.) 

On the Summer Dormancy of the Larva of Phyciodes Nycteus (Drury), with Remarks on the 
Natural History of the Species. 

On an Extensile Penetrating Organ in a Gamasid Mite. 

On the Curious Egg-mass of Gorydalus Cornutus (Linn), and on the Eggs that have hitherto 
been referred to that species. 

Biological Notes on the Army "Worm, (Leucania unipuncta, Haw). 

"Voluminous as his writings have thus been, during the past decade, they give but 
a partial indication of the real work Professor Riley has accomplished. While his 
pen has been so fruitful, his investigations in the field, and his work in the study, 
have been unremitting, and the visitor at his ofiice is astounded at the amount of 
labor there represented by his yet unpublished notes of experiments and observa- 
tions, and by his private collection. This collection contains some 60,000 species, 
and over 300,000 specimens, all carefully mounted-and labeled, while a large number 
of the species are represented in their four stages of egg, larva, pupa and adult. 
The insects, with few exceptions, have been collected and mounted by himself, in 
addition to preparing a cabinet of 60 drawers for the State, now in the State Agri- 
cultural College at Columbia. 

In March 1877, while putting his 9th Report through the press. Professor Riley was 
tendered the position of Chief of the United States Entomological Commission, just 
then created, with a special view to investigate the Rocky Mountain Locust, or so- 
called grasshopper. His investigations into this insect had justly earned this dis- 
tinction, for he had already not only made most important discoveries as to its hab- 
its, and the best means of subduing it, but had ascertained sundry laws that govern 
it, so as to be able to predict the time of its coming and going and the limits of its 
spread. He accepted the position on the National Commission, and during the 
summer, in the course of his investigations, traveled over most of the western, 
country, from the Gulf to the South Saskatchewan, in British America. The Com- 
mission consists, beside himself, of Dr. A. S. Packard, Jr., of Salem, Mass., and 
Prof. Cyrus Thomas, of Carbondale, 111. ; and a synopsis of their Report, which Dr. 
T. V. Hayden has recently published in Washington, shows that the Commission has 
measurably solved the locust problem. 

Prof. Riley is corresponding member of the London, French, Berlin, Swiss, Bel- 
gium, American and other entomological societies ; and of a number of Academies 
of Science. He was two years president of the Academy of Sciences of St. Louis, 
being the youngest person ever so honored. He is Fellow of the American Philo- 
sophical Society, and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 



678 GREAT CITIES ANT> TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

and has been lecturer on Entomology at Cornell University, Kansas State Agricultural 
College, Missouri State University, and at Washington University, St. Louis. He 
is honorary member of the Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and other horticultural 
societies; and of a great many other local agricultural and horticultural bodies. In 
religion, while most tolerant of others' views, he is a free-thinker, affiliating most 
with the German mind. Confirmed as an Episcopalian, he leans most toward 
Unitarianism, and his bent is well illustrated by the following opinions expressed in 
1875, when the subject of Governor Hardin's grasshopper proclamation was occa- 
sioning general remark: 

" Without discussing the question as to the efficacy of prayer in affecting the 
physical world, no one will for a moment doubt that the supplications of the people 
will more surely be granted if accompanied by well-directed, energetic work 
When, in 1853, Lord Palmerston was besought by ths Scotch Presbyterians to ap- 
point a day for national fasting, humiliation and prayer, that the cholera might be 
averted, he suggested that it would be more beneficial to feed the poor, cleanse the 
cesspools, ventilate the houses and remove the causes and sources of contagion, 
which, if allowed to remain, will infallibly breed pestilence, Mn spite of all the 
prayers and fastings of a united bui inactive nation.' We ai'e commanded by the 
best authority to prove our faith by our work. For my part, I would like to see 
the prayers of the people take on the substantial form of collections, made in the 
churches throughout the State, for the benefit of the sufferers, and distributed by 
organized authority ; or, what would be still better, the State authorities, if it is in 
their power, should offer a premium for every bushel of young locusts destroyed." 

Prof. Riley is an avowed evolutionist, having espoused the doctrine and published 
a favorable notice of the Origin of Species, when it was quite unpopular among 
American naturalists. He has contributed a number of facts in his own specialty, 
bearing on the doctrine. The following, from an address before the St. Louis Aca- 
demy of Science, illustrates his ideas on style : 

" All great truths that oppose long established popular belief must needs belong 
to the few when nascent. Struggling to overcome the embargo which prejudice 
and ignorance always set in their path, they at last win acceptance from the mass of 
thinking men, who by that time wonder how there could ever have been serious 
objection to the new light. The doctrine of evolution has very nearly reached this 
second stage ; and it must be gratifying to those who from the first accepted Dar- 
win's conclusions, to be able to witness the revolution that has taken place on the 
subject in the minds of naturalists, and is fast taking place in the minds of the 
people. Seven years ago, in discussing the theory of natural selection as exemplified 
in two of our common butterflies, I stated my belief that the idea of the develop- 
ment of species by a conceivable process would in time not only supersede the old 
idea of special creation, with naturalists — that it would come to be recognized as a 
law ; but that the liberal-minded theologian woukl come to revere the names of men 
like Darwin, who help to a higher conception of creation, ' instead of anathemizing 
them, and charging to their doctrines those atheistic tendencies which in times past 
have been vainly charged to those of so many other great, clear-thinking, discover- 
ing minds.' Late events have justified the belief. Future events will, I believe, 
justify it further, since, in my humble opinion, the idea of evolution is founded in 
fact, and, like a gem freed from the deposit which for ages has hidden its lustre, will 
shine all the brighter as the obstacles which surround it are removed by the light of 
truth." 



ST. LOUIS. 679 

The Kansas State Agricultural College, in 1872, conferred upon Professor Riley 
the honorary degree of A. M., and the Missouri State University, in 1873, bestowed 
upon him that of Ph. D. 

The qualities that are specially developed in Professor Riley ai'c an untiring 
energy and power of application, an intense love of system and order, remarkable 
power of observation, even to minutest details, great versatility, and a strong hatred 
of all kinds of imposture and charlatanism. He has been unsparing in exposure of 
humbug and patent nostrums constantly offered to the farmer as panaceas for all 
insect troubles; and" his love of truth and direct manner have led him into various 
controversies, in which he has carried his point, a fact due to his great caution in 
pressing an opinion or making a statement, and to his accurate methods of thought 
and study. Professor Riley has by his labors in his chosen department of natural 
history earned for himself a world-wide and honorable reputation, as a philoso- 
phical and successful practical scientist, of which he may well be proud. He has 
by his successful application of scientific theories and facts to the needs and uses of 
the agricultural pursuits of the country, saved to our farmers, planters and fruit- 
growers untold millions in the past few years, and inaugurated measures and recom- 
mended courses of defense and study, which must each year add more to our 
country's wealth than would, at the lowest rate of interest, pay him a princely 
income for life. Even our own State of Missouri has through the result of his ser- 
vices saved more to her agricultural wealth than would pay him a salary for life at 
ten times the rate of his compensation as State Entomologist. 

Holy writ tells how Moses brought upon Egypt the plagues of frogs, flies, lice and 
locusts. Professor Riley has taught us how to remove these plagues and in a 
measure prevent their return. Few men have brought more honor to the State. 

It were an idle task to predict his future. Suffice it to say, that we only speak the 
sentiment of his scientific and agricultural friends, when we wish him a farther 
success conomensurate with his past achievements. 



JAMES B. E4DS 

was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, May 20th, 1820. His father's financial reverses 
withdrew him from school when he had fairly mastered the rudiments in the common 
schools. In September, 1833, the steamboat on which his father and family were 
emigrating west was burned, and he found himself in St. Louis without acquaint- 
ances or work. He at once made his advent into business life as an apple peddler, 
and soon afterwards obtained employment in a mercantile house. He had an early 
aptitude and fondness for mechanism, and when only a school-boy had constructed a 
miniature working steam engine. 

His employer, noticing this, gave him free access to his library. The opportunity 
was diligently improved, and young Eads there laid the foundations of his future 
success by mastering a knowledge of engineering that would have been laudable in 
a college graduate. He afterwards passed two years as clerk on a Mississippi 
steamer, and studied the mysteries of the great river, his intimate acquaintance with 
which has since proved so useful. 

In 1842 he foi*med a partnership with Case & ISTelson for the recovery of sunk or 
wrecked steamboats and their cargoes. Mr. Eads took personal supervision of the 
work, and under his fertility of resource and energy their business extended over 



680 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF ]\nSSOUEI. 

the entire river, and their property in ten years increased from a nominal value to 
nearly half a million dollars. In 1855-6 Mr, Eads made a proposition to Congress 
to keep open the channels of the western rivers by removing all obstructions for a 
term of years. The House passed a bill embodying the propositions but it was 
defeated in the Senate by the management of Jeff. Davis and J. P. Benjamin. 

On account of ill health, Mr. Eads retired from business in 1857. When the Gov- 
ernment, during the first year of the war, decided to put a fleet of gunboats upon 
the Mississippi, Mr. Eads was called to Washington for consultation, and received 
the contract for building the first seven iron-clads, which were to be ready for their 
crews and armaments in sixty-five days from August 7th, 1861. On one pretext 
after another the stipulated payments were delayed by the War Department, and it 
was only by exhausting his own private fortune and drawing heavily upon his 
pati'iotic and confiding friends that he was enabled to complete the fleet. Gigantic 
as was the undertaking, and great as were the obstacles in the way of its perform- 
ance, it was honor done, and the first iron-clad, the "St. Louis", with her boilers 
and engine on board, was launched at Carondelet, October 12th, forty-five days from 
the laying of the keel. The others followed in rapid succession, and an eighth, larger 
and superior in every respect, was undertaken before the hulls of the new were 
completed. It was by the aid of these iron-clads, at that time the private property 
of Mr. Eads, that the capture of Forts Donelson and Henry was accomplished, as well 
as the celebrated passage of Island Number Ten. Mr Eads created the navy for the 
Mississippi wliich rendered possible the brilliant achievements in that department 
during the war. 

James B. Eads was the originator, chief engineer and creator of the Illinois and St. 
Louis Bridge. Its building was mainly due to the zeal, energy and perception of the 
modest and unassuming man who possessed the engineering skill to project, 
the sublime audacity to urge, and the administrative ability to consummate, such a 
stupendous undertaking, upon a plan heretofore unproved in engineering. The 
bridge was formally opened to the public July ith, 1874, when a monster celebration 
attested the public enthusiasm over the event. So long as these graceful arches of 
tempered steel span the Father of Waters, so long, at least, James B. Eads has a 
tangible, enduring, useful and honorable monument. 

Mr. Eads had sailed on the surface of the Mississippi, had lifted wrecks from its 
bottom, built war vessels to open and keep open its communications, and built a 
highway over its irresistible current. He then turned his attention to removing 
from its mouth the shoals which have always barred the entrance of sea-going 
vessels, and thus curtailed its uses as a commercial highway. No attempt will be made 
to develop the reasons for the formation of these bars, nor any descriptions given 
of the mouth of the Mississippi or of the plans for deepening its channels. Suffice it 
to say that after all the appliances known to the Government engineers had been 
tried and had failed, Mr. Eads laid before Congress a plan for deepening and for 
maintaining the depth of the channel at the mouth of our greatest river. In the face 
of much opposition, and after careful examination of the whole matter. Congress, 
on March 3d, 1875, entrusted the improvements to Mr. Eads. He was to undertake 
the enterprise at his own expense, receiving pay when he had secured the result 
promised. When he had secured a channel two hundred feet wide and twenty feet 
deep he was to receive $500,000, and other installments as specified results were 
obtained. The whole compensation is fixed at $5,250,000 when the channel is three 
hundred and fifty feet wide and thirty feet deep ; and $100,000 per annum for twenty 





^Xyyj^t-CJ 



ST. LOUIS. 



681^ 



years for maintaining such channel. On June 14th, 1875, the first pile was driven, 
and so vigorous has been the work, and so successful the undertaking, that the first 
two instalments of $500,000 each have been paid by the Government in accordance 
with the conditions of the bill. Everything in connection with the undei-taking is 
fully as successful in realization as the claim set forth in the Eads plan, and the 
Jetties are an accomplished success. Mr. Eads has thus accomplished all he prom- 
ised the business men of St. Louis, when, in response to a toast offered at a banquet 
given by them in his honor, he said, "So certain as God shall spare my life and 
faculties for ten years more, I will give to the Mississippi Eiver, through His grace, 
and by the application of His laws, a deep, open, safe and permanent outlet to the 
sea. " 

In 1845 Mr. Eads married Miss Martha N., daughter of Patrick M. Dillon, of 
St. Louis. She died in 1852. He subsequently mai-ried his present wife. 

The Scientific Amei'ican, in 1876, suggested Mr. Eads' name for President of the 
United States, and numerous journals seconded the nomination. The great under- 
takings in which his life has heretofore been spent, have left him no time, as they have 
given him no taste, for political studies or aspirations. In private life, Mr. Eads is 
a most estimable man ; kind, courteous and affable. His physical constitution, intel- 
lectual activities, temperament, all seem to indicate that he will close his career as he 
has long continued it, in the midst of great successes which are and will be of incal- 
culable value to the countrv. 



JAMES ELLISON MILLS 

was born in Bangor, Maine, February 13, 1834. His father. Dr. P. B. Mills, was a 
man of clearly defined and decided convictions, who assigned to character and 
health a far higher value than to wealth, reputation, or the accomplishments of 
schools; and to develop character and health, sent his son to the logging camp for 
several seasons before he was fifteen years old. The boy kept along with his studios, 
however, and became fitted for college in 1851. His father then sent him to travel 
in the United States and Canada, with instructions to keep on as long as he felt it to 
be the best training. 

While on this trip, which lasted about six months, young Mills first came to St. 
Louis, in company with the distinguished and learned traveler, Dr. Carl Scherzer, 
of Vienna, whom he met in Minnesota, and who kindly invited the enthusiastic 
young student to travel with him. 

Before returning home he changed his plan of study. He intended to become a 
preacher, and had been for some years a student of Swedenborg, whose religious 
philosophy teaches that revealed truth and the laws of nature, both coming from one 
Divine mind, bear such a relation of parallelism or correspondence to one another, 
that truth from nature must afford complete illustrations of truth from the Word. 
It now seemed to young Mills that such illustrations were more important for his 
proposed work than the training of a collegiate course, and in the spring of 1852 he 
entered the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard University. He first took chem- 
istry for a special study, and in addition attended lectures on geology and zoology, by 
Prof. Louis Agassiz. These lectures were aglow with striking and beautiful illustra- 
tions of God's thought from nature, and deeply interested young Mills, and in 1853 he 
entered Prof, Agassiz' laboratory as a special student, and afterward became his 



682 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

assistant and was engaged upon some of his investigations, and in 1857 graduated in 
his department of zoology and geology as Bachelor of Science, Summa cum laude, 
and at the same time received a certificate of proficiency in chemistry from Prof. 
Horsford. He had also studied anatomy with Prof. Wyman and botany with 
Prof. Gray, He remained with Prof. Agassiz until 1858, when he entered upon his 
chosen Avork, and from that time to 1863 served the Brooklyn (N. Y.) Society of the 
New Jerusalem (Swedenborgian) as licentiate, minister and pastor. In 1861 he 
married Miss Mary Collier, of Brooklyn, and their marriage has been blessed with 
five children, four of Avhom are now living. 

In 1863 his health had become impaired by sedentary habits for which his former 
life liad unfitted him. In his boyhood, school and home life had alternated with 
seasons in the backwoods of Maine; and when, after a half-year of traveling, he 
became a student in the university, his summers were spent in studies of natural 
history at Nahant or elsewhere on the sea-coast or among the hills of New England 
and New Brunswick, and one winter in Florida. While living in Brooklyn he had 
kept on with liis geological studies as far as his duties would permit, and now he 
determined to devote himself again to scientific pursuits. He undertook to apply to 
the investigations of the character of mineral deposits the habits and methods of 
investigation acquired in training in pure science, and so to decrease, as far as possible? 
the risks and increase the chances in mining operations, and also to apply his 
acquaintance with chemistry and the physics of heat to metallurgy. 

Work enough was offered, but Mr. Mills for some years sought opportunity to 
obtain knowledge of costs, values and methods of working rather than to enlarge 
his practice, until he felt himself competent to report on these also. From the start 
he determined and always acted upon the determination that his report should, in 
every case, be the result of his best efibrts to learn the facts and probabilities, and to 
state them unbiased by any interests whatever. He i-egarded his position as expert 
to be that of a judge, and not an advocate. 

In 1868 he came to St. Louis, on his way to the St. Josepli lead mine in St. Fran- 
cis County of this State, which he examined for some of the owners, and also to do 
do some geological work on the survey of the Upper Mississippi, then being carried 
on by the United States Government, under General G. K, Warren, In 1871 he 
was called again to St, Louis, this time by Hon, Joseph Brown, then Mayor of the 
city and President of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, to act as expert in 
inspection of rails to be manufactured for that company at the Vulcan Works, 

His oflice had heretofore been in New York City. In 1872 he took an office in St. 
Louis and removed his family to this city, and lias since tliat time made it his home 
here. St. Louis is conveniently and centrally situated for his practice, which has 
extended widely over the continent, from Cape Breton Island to California, and from 
Minnesota to Texas. Late in 1874 he was called to Brazil by Brazilian capitalists, to 
examine mines which they owned, and remained in the Empire more than a year. 
He has just (February, 1878) sailed for Eio Janeiro, on a professional engagement 
which will probably occupy a year's labor and take him there from time to time. 

Mr. Mills' investigations are made to acquire information for those consulting 
him, and the results are confidential, and his reports are rarely published, and con- 
sequently his work is not publicly known, but he is the trusted adviser of capitalists 
in New York, Boston, St. Louis and elsewhere, who consult him when large values 
are at issue; and in this way influences the development of large and important 
resources. He is a member of several scientific societies, and among his personal 



ST. LOUIS. 



683 



friends are some of the prominent scientific men of tlie country, several of them 
fellow-students and fellow-workers, who have continued on in their work in pure 
science, but who cordially appreciate his efforts to apply the methods of pure science 
to economics. 

Mr. Mills spends only a small part of his time in St. Louis. He is in the prime of 
life, a devoted student, an industrious worker in his chosen profession. He is an 
active and earnest worker in the Society of the New Jerusalem, and, while carefully 
avoiding intrusiveness, is always a ready, intelligent and successful expounder of 
Swedenborg. 

NATHAN COLE. 

The old residents of the city of St. Louis will remember a pleasant frame cottage, 
which once stood in the square bounded by Eighth and Ninth streets, and Green and 
Morgan streets, wliich was torn down about 1865 to make room for the advancing 
improvements of the city. Here, on the 26th of July, 1825, the subject of this sketch 
was born. His father, Nathan Cole, emigrated from the village of Ovid, Seneca 
County, N. Y., and settled in St. Louis in 1821. By his energy and business tal- 
ents, had acquired in his former home what was considered in those early days a 
handsome fortune ; but in the disastrous times which succeeded the war of 1812, this 
was swept away. Nothing daunted, taking his wife and six sons, he started for the 
then far west to begin life anew. Nathan was born after their arrival in St. Louis, 
and being the youngest of the seven, was nicknamed " the Doctor," by which he is 
still called by many of his life-long friends. His mother, whose maiden name was 
Sarah Scott, was descended from an old and highly-respected family, which settled 
at an early day on the eastern shore of Connecticut. During the sixteen years' res- 
idence of the family they expei'ienced many vicissitudes of fortune, so characteristic 
of those early times, whose painful reverses, though sometimes so hard to bear, were 
nevertheless, to human character, what the storms are to the oak. It is in times of 
trial, social and political upheaval, and national perplexity, that men of nerve and 
heroism are born and nurtured. 

The father of Nathan was a man of that peculiar enterprising spirit which is often 
met with in young and growing towns, whose prescience of the future leads them 
to engage in those undertakings and commercial ventures which promise well, but 
often before the times are ripe for such operations. For example, — the father fore- 
saw that eventually St. Louis must become the source of supply of salt meats for 
New Orleans and other cities. He was the first to embark in the business; but it 
was too soon, and ended in disaster. In the summer of 1837 he moved his family to 
Chester, 111. Soon after, the memorable crash of '37 swept like a whirlwind over 
the whole country, and Mr. Cole was but one of the many thousands who were 
overwhelmed with financial ruin, against which he still heroically struggled, though 
broken in health, until 1840 ; when, in the month of January, he passed away, leaving 
nothing to his children save the rich heritage of a noble example of integrity of 
character and personal energy. But, fortunately for our subject, the care of 
the little ones descended from the father to worthy hands — and to one who 
inherited also much of that father's good sense and energy — in the person of his 
elder son, H. C. Cole, who determined that the little Doctor, as he called him, should 
have a good education. He was taken, therefore, from the common school, and 
placed in Shurtleff" College, at Upper Alton, 111., where for two years he pursued 



684 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

such studies as were preparatory to a higher course. But the shadows of '37 hung 
over the family still, and the independent and sympathetic spirit of young Nathan 
chafed, as he thought of the sacrifices which the brother, whom he loved, was endur- 
ing on his account, and struggles lie was making to extricate himself from his own 
financial embarrassment. He therefore resolved to leave the college and take care 
of himself and repay the money his brother had advanced for his education. 

In March, 1845, we find him in St. Louis ouce more, at the age of twenty, without 
money, friends or acquaintances even, going about seeking employment of some 
kind to enable him to keep soul and body together; suffering at times privation and 
want, keeping his own counsels and withal a brave heart and hopeful confidence in 
the future. At length a door was opened for him, and he entered upon the duties 
of his situation at a salary of ten dollars per month. Eesolutely he went to worlv, 
determined to earn the good will of all with whom he came in contact, and make 
his services a necessity to his employers. Nor was he disappointed; for very soon 
his wages were advanced to fifteen, then fifty dollars per month, and not very long 
after he received fifteen hundred dollars per annum, which, in those days was no 
mean compensation for the services of an employee. Nor did he forget, in the days 
of his prosperity, the brother who had been a father as well, and who was still 
struggling with a 'load of responsibilities and burdens which would have crushed 
the spirit of any less brave than he. With him Nathan shared his counsel, sympa- 
thy and active support, until he saw that brother take the high position among 
commei'cial men which by his indomitable energy, integrity and eminent social vir- 
tues he had so worthily won. 

On the 30th day of January, 1851, Nathan Cole was married to Rebecca, daughter 
of A. W. Fagin, of St. Louis, whose name is a synonym of success, and whose 
career as a merchant and manufacturer has added not a little to the fame and high 
commercial honor of the merchant princes of St. Louis. Eleven children were the 
result of this union, — six sons and five daughters. Eight still survive to bless and 
grace a truly model home, where the principle of the family government has been 
invariably the law of love, whose sweet and potent influence has continually fostered 
that unrestrained confidence between parents and children, which has made home 
to them the dearest spot on earth, and developed in the character of their children 
those graces of courtesy and loveliness which neither time nor the roughest experi- 
ences of after life will ever eflace. 

On the first day of July, of the year last named, he was admitted a junior partner 
in the well-known and enterprising house of "\V. L. Ewing & Co., wholesale grocers, 
where his unremitting attention to the duties of his position, during a period of 
fourteen years, contributed largely to the extended reputation and high commercial 
character of this old established house. In the year 1864, the long and successful 
partnership was dissolved, when, in conjunction with the brother before mentioned,, 
the house of " Cole Brothers, Commission Merchants" was established ; and from 
that day to the present it has enjoyed a continuous success amid all the vicissitudes 
of the war and the commercial disasters which have followed it; and this firm stands 
to-day among the first in St. Louis in its financial credit, in its reputation for fair 
and honorable dealing, and for the faithful discharge of all trusts confided to its care 
by its numerous patrons. 

Not the least among the dire evils which befel the large cities of our country, at 
the close of the civil war, were the stupendous frauds and robberies of the j)ublic 
funds, which were infiicted upon the people by the combinations of unscrupulous 



ST. LOUIS. 685; 

and unprincipled men known as *^ rings." These cliques, operating through party 
organizations, at length carrird out their plundering schemes with such bold 
audacity that it seemed as though the Government itself had not sufficient strength 
to break them up, and good men began to tremble for the future of the Republic. 
From those terrible evils St. Louis did not escape. In 1869 her best men felt that a 
crisis had come which must be met. They looked around among her citizens for a 
man for the emergency. No politician, no narrow minded partizan, would do to 
take the lead of her municipal affairs, restore her credit and deliver the city from 
the vampires which were sucking out her life's blood. The mayor for the times 
must be a man of unsullied character, of large business experience and success, and 
whose financial condition also wonld permit him to devote his best thoughts and 
energies continuously to the interests of the city. With great unanimity, Nathan 
Cole was fixed upon as possessing the requisite qualifications, and he was selected 
as the standard-bearer in the battle of reform. Believing in the old maxim " Vox 
popuH vox Dei" — in the present case at least— he withdrew from the mercantile 
firm of which. he was so important a member, as far as active participation was con- 
cerned, and devoted all his time and energies to the affairs of the city. Nor did his 
administration of the mayoralty disappoint the confidence his friends had reposed 
in his capacity and faithfulness, for on account of its integrity and beneficence it 
will ever constitute a bright page in the political history of St. Louis. Crying 
wrongs were redressed; abuses and ■ extravagance corrected; the routine of city 
business simplified and unified ; the public debt reduced, the credit of the city largely 
enhanced, and a new and greatly improved charter adopted, most of the provisions 
of which are still in force in the present charter of the city. At the close of his 
term, having accomplished to a good degree what the citizens had expected of 
him, he peremptorily declined a renomination, and joyfully returned to the more 
congenial associations of private life, and to his old and active position in the house 
of Cole Brothers. He has held many minor offices and positions in the public ser- 
vice, which were always unsought, for no man is more retiring and distrustful of his 
own abilities than Mr. Cole. These honors having been thrust upon him are, there- 
fore, all the more emphatic expressions of the confidence of his fellow citizens. 
Among these minor positions, it should be mentioned that in 1876 he was elected 
President of the Merchants' Exchange. In the fall of the same year he was again 
called upon for a more important service, which was no less than to represent the Sec- 
ond District of Missouri in the XLVth Congress of the United States. Against his 
own inclination and remonstrance even, his nomination and election were forced upon 
Mm ; but the imperative call of duty which he recognized here, as well as in all his 
official life, induced him again to leave his commercial pursuits, his delightful home 
and the large circle of his warm personal friends, to enter upon the duties of the 
office, in which, at this writing, he is actively engaged. His whole past life is a suf- 
cient guaranty that these duties will be conscientiously discharged in the best 
interests of his constituents and the country at large. His counsels will be missed 
in the directories of many corporate institutions in which he has been, for many 
years, largely interested. 

To the success of those sound institutions, the St. Louis National Bank and the 
Bank of Commerce, of which he is Vice President, and of whose Boards of Direc- 
tors he has been a member for many years, he has greatly contributed. 
• In the year 1863, in conjunction with his father-in-law, Mr. A. TV. Fagin, and 
other gentlemen, it was determined to inaugurate a new and important enterprise, 



686 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

namelj'-, the elevator system of handling grain in bulk. The proposition was a 
scheme entirely new, at that time, in St. Louis, and was regarded with but little 
favor. Bnt, undismayed by opposition, he, in this, as is other plans for the advance- 
ment of the interests of his native city, never ceased his personal eflforts for the 
accomplishment of his liberal plans until he saw the splendid and capacious eleva- 
tor which stands at the foot of Biddle street, in successful operation. 

In a biographical sketch of a living man, those golden traits which shine in private 
life and add most to the lustre of human character, cannot, for obvious reasons, be 
conspicuously displayed. Suffice it to say that Nathan Cole has ever been a friend 
to the poor and iinfortunate, and his ear is never turned away from the story of the 
distressed, while the charitable institutions of the city have received his generous 
support; and few possess a more sympathetic heart than he. Mr. Cole has always 
been, by education and conviction, a i-eligous man, and an honor to the Christian 
profession. He early in life identified himself with the Baptist denomination, 
but while laboring by personal influence and constant effort, as well as liberal con- 
tributions, to advance its interests in the city and State, as also the various mission- 
ary enterprises at home and in foreign lands, he is broad and liberal in his views, 
and a champion of religious liberty and the liberty of conscience, recognizing him 
only as worthy of the name of Christian who follows the example of his Divine 
Master in doing good to his fellow men. 



LYNE SHACKELFORD METCALFE 

was born in Madisonville, Hopkins County, Kentucky, April 17th, 1822. James 
Metcalfe, his father, was a successful merchant of Madisonville. He was of English 
descent, but the family had for some time lived in Virginia, emigrating thence at an 
early day to Kentucky — one of the family, Thomas Metcalf, afterwards becoming 
Governor of that State. His mother — nee Mary Dabney Shackelford, was a grand- 
daughter of Col. Lyne, one of the early governors of Virginia. James Metcalfe, 
having serious objections to bringing up his children in a slave State, removed in 
1836, with his family to Illinois, settling on the present site of Fayette, which town 
he laid out, afterwards removing to Alton. 

Lyne S. attended the village school at Madisonville, was for a time in Shurtleflf 
College, Upper Alton, completing his studies at Illinois College, Jacksonville. Upon 
leaving college, in 1844, he entered upon mercantile pursuits at Alton. In the same 
year he married Miss Sarah T., daughter of Judge David J. Baker of Alton, one of 
the old settlers of Kaskaskia, a lawyer of high standing, and at one time United 
States Senator from Illinois. This union was blessed with four children — Edward 
L., a commission merchant, Lyne S., Jr., a rising young attorney, Albert R., and 
Grace. 

Mr. Metcalfe was successful in his business, and took an active part in all that per- 
tained to the prosperity and welfare of his city. He was alderman of Alton in 1848, 
1849 and 1850, and mayor of that city in 1858-59. In 1861 Mr. Metcalfe received 
from President Lincoln a commission as Assistant Quartermaster in the Volunteer 
service. He was mainly employed in charge of river and railroad transportation 
stationed at St. Louis, to which place, in 1861, he moved his family. His adminis- 
tration in this difficult and responsible position was such that he was promoted to 
the rank of colonel for efficiency of service. Col. "Metcalfe resigned his commission 



ST. LOUIS. 687 

in 1865, aud turned Ms attention to the South, where he built the Nashville & North- 
western railroad. Having completed this undertaking he returned to St. Louis, 
and organized and became president of the Union Press Brick Company, one of the 
largest establishments in the country for manufacturing brick by machinery. Col. 
Metcalfe was a member of the City Council of St. Louis in 1873-4. lu the fall of 
1874 he was nominated by the Eepublican party as its candidate for State and 
County Collector in St. Louis County. The general ticket was defeated by about 
4,000, while Col. Metcalfe's opponent was elected by only 318 majority, showing 
that Col. Metcalfe ran about 3,700 ahead of his ticket. In 1875 he was elected pres- 
ident of the Mechanics' Exchange of St. Louis. 

In the fall of 1876 Col. Metcalfe was induced by his friends to run as the Repub- 
lican candidate for Congress in the Third District of Missouri, which was claimed 
for the Democrats by a majority of 3,000. He was elected by nineteen majority. 
After the poll books were returned to the clerk of the county court, some one 
changed a figure "7" to a ^'9." As this figure occupied " tens place," it over- 
came this majority and apparently elected his opponent, Mr. Frost, by a majority of 
" one.-"' The Board of Canvassers were about to certify the result of the vote 
accordingly, when a mandamus from Judge Lindley, of the Circuit Court, was 
served upon them at the last moment, preventing them from certifying until the facts 
were heard. At the trial, Mr. Fred L. Garesche, clerk of the County Court and one 
of the canvassers, admitted his belief that the figures had been changed sifter coming 
into his ofiice. Other testimony establishing the fact was produced, and Judge Lind- 
ley ordered the canvassers to disregard the forgery, count the figure as a " seven " 
and certifj^ the result correctly. This decision was appealed from, and the case car- 
ried to the Court of Appeals, which Court sustained Judge Lindley's order and 
affirmed the decision of the Circuit Court. The case was then appealed to the 
Supreme Court of the State, which also affirmed the decisions of the lower courts. 
The Board of Canvassers thereupon met, and counted up the vote as ordered by the 
Circuit Court, giving Col. Metcalfe nineteen majority, which result was certified up 
to the Secretary of State by the City Register (Mr. Garesche, he clerk of the county 
court, having gone out of office). The Secretary of State refused to issue a certifi- 
cate in the usual form, but sent to Col. Metcalfe, at Washington, an informal and 
useless document, which, whether so intended or not, would probably have pre- 
vented its possessor from obtaining his seat -in the House of Representatives. 
Application was made to the Supreme Court, which issued a mandamus compelling 
Mr. McGrath, Secretary of State, to issue. a proper certificate, which Col. Metcalfe 
presented, and upon which he was admitted to his seat, after one of the most gal- 
lantly contested battles between right, justice and honor against forgery, political 
chicanery and personal hostility. Victory perched upon the banner of justice, and 
Col. Metcalfe now (1878) represents the Third District of Missouri in the Congress 
of the United States. 

Col. Metcalfe is of fine physique, in the prime of life, an active, industrious busi- 
ness man, with good executive ability. His varied experience, unquestioned integ- 
rity, clear apprehension of public affairs, and his forcible and effective style of 
expressing himself, will give him a power in Congress which will redound to the 
benefit of his District and the country generally. 



688 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

THE ST. LOUIS GLOBE-DEMOCEAT 

is the outgrowth of the flrst Free-Soil paper ever published in slave territory, and 
its historj'' is essentially the history of the Free-Soil and Eepublican parties in Mis- 
souri. 

Mr. William McKee, the present managing proprietor of the Globe-Democrat, an 
early, ardent and enthusiastic advocate of free men and free soil, and as bitterly op- 
posed to the then popular Southern doctrine of States Eights, as interpreted by 
Calhoun and his followers, started the Barnburner in 1848, to advance the election 
of VanBuren and Adams. This was the first attempt to advocate, through the 
press, in a Southern State, the doctrines of freedom. 

In 1852, Mr. McKee and Mr. William Hill purchased the Daily /Sentinel, changing 
the name to the Missouri Democrat; and the following year bought out the Daily 
Union, an anti-Benton paper, and also merged it into the Democrat, which num- 
bered among its contributors Hon. Thomas H. Benton, Hon. Francis P. Blair, Jr., 
and other able writers, and soon became the leading anti-slavery paper in the South- 
west. 

The Democrat supported James Buchanan for the presidency in 1856, but after 
this it came out more boldly as an anti-slavery advocate, and soon became an 
avowed and recognized organ of the Eepublican party. 

It took an active interest in the Kansas controversy, and the letters from James 
Redpath, its special correspondent, and an eye-witness and participator in the 
contest, were able, popular and convincing. During these exciting times Hon. B. 
Gratz Brown became leading editorial writer, and Peter L. Foy editorial corres- 
pondent. This brilliant array of writers soon gave the Democrat popularity and a 
large circulation, notwithstanding the predominant pro-slavery proclivities of Mis- 
souri, which refused advertising patronage. 

In 1857, Mr. G. W. Fishback, the commercial editor, purchased a part of Mr. 
Blair's interest in the paper, and two years later bought out Mr. Brown. The 
Democrat used its every power to secure the election of Mr. Lincoln in 1860, and 
at the opening of the civil w^ar boldly and unequivocally and persistently advocated 
the Union cause, although by so doing it lost largely the subscriptions and adver- 
tising patronage of those holding Southern views, and in the face of open threats of 
personal violence and the attempted destruction of its property. 

It was an early advocate of the emancipation of the slaves, so as to make them 
Union allies, kept correspondents with the armies in the field, advocated radical 
measures, and gave decided and fearless views upon the constantly-changing topics 
coming up during the war, and, at its close, advocated the most liberal policy in the 
treatment of those recently in rebellion. 

In 1863, Mr. Daniel M. Houser, who had been connected with the business de- 
pai'tment of the paper for ten years previously, purchased an interest in the Demo- 
crat, and the firm was known as McKee, Fishback So Co., Mr. Houser being 
general business manager. 

The Democrat did an immense and profitable business, but on account of a difier- 
€nce in the views of the proprietors as to the policy to be pursued, the paper was 
sold out, the bidding being restricted to the proprietors, and Mr. Fishback became 
the purchaser at $456,000. 

Soon after the sale of the Democrat, Messrs. McKee & Houser started a flrst class 
daily, the Globe, which, on account of the extensive acquaintance and great popu- 



ST. LOUIS. 689 

larity of the proprietors, was, from the beginning, an unqualified success. Mr J 
B. McCullagh became managing editor of the Qlohe in the fall of 1873 and on May 
18, 1875, Messrs. McKee & Houser bought out the Democrat, paying $325 000 The 
Globe and Democrat were thus united, and the result of the nuptials is the Qlohe- 
-Democrat. ■ 

_ Daring all these changes in ownership and editorial writers, and in all the trvina- 
times of management, when the means to buy paper and pay help was a vital point- 
when politicians were suing for its support, or denouncing its opposition ; when in- 
ternal broils or external dangers were to be quelled or overcome ; when questions of 
policy were to be determined; when financial straits were to be passed or the 
profits ot successful management to be spent in enlargement or divided to stock- 
hoders; m all times of success or embarassment ; when the sky was clear and the 
pathrosy or when danger, disaster and darkness cowed the weaker spirits, Mr 
William McKee, the founder, the constant controlling manager, the one man atlh; 
wheel, has been found able to direct, and has in every contest won new laurels for 
the paper which It has been his life-work to establish and develop, and which it is 
his pride, as it is his privilege, to so improve as to maintain its already envied fame • 
or, whoever may have done the writing, to Mr. William McKee is due the direc- 
tion not only of the policy to pursue, but the business management, without which 
-neither the editorial ability or the pecuniary success would have been achieved 

The Globe-Democrat is an - independent paper," advocating progress and human 
development, and while it works with the Republican party, it freely expresse^fts 
views of men and measures of that party whenever it deems them unwise 

This establishment is furnished with every mechanical appliance that will insure 
the rapid production of a perfectly-printed newspaper. Two new Hoe's perfects ! 
presses enable the publishers to print their edition in the shortest possible time "^ 
The Globe-Democrat 18 a handsome, beautifully-printed quarto, and its immense 
popularity among the leading journals of the country, proved by is aveiLTr, 
tion of nearly 25,000 copies, is only the just tribute of an apprecial7pub'^^^^^^ 

JOSEPH B. McCULLAGH 

was born in Dublin, Ireland, in ^vember, 1842. He there attended school until his 
eleventh year, when he emigrated to New York, where he was apprenticed to the 
pnntxng business He left there and arrived at St. Louis in 1838, and ag^ appr t 
ticed himself m the Vhr^st^an Advocate office. He was for a time a terroi to h^« 
simple-hearted boarding-housekeeper, on account of the cabalistic signs which she 
found on every scrap of paper in his room. It was all right, however, whe„ he 
Hiformed her that it was simply " practice in short hand." He mastered tL art and 
obtained a situation on the Democrat. He developed unusual reportorial powers 
and was sent to Jefi^erson City to write up the proceedings of the eventf, ] wT' 
five session of 1859-60, and there exhibited taleL which^;iaced Tmtl^^^^^^^ 
rank as a wnter and correspondent. Leaving the Democrat, he went to ancinnat 
and accepted a situation on the Gazette. When the civil wal- broke out' he entered 
the Federal service as a Lieutenant in the Benton Cadets, Fremont's bodyguard 
and served with them until Fremont was superseded in Missouri, When hexetmld 
to civil life He soon left the editorial rc^om to become a field coklspont"^ 
Cincinnati Commerc^al, participating in Ihe battle of Fort Donelson, and bein^ one 
44 " 



690 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

of the few volunteers on board the " St. Louis," the first gun-boat that passed the 
murderous fire of the fort. The nexl day he participated in the land fight, and there 
and subsequently at Shiloh and Vicksburg he proved himself as fearless in battle as 
he is in the press. As a war correspondent he was racy, witty, brilliant, graphic, 
and the pride of the western army, He left the army after the surrender of Vicks- 
burg, and became the Washington correspondent of the Cincinnati Commercial, and 
continued in this position from December, 1863, until 1868. His Washington career 
extended his readers and admu-ers to the entire nation. Among the prominent cor- 
respondents at that time in the national capital were Schurz, Townsend, Reid, and 
McCulIagh. They are all well known to the public now. McCulIagh and Town- 
send were most read and admired, on account of their brilliant coloring and the 
freshness and vigor of their style. " Mack" possessed a newsy faculty, which, with 
his other talents, placed him justly as a leading correspondent. He was the inventor 
and the first to practically utilize the now indispensable system of "interviewing," 
and his celebrated interviews of Stevens in 1868, and of Andrew Johnson, are among 
the masterpieces of the profession in that line. 

In 1868, Mr. McCulIagh became editor of the Cincinnati Gazette. In 1870 he 
retii'ed from this position to become editor of the Chicago Republican, a rapidly- 
growing paper, when the kick of Mrs. O'Leary's cow swept it away in the flames of 
that doomed city. Leaving the smouldering ashes of the lake side, he returned to- 
St. Louis in 1871, which he had left eleven years before with high hopes. Since then 
he has been a power in the profession of journalism, first as editor of the Democrat, 
next in the same capacity on the Globe, and upon their consolidation as editor of the 
Globe-Democrat, a position which he now adorns. 

Mr. McCulIagh has been equally successful as reporter, correspondent, and editor. 
He is untii'ing and incessant, performing two men's work. He is a constant student^ 
and, without college training, is an accomplished classical scholar, and is especially- 
skillful in the use of the English classics, which he uses with the most telling efiect. 
In personal journalism — now so much cultivated — he is master, his keen wit, biting 
sarcasm, and bitter invective being unparalleled. Around the banquet board he is 
inimitable; his habits, however, are temperate and even. Mr. McCulIagh is of me- 
dium size, well formed, and blessed with a splendid constitution. His habits are 
careless, though neat. He indulges neither friendship nor hypocrisy, and has never 
confessed to a strong attachment. 



THE MISSOURI REPUBLICAN. 

The first newspaper west of the Mississij)pi river was the Ifissouri Gazette, a 
small sheet measuring twelve by sixteen inches, issued July 12, 1808. A year 
later the title was changed to the Louisiana Gazette, and in July, 1818, the first 
name was resumed. In 1822 it became the 31issouri Bepublican, which name it has 
ever since borne. It was a weekly paper until April 9, 1833, when it began to be 
issued twice a week. On April 3, 1835, it commenced a tri- weekly edition, and in 
September, 1835, the publication of the daily began. The paper was first worked 
on the pioneer press of the West. It was a rude concern of the Franklin model, 
but answered the demands of that day. The Bepublican by May, 1849, had grown 
in size to twenty-eight by forty-eight inches, and possessed a large establishment, 
fitted out with the best machinery to be had. The great tu'e of that month, which 



ST. LOUIS. 691 

nearly destroyed the city, wiped the whole building and its contents out of exist- 
ence in a night. But a single day's intermis«ioii occurred in the publication of the 
paper, and new machinery was promptly obtained Prosperity continued, and in 
1853 the paper had obtained the gigantic proportions of thirty-three, by fifty-six 
inches, making it, with two exceptions, the largest paper in America. The Rep^ih- 
lican was then printed on a double-cylinder, and in March, 1859, on one of Hoe's 
I'otary four-cylinder printing machines, and in 1864 on an eight-cylinder Hoe. 

In May, 1870, the Republiian was again destroyed by fire. But one day's issue 
was missed, however, and on the seventh day after the fire the paper was restored 
to its former size. A new and elegant building was shortly after commenced, on 
Third and Chestnut streets, which it was intended should surpass any similar edifice 
in the country. 

In importance and general character it ranks with the great dailies of the countrv- 
Its tone is high and dignified, and few newspapers, anywhere, enjoy such a wide- 
spread influence. 

For many years the Bejoublican was edited by Col. A. B. Chambers, who was also 
one of the proprietors. He w^as succeeded by Nathaniel Paschall, who remained in 
control until the time of his death. Mr. William Plyde, the present editor-in-chief, 
has conducted the paper with conspicuous ability for several years. 

The concern is conducted by a stock company known as George Knapp & Com- 
pany, of which George Knapp, John Knapp and Henry G. Paschall are directors. 
The brothers Knapp came to St. Louis at a very early day, when St. Louis was a 
mere village, and have not only carved out their own fortunes, but have aided mate- 
rially in the growth and prosperity of the city. 



WILLIAM HYDE 

was born at Lima, New York, August 27, 1837, and is the oldest in a family of four 
sons and two daughters. While he was quite young, his parents moved to Belleville, 
Illinois. 

He was educated at an Illinois college, and in 1854 graduated at Transylvania 
College, Kentucky. He returned to Belleville at the age of eighteen, and in 1855 
became editor of the Weekly Tribune of that place. The country was then rapidly 
warming in the discussions which, a few years afterwards, culminated in our late 
civil war. The young editor plunged into this contest with all the ardor of his 
nature and all the vigor of his robust Anglo-Saxon manhood. 

At the beginning of the Presidential campaign of 1856, Mr. Hyde became editor of 
the Sterling (Illinois) Times, and in his new position gave such satisfaction to the 
Democracy of Whiteside county that they visited him with their approbation iu the 
way of a flattering testimonial. At this time Mr. Hyde's journalistic style was a 
mingling of nice regard for the proprieties of the English language and a proper 
disregard of the sensibilities of his opponents, with a total indifference to personal 
cousequences, which, in those days, it was much more necessary to consider than it 
is now. 

His conduct of the Times at Sterling had attracted the attention of Nathaniel 
Paschall, the veteran editor of the St. Louis Eepublican, and Mr. Hyde was engaged' 
as special correspondent of that paper at the Illinois capital during the legislative 
session of 1857. In October of that year he was placed on the city force of the ' 



692 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

Mejntbllcan, and has ever since been employed upon that paper, having by regular 
promotion occupied the departments of reporter, telegraph editor, city editor, 
political writer and managing editor. In 1859, while a reporter, or, rather, acting 
city editor, he was assigned to the novel duty of accompanying Messrs. Wise, 
LaMountaiii and Gager in an asrial voyage from Washington square, St. Louis, to — 
wherever the rudderless air-ship might land, which proved to be near Sackett's 
Harbor, New York, passing over Lakes Erie and Ontario. On his return from this 
novel excursion, or shortly thereafter, he was transferred from the city force to the 
political staff of the Bepublican, and labored in this capacity from the Douglas 
campaign of 1860 until the death of the veteran, Mr. Paschall, in 1866. Upon this 
event he was admitted as a stockholder in the corporation of Geo. Knapp & Co., 
and has since been recognized as the managing editor. 

Mr. Hyde was married June 4, 1866, to Miss Hattie Benson, of Toronto, Canada, 
and has two children. 

Mr. Hyde was influential in working up the so-called "passive policy," retiring 
the Democracy as a party from the Presidential campaign of 1872, and was a 
delegate-at-large from Missouri to the Baltimore Convention of that year. 

Mr. Hyde's sway in the editorial rooms is supreme, and yet he never commands, 
and no direction is in harsher form than a suggestion. He says: ''I have no subor- 
dinates ; the gentlemen on the Bepuhlican are my associates. The term subordinate 
implies the necessitj^ for constant instruction and command, and such writers are 
not employed upon the BejnMican.''' He is genial and peace-loving, but by no 
means a non-combatant. While he dislikes contention, he does not refuse an appeal 
from moral to physical suasion, whenever his acts or utterances, or those of the 
Bepuhlican, are called in question for explanation or redress. 

William Hyde will never become a millionaire. He is too honest to accumulate 
■wealth beyond the legitimate compensation of his daily toil, and too large-hearted 
and open-handed to lay up any considerable portion of his earnings. The great 
objects of his life seem to be to gain an honorable livelihood for his family, and 
render them comfortable and happy ; to do what he can to make society better, 
politics clearer, journalism more honorable, and the Bepuhlican a more valuable 
property. 

Mr. Hyde is a fine type of Western intellectual and physical manhood. He is a 
man whose virtues pi^ofit others more than they do himself, and whose faults afa.ict 
nobody but himself; a man like whom there are all too few in the world for the 
world's good ; a man who will be missed when he shall have glided quietly out of 
the place he makes so little fuss in filling, far more than he will ever be appreciated 
while he fills it. 

HORACE HILLS MORGAN 

was born at Auburn, New York, January 22d, 1839. His ancestors were from (yon- 
necticut, and of Welsh descent. His father removed with his family to St. Louis in 
1844, where they have remained most of the time since. Horace was a member of 
the freshman class in Hobart College, Geneva, N. Y., but graduated with classical 
honors at Williams College, in 1859. 

Mr. Morgan commenced teaching as assistant in St. Louis High School, in 
November, 1859. He was promoted to first assistant in 1862, and in February, 1866, 
was appointed principal, which position he has filled ever since. He was married 





^^^t/L/ry^T-^*— w 



opyxifiil . 2-fi ' 



ST. LOUIS. 693 

June 24th, 3868, to Miss Mary Ella, daughter of Captain Henry W. Smith, President 
of the Memphis and St. Louis Packet Company. They have one son. 

Aside from his work in the High School, Mr. Morgan has filled many positions of 
honor and trust connected with educational affairs. He was chairman of the Public 
School Department during- the St. Louis Sanitary Fair, which turned over to the 
general iund a large sum of money. He was one of the founders of the Public School 
Library, of which he has been a director since 1866, and is chairman of the Committee 
on Books and Donations. He is Treasurer of the Art Society, and has been very 
efficient in raising money for the Society of Pedagogy. Mr. Morgan is managing- 
editor of The Western, an educational and literary monthly magazine, and is the 
author of^ "Representative Names in the History of Literature" and -'Topical 
Shakspeariana." Mr. Morgan has successfully taught nearly every branch in the 
St. ^ouis High School, and his scholarship, culture and administrative ability 
have contributed much toward the present high standing of the school. It is his 
endeavor to fit the pupils to fill honorable and useful positions in life, and his success 
as an educator is fnlly vindicated by the constantly-increasing number of pupils, by 
the character of their attendance, the quality of their scholarship, and their standing 
in the community. 

They go from the High School to the best colleges, maintaining a good standing; 
they remain in their own city or go elsewhere as well-qualified teachers; and the 
statistics show that, of the large number of graduates under Mr. Morgan's principal- 
ship, his pupils are found practical and efficient workers in over one hundred 
different callings. 

ENOCH M. MARVIN. 

The late Bishop Enoch M. Marvin, of the Southern Methodist Church, deserves a 
high place among the great men of Missouri. When we consider the results of his 
life-work, the good accomplished through his direct agency, the charitable and edu- 
cational institutions founded by his efforts and benevolence, and his strong personal 
influence over those with whom he associated, there are none whose names are hon- 
orably connected with the growth and progress of the State, who deserve to pre- 
cede him. 

He was a self-made man in the true meaning of that often misused term, and by 
his own unaided efforts arose from one of the humblest positions in life to the most 
exalted place within the gift of a powerful religious denomination. He had no 
advantages in early life, except the example of an honest, industrious father, and the 
Influence and precepts of a pious and most exemplary mother. The latter was a 
superior woman in many respects, and her fine mental qualities and great integrity 
of character were strongly marked in the brilliant career of her son. 

The Marvin family is a very old one, dating back in this country to 1635, when 
Reinold Marvin (or Marvyn, as the name was then spelled) brought his family from 
England and settled in Hartford, Ct. He soon afterward removed to Lyme,"in the 
same State, where the family continued to reside for several generations. They 
were educated and intelligent people, and exercised a large influence in the country 
where they lived. Several of the sons, at different periods, held important military 
and civil positions, and their names are prominently connected with the early history 
of Connecticut. 

Elisha, son of Captain Reinold Marvin, who was a grand son of the original Rei- 



694 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF IknSSOUKI. 

nold Marvin, was born at Lyme, on the 8th of March, 1717, and died December 3d, 
1801. He mari'ied Catharine, daughter of Timothy Mather, a member of the cele- 
brated Cotton Mather family, and the sterling qualities of these two great families 
were eventually reproduced in the subject of this sketch, who, in many respects, 
was a second Cotton Mather, while his earnest patriotism and fearless disregard of 
danger where he believed that duty called him, were qualities which he derived from 
his father's family. Enoch Marvin, one of the children of this union, was boru in 
Lyme, Ct., in 1747. He married EuthEly, and soon afterward removed to Berkshire 
Co., Mass., where his son, Wells Ely, was born. Not long after that he removed to 
Sheuaugo county, N. J., where he reared his family and resided until 1817, when he 
came to Missouri with his son Wells Ely, who had married and, like many other 
young- men of that day, desired to seek his fortune in the growing West. His wife's 
maiden name was Mary Davis, and her ancestors were Welch. They settled first in 
• Howell's Prairie, in St. Charles County, but in the following year removed to what 
is now Warren County, and settled near the present village of Wright City. Here 
the}'" built a log cabin and began the labor of clearing a farm from the surrounding 
wilderness. In this cabin, which was of the most primitive structure, covered with 
clapboards held in their places by heavy poles laid transversely across the boards, the 
future Bishop was born, June 12, 1823, and christened Enoch Mather, in honor of 
his grand-mother. He was the third child, having two brothers older and one sister 
younger than himself, and he survived them all. His brother, Nathaniel D., died at 
his home in Louisiana, Mo., only a short time before the death of the Bishop. 

In those early days there were but few schools in Missouri, and young Marvin's 
only instruction in the rudiments of an education was received from his mother, 
who taught her own children and those of her neighbors in a cabin erected for that 
purpose in the yard that surrounded their dwelling. He soon began to manifest 
superior talents, and became a leading debater in the primitive debating society of 
the neighbarhood. He was also recognised in the circle of his limited acquaintance 
as a young man of good integrity and superior business qualifications, and at an 
early age began to exercise an influence in his neighborhood. In August, 1839, he 
became a member of the Methodist Church, his religious feelings having been fos- 
tered by his mother, who was. a member of the Baptist Church, and a devout 
Christian woman. The following year he experienced what is called conversion or 
change of heart, and began his ministerial career in 1841, having been admitted by 
the conference that met in Palmyra that year. He was not present at that confer- 
ence, but was received upon the I'ecommendation of his pastor and class. 

His first efforts in the pulpit did not give promise of the brilliant fature that lay 
before him, btit a few years of close study and constant effort developed his fine tal" 
ents, and he became celebrated far and wide for his matchless eloquence and wonder- 
ful reasoning powers. He was ordained a deacon in 1843, and an elder in 1845, and 
in 1852 his fame had become so well established that he was appointed to the 
most responsible position of presiding elder, and placed in charge of the St. Charles 
District, at that time one of the most important in the Conference. During the year 
1854-5 he acted as agent for St. Charles College, and succeeded in raising it from a 
condition of lethargy into one of the most flourishing educational institutions in the 
West. He was then transferred to the St. Louis Conference and stationed at one of 
the prominent city churches, where he built up a large congregation and became one 
of the best-known and most popular pastors in the city. It was during his pastorate 
in this church that he delivered his famous lectures on Catholicism, which have ever 
since been accepted as a standard defence of the Protestant faith. 



ST. LOUIS. 695 

When the unfortunate struggle between the North and South began, his sympa- 
thies were enlisted on the side of the latter, and in February, 1862, he ran the gaunt- 
let of the- Union armies and went South as a missionary' to the soldiers. He re- 
mained until the close of the war, preaching to the soldiers and administering to 
their spiritual and physical needs when they were sick or wounded. He en- 
countered many dangers and endured innumerable hardships while engaged in this 
labor of love^ but at the same time his acquaintance and influence were largely ex- 
tended among the people of the South, and when the General Conference met in 
New Orleans, in 1866, his name was proposed as a candidate for the Episcopacy. He 
was. not present at the time, and knew nothing in regai'd to the intention of his 
friends until he was informed of his election, which had occurred on the first ballot. 
He at once became a leading spirit in the College of Bishops, and ten years after his 
election he was chosen as the representative of the church to visit the missions in 
€hina, and survey the field for future operations in heathen countries. He sailed 
from San Francisco, on his voyage around the world, on the 1st day of November, 
1876; visited Japan, China, India, Egypt, Palestine, Turkey and Italy, and returned 
home by way of France and England, making the entire trip in about ten months. 

A vast amount of unfinished business had accumulated during his absence, and 
he immediately set to work with his usual energy to arrange and complete it. In 
the meantime his only surviving bi'other sickened and died, and this great afla.iction, 
with the constant application of his mental and physical powers, began to tell 
heavily upon his delicate constitution. On the evening of November 19, 1877, after 
a day of hard labor in the pulpit and Sundajr-schools, he was taken with a slight 
chill, followed on the second day afterward with a severe attack of pleuro-pneu-, 
monia, which resulted in his death on the morning of the 26th of November. 

While on his death-bed he finished the last pages of his last and most important 
book, entitled " To the East by Way of the West," giving an account of his voyage 
around the woiid, and describing the field and planning the future work of Ms 
Church in heathen lands. The book was published a few weeks after his death, and 
:So gi-eat was the demand for it that it ran through the fourth edition in less than 
two months. It was .his masterpiece, and gave him high rank among the most 
famous descriptive writers. 

WILLIAM POPE YEAMAN 

was born in Hardin county, Kentucky, May 28, 1832. His father, Stephen M. 
Yeaman, was born in Pennsylvania, but while yet a small child, his father, Samuel 
Yeaman, emigrated to Ohio, and purchased a farm, the site of which is now covered 
by the western portion of Cincinnati. 

Stephen M. Yeaman, in early manhood, sought a home in Kentucky. He had 
received a liberal education, and in his new home devoted himself to the study of 
law. Being admitted to the bar, his fine personal appearance, sterling integrity, 
studious and business habits soon gained for him a responsible and remunerative 
practice. At the age of twenty-seven years he was married to Miss Lucretia Helm, 
a daughter of Hon. George Helm (then deceased), of Hardin county. This lady, 
distinguished alike for intellect and intelligence, survives her husband, and is about 
69 years of age. 

The subject of this sketch is the third child and third son in a family of nine 
children, eight of whom were sons. Six of these sons reached years of manhood, 



696 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

and each prepared himself for the profession of the law. The eldest son, John H., 
changed his plan of life, and at a divinity school received a thorough theological" 
training-. About the time he left college he became a confirmed invalid from 
nervous prostration, and was forced at an early age to retire from the pulpit, and 
died at the age of 37 years. At college and in the pulpit he was remarkable for a 
pi-ofound and philosophical habit of thought. 

The father of this family met with several financial reverses before his children 
were grown, and, discouraged, retired from the practice of his profession, against 
the remonstrances of his brother lawyers. The result upon his family was that his 
sons, on approaching maturity, were thrown upon their own resources, which was 
probably no disadvantage to them in the battle of life, as they learned the lesson of 
self-reliance. The second son, Hon. George H. Yeaman, now of the New York 
bar, served his native State in the State Legislature, and was twice elected to the 
House of Eepresentatives of the National Congress, and for six years represented 
the United States as Charge de Affaires at the Danish Court, and, upon his return 
to the United States, settled in the city of New York to practice his profession. He 
was engaged for two years to lecture, in the Law Department of the New York 
University, on constitutional and international law. The fourth son, Harvey, dis- 
tinguished himself at the Louisville bar ; but, suffering from bronchitis, he retired 
to the mountains of Colorado in quest of health, and died in that State in August, 
1875, at the early age of 40 years. Another brother, Malcolm, is an honored and 
successful lawyer at Henderson, Kentucky. The youngest of the family, Caldwell, 
is doing a lucrative practice in Colorado, with promise of eminence. These notes 
are made to show what industry, study and self-reliance may accomplish. 

The subject of this sketch studied law in the oflice of his uncle, Governor John 
L. Helm, at Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and at the age of 19 years he was admitted 
to the bar. At about the same age he was married to Miss Eliza Shackelford, of 
Hardin county, Kentucky. This lady, by her many noble and sterling qualities, 
has proven a help-meet indeed to her husband. A large and interesting family of 
children has claimed her almost undivided attention and afforded her a real 
pleasure. 

For nine years Mr. Yeaman devoted his talents and energies to the practice of the 
law, and, for so young a man, he attained to remarkable eminence in his profession. 
He was particularly able as an advocate, and was retained in many of the important 
and difficult cases in the several counties composing the judicial circuit in which he 
resided. 

At the age of twenty-seven years, after a severe and prolonged struggle between 
ambition and a sense, of duty, he yielded to his conviction of duty to preach the 
gospel, and was ordained a minister of the Baptist Church. His first pastorate was 
at Nicholasville, Kentucky. He was soon called to divide his time between this 
church and the church at East Hickman, in Fayette county, the pulpit of which had 
been vacated by the resignation of the venerable Eyland T. Dillard, D. D., who had 
filled that pulpit for thirty-seven years. 

In 1862, Mr. Yeaman was called from these churches to the pastorate of the First 
Baptist Church in the city of Covington, Kentucky. In this pulpit he was the suc- 
cessor of many of the leading ministers of his denomination. His pastorate was a 
successful one, and during it he was recalled to East Hickman, but felt it to be his 
duty to decline the call. 

In December, 1867, he accepted a call from a prominent church in the city of New 



ST. LOUIS. 697 

York. In that city he soon took high rani? among his brother ministers, and the 
church of his charge— the Central Baptist Church — was greatly increased in numbers 
and influence. Just before leaving the city of New York, Mr. Yeaman was made 
chairman of the committee for organizing a plan for city Baptist missions. 

In March, 1870, he accepted a call from the Third Baptist Church of St. Louis, 
and in the following month entered upon the work of this important field. In the 
same year the faculty and trustees of William Jewell College conferred on him the 
merited honor of Doctor of Divinity. 

In coming to Missouri — which has a large Baptist population — Dr. Yeaman at 
once placed himself in sympathy with the great denominational enterprises of his 
brethren, and has ever since exercised an influence second to none in the State. His 
time was much given to the interests of education, religious journalism, and 
missions. In the summer of 1870, he was elected»Moderator of the St. Louis Baptist 
Association, to which position he was elected for six consecutive years; at the 
seventh meeting he declined a re-election. 

In 1875, Dr. Yeaman was elected Chancellor of William Jewell College. After 
holding this position for two years, he resigned. The Board of Trustees of the 
college adopted a series of I'esolutions highly complimentaiy of his administration 
of college affairs. 

In October, 1876, Dr. Yeaman resigned the pastorate of the Third Baptist Church, 
and gave his time and attention to the duties of the Chancellorship, and to the 
chief editorship of the Central Baptist, the denominational organ in the State. 
The Third Church had greatly flourished under his care, growing into a strong and 
influential body. 

In April, 1877, a new church was organized in the city of St. Louis, and called the 
Garrison Avenue Baptist Church. To the pastorate of this new interest he received 
a unanimous call, which he accepted. This new church has steadily grown from 
the beginning, and bids fair to become one of the leading churches of the city. 

In October, 1877, the Doctor retired from the editorial chair, to give his time more 
entirely to preaching. 

In the same month he was chosen as the presiding ofiicer of the Missouri Baptist 
General Association, at an annual meeting held in the city of Lexington. On the 
floor of this body of prominent preachers and eminent laymen, Dr. Yeaman had 
been an active and influential member for seven preceding sessions. As a loresiding 
officer he gives general satisfaction. 

Dr. Yeaman is a close student of theology, and keeps himself informed of all 
living questions of current thought. He is an active working man, with consider- 
able powers of endurance. While his thinking is close and analytical, his speeches 
are extemporaneous as a rule. His logical power, fervent eloquence and imposing 
person give him great power over his audiences. His genial and pleasant manners 
have won for him many friends in and out of his own denomination. While he has 
a full share of dignity and reserve, he is without cant and ministerial mannerism. 
Like other strong men, he is an independent thinker, and, in his utterances, does 
not seem to calculate the consequences as to himself. He, therefore, sometimes 
offends ; but, at the same time, he gains and holds warm, intelligent and multitudi- 
nous friends. 



698 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

REV. SAMUEL JACK NICCOLLS, D.D., 

•was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, August 3d, 1838. His ancestors 
wei-e of Scotch descent, and settled in America before the Revolutionary war. His 
maternal grandfather v^as a captain in the struggle for independence, and was 
wounded at the battle of Germantown; and was also a well-known leader in the 
Indian wars in Western Pennsylvania and Virginia, His father was an oflicer in 
the war of 1812, at the close of which he commenced business as a mei-chant, but, 
after his marriage with Miss Elizabeth Jack, he purchased a large tract of land in 
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and assumed the occupation of farmer. 

Samuel, the subject of this sketch, was the only child of this marriage, his mother 
dying when he was but a few months old ; and his father's death followed when he 
was scarcely nine years of age. His parents had, at his birth, dedicated him to the 
work of the ministry, and as he manifested a great fondness for study he was given 
the best instruction which the schools of those days in that part of the country 
afforded. In his thirteenth year he entered the then famous Academy at Elders- 
ridge, Pennsylvania, presided over by Rev. Alexander Donaldson, D. D. He com- 
pleted his academic course and entered Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, from which 
he was graduated in 1867. 

Feeling called upon to enter the profession to which his parents had dedicated him 
he immediately commenced his studies in the Western Theological Seminary, at 
Alleghany, Pa., upon the completion of which he was secured to preach by the 
Presbytery of Redstone, in connection with the Presbyterian Church, O. S. 

In the year 1860, he was called to the pastorate of the Presbyterian Church at 
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and on August 16th, of the same year, he was mar- 
ried to Miss Mai'garet A. Sherrick, daughter of John Sherrick, Esq., of Mount 
Pleasant, Pennsylvania. 

His pastorate at Chambersburg began dui'ing the exciting times which preceded 
the outbreak of the late civil war, and the locality of his charge necessitated him to 
become a participant in the events which followed. In 1863 he was called by the 
men and officers of the 126th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers to become their 
Chaplain. Accepting their invitation, and obtaining a temporary leave from his 
church, he served with them during the exciting -campaign which included the 
second battle of Bull's Run, Antietam and Fredericksburg. 

In the fall of 1864 he was called to the pastorate of the Second Presbytei'ian 
Church of St. Louis, which had long been the leading church of the Presbyterian 
body in the West. He accepted the call, and began his ministry in St. Louis in 
January, 1865. The position was one of peculiar trial and difficulty, demanding 
prudence, wisdom and charity for honest and selfish differences. The questions 
connected with the civil war were then being discussed with great vehemence in the 
church courts, and a division among the churches of Missouri was imminent. In 
the controversy which followed, Dr. Niccolls, who remained in connection with the 
Northern Assembly, took a prominent and conciliatory part. He also took an active 
part in promoting the union between the Old and New school branches of the Pres- 
byterian Church, and in 1872 was elected Moderator of the General Assembly. He 
was a delegate of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United 
States to the Pan Convention, which met in Edinburgh, July 3, 1877, and read an 
able paper upon the "Religious Education of the Youth," which was received with 
marked approval. 



ST. LOUIS. 699 

Dr. Mccolls is a ready, incisive and forcible speaker, abounding in illustrations 
and arguments, which, while they convince the intellect, at the same time warm the 
heart of his audience. He is a gentleman of broad culture, large experience and 
generous impulses. He has always taken a lively interest in public affairs, and 
especially in philanthropic measures for the good of society. His Christian views 
and work may ba somewhat defined, but never limited, by denominational lines, for 
his hopes are as high as the heavens, his charity as broad as the race, and his sympa- 
thies as deep as man's necessities; so that while his own church may be proud of 
him as a representative, his name, his influence and his usefulness will be known 
and felt by all who are fortunate enough to be his friends, associates, fellow-work- 
ers or fellow-citizens. 

THE EIGHT KEVEREND CHARLES FRANKLIN ROBERTSON, D. D., 

was born in New York City, March 2d, 1835. His paternal ancestors were resi- 
dents of New York, while his mother was descended from Connecticut ancestors, 
members of both families having fought iu the Revolution, and also in the "War of 
1812. 

He was a boy of studious habits, and received his early education , in the best 
private schools of the city. 

It was at first designed that he should succeed to his father's large business of 
importing marble ; but his attention having been drawn to the ministry, he entered 
Yale College in 1855, and graduated with honors in 1859. He immediately after^ 
wards entered the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in New 
York, from which he graduated in 1862, and was admitted to Deacon's Orders, and 
four months later to the Order of Priesthood. His first parish was St. Mark's Church, 
Malone, N. Y., Avhich he greatly extended, and in which he remained in spite of 
many calls to large cities, until 1868, when he received the Rectorship of St. James' 
Church, Batavia, N. Y. 

Ills charge of this parish continued only a short time, as on the 4th of September, 
1868, he Avas unanimously elected by the convention of the Diocese of Missouri, to 
succeed Bishop Hawk, who had died the previous Spring. 

Bishop Robertson was consecrated Oct. 25th, 1868, in Grace Church, New York. 

He was first married to Miss Brisbie, but after a brief but happy union, which 
had no issue, she died. 

la September, 1865, he married Mrs. Rebecca Duane, of ;Duaue, N. Y. Her 
great-grand-father was Warden of Trinity Church before the Revolution, and mem- 
ber of the Continental Congress which adopted the Declaration of Independence, 
but being absent in the New York Assembly, of which he was also a member, his 
name was not appended to the Declaration. He was the first mayor of New York 
City after the Revolution, and also one of the few lay members of the first General 
Conventiou of the Episcopal Church, which adopted its constitution, arranged the 
Prayer Book and secured the Episcopate from England. 

The Diocese of Missouri has, since the beginning of Bishop Robertson's episcopate, 
increased in strength and numbers three-fold, having now sixty churches, fifty 
clergymen, five thousand communicants, and about a million dollars' worth of 
property. 



700 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

THE RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK JOHN RYAN 

was born at Tliuiies, in the county of Tipperary, Ireland, in the year 1831. At a 
very early age he evinced a predilection for the priesthood, his whole soul being 
seemingly bound up in that sacred calling. To this end drifted the whole current 
of his thoughts. After attending a school in Dublin, he, in 1847, entered Carlaw 
College, near that city, where he received a thorough ecclesiastical education. 
While attending this college, he filled the position of prefect of the lay house, and 
was ordained a sub-deacon while still a young man. Soon after leaving college he 
emigrated to the United States, and arrived in St, Louis in 1851. For three months 
after his arrival he was stationed at St. Patrick's Church with Father Wheeler, and 
by special permission preached regularly in the Cathedral, although from his extreme 
youth he had not as yet been ordained a priest. 

This anomaly in the Church was a noticeable event in the career of the young 
deacon, and evinced the appreciation his superiors entertained for his remarkable 
zeal and commanding talents. He was appointed professor of English Literature 
in the Carondelet Theological Seminary, and filled the position with great credit and 
success. 

After attaining his majority, in 1853, he was ordained a priest, and appointed 
assistant pastor at the Cathedral, where he remained until 1860, when he built the 
cliurch and parochial school of the Annunciation, on Sixth and Labadie streets^ 
He acted as chaplin to Gratiot Street Military jDrison, where he did all in his power 
to assuage the mental and physical sufferings of the prisoners and impart to them 
spiritual comfort. Hundreds of men, who, by the vicissitudes of war had become 
inmates of this place, now scattered broadcast over the whole Soutli, remember with 
feelings of gratitude his humane ministrations and kindlj^ words of cheer, uttered to 
them when the strong iron bolts and bars shut them out from the world and friends, 
and invoke blessings on his head for many little acts of kindness which went far to 
lighten the heavy bnrden of imprisonment. During his connection with the prison 
and hospital, his labors were marked by a large number of conversions, and it i& 
said as many as six hundred persons were baptised in the Church. Upon the 
recommendation of General Blair, Father Ryan received from Washington a 
commission as Chaplain in the United States Armj^, which, however, he saw fit to 
decline, but continued his connection with the prison. 

Father Ryan was afterwards appointed pastor of St. John's Church. He took a 
European trip as a relaxatition to the severe discipline to which he had been subject 
for some years back. He spent a year in Ireland, revisiting the scenes of his boy- 
hood, and in France, Germany and Italy. It was his good fortune to be in Rome 
during the celebration of the Centenary. During the following Lent he was invited 
by the Papal authorities to deliver the English sermon in Rome. This is considered 
one of the greatest honors that can be bestowed upon a priest of the Church of 
Rome. The sermons had previously been preached by such men as Cardinal Wise- 
man, Archbishop Hughes of New York, the famous Father Thomas Burke, and a 
galaxy of other bright luminaries of the Church, whose names will go down to 
posterity as among the greatest divines of their day, and whose eflTorts on such 
occasions are preserved in the archives of the Vatican for the especial admiration of 
the generations to come. 

On his return to America in 1868, he was appointed Vicar General of St. Louis, 
and during the absence of Archbishop Kendrick in Rome, while attending the 



ST. LOUIS. 701 

Ecumenical Council, was administrator of the diocese, a trust he performed to the 
entire satisfaction of both clergy and laity. 

The weight of years began to tell upon Archbishop Kendrick. Under these 
circumstances, the Archbishop applied to Rome for an assistant, and, acting under 
the sug-gestion of the Bishops of the ecclesiastical diocese of St. Louis, the Sovereign 
Pontiff appointed Father Ryan Coadjutor-Bishop of St. Louis, with the title of 
Bishop of Tricomia, in Palestine, in pat^tibus infidelium. 

In 1866, Father Ryan attended the second Plenary Council at Baltimore, when he 
preached a sermon before the assembled prelates on " The Sanctity of the Church." 
This is looked upon as one of the greatest efforts of this leai'ned and eloquent divine. 
Father Ryan has received the degree of LL. B. from the University of New York. 
His labors for years have been incessant, and of a nature calculated to wear away 
the most robust constitution. In addition to his parochial duties, he has been 
continually lecturing throughout the State, and ever on the alert to forward the holy 
<;ause of religion. In several instances, at the special request of the General Assembly 
of Missouri, he has addressed the assembled wisdom of the State, and on those 
occasions the Hall of Representatives, at Jefferson City, has been crowded by an 
eager multitude of all religious denominations, anxious to listen to the gifted orator. 

On these occasions, lawyers, doctors, ministers of the gospel, representatives of 
the army, merchant princes — all are to be found in attendance. His fervid eloquence, 
forcible manner, earnest delivery and display of dramatic power, never fail to hold 
the attention of his audience. 

On the 14th day of April, 1872, Father Ryan was consecrated Bishop at St. John's 
Church. 

Bishop Ryan is in the prime of manhood, with a long life, it is to be hoped, 
of usefulness before him. He is a little above the medium height, with a purely 
classical head, set firmly upon a pair of broad shoulders. His voice is peculiarly 
pleasing, and when he warms up to his subject, his eloquence is irresistible, and 
sweeps every obstacle before it. 



GEORGE FRANK GOULEY 

was born in "Wilmington, Delaware, February 15th, 1832. He received a good aca- 
demic education, studied law in the office of James A. Bayard, and was admitted to 
the bar. He filled a position in the Land Department at "Washington from 1858 to 

1860. He was for a time private secretary to Stephen A. Douglas, and became well 
Acquainted with the public men and politics of the country. He moved "West about 

1861, and was for a short time in Nebraska on business connected with the public 
lands. He was for a short time in the commission business in St. Louis. 

Mr. Gouley was a very active and prominent member of the Masonic Order, and 
through his zeal and activity as a Mason, a new career soon opened to him in St. 
Louis. He was made a Mason during his residence in "Washington. Soon after set- 
tling in St. Louis, he became a member of Missouri Lodge No. 1, St. Louis Arch 
Chapter No. 8, and St. Louis Commaudery No. 1, Knights Templars. In 1864 he 
became the assistant of Mr. Anthony O'Sullivan, Grand Secretary of the Grand 
Masonic Bodies of Missouri ; and immediately after Mr. O'Sullivan's death in 1866, 
Mr. Gouley was chosen Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge, Ancient Free and 
Accepted Masons, State of Missouri, to which position he has been annually elected 



702 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF INHSSOUEI. 

ever since. He also succeeded to the office of Grand Secretary and Recorder of all 
the other Masonic Bodies of the York Rite, and was appointed chairman of the 
various committees on foreign correspondence, year after year, for eleven successive 
years. Mr. Gouley was Past Master of his Lodge, Past Commander of his Com- 
mandery, and also a Past Commander of the Grand Commandery of the Knights 
Templars of Missouri. He filled all of his Masonic offices with marked ability and 
honor, and performed all his Masonic duties with zeal and fidelity. He was an 
acknowledged power in the Masonic Fraternity of Missouri, and avou a national 
reputation as a Masonic writer. For several years he edited and published in St. 
Louis, The Freemason, a Masonic journal, which gained a wide circulation and 
influence among the Craft. This magazine was recently merged into the Voice of 
Masonry, of which Mr. Gouley became a regular contributor. Mr. Gouley had a 
very original and active mind — was a master of Masonic law, a fluent speaker, and 
a strong writer. 

Mr. Gouley was one of the unfortunate victims, whose spirits took their departure 
for the untried realities of eternity, in tbe terrible disaster which destroyed the 
Southern Hotel, St. Louis, on April 11th, 1877. His mortal remains were laid away 
to rest the Sunday following. The funeral ceremonies were most solemn and im- 
pressive. The Grand Master of Masons officiated at the hall and at the tomb. The 
body had been lying in state for two days, and a constant stream of visitors poured 
into the hall and around the casket. The dead face wore much of its natural ex- 
pression. It was a juxtaposition of life and death in effect. Simple and stirring 
words were pronounced to the densely packed mass of people, and the still air cai"^ 
ried the sounds through the open windows to the more densely packed masses in 
the streets. At length the great procession moved, and all along the line of march 
— nearly two miles — the silent throngs stood with uncovered heads, and many tear- 
ful eyes. The whole city may be said to have attended George Frank Gouley's 
funeral. 

He was in the prime of his life and usefulness, and his tragic death is mourned by 
all who knew him, and especially so by the Masonic Fraternity throughout the land. 
His name is among the most familiar in Masonic records and literature during the 
last ten years. In its very character there is a kind of type of the man who bore 
it. It is a trinity of good fellowship, standing for a strong social, mental, charitable 
personality. Beautiful, fadeless memories cling to his name, like garlands of ever- 
green, and many are the brave and good deeds which stand to his ci'edit on the 
pages of his life and labors. Mr. Gouley was a man of broad views. He was tied 
to no creed, but respected all creeds. He was of a truly catholic mind. He recog- 
nized the All-Fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man. He was 
at once ideal and practical. His dream was of human progress, and his labor was 
for the emancipation of the race from the thraldom of error. His life was spent in 
the search for truth, and the recognition of its majesty employed his tongue and 
pen. In him the Masonic Fraternity lost one of its most enlightened members, one 
of its strongest pillars, and one of its most zealous workers. The Masons of Mis- 
souri have been instructed by liis wisdom, supported by his strength, and embel- 
lished by the beauty of his work. The principles of Freemasonry had so thoroughly 
permeated his mind and heart and being, that charity was the essential product of 
his nature. He did nothing from a cold sense of duty; everything for love. His 
heart was in all his work, and he did it well. Charity was the lever by which he 
raised a crushing weight from many a spirit wliich lives to mourn his loss. He gave 



ST. LOUIS. 703 

of his means to the very extent of his ability, to exercise the divinest attribute of 
his nature. In his deatli the poor lost a friend; humanity, an ornament; the com- 
munity which he adorned, a valuable citizen; his personal friends, a golden heart; 
and the Fraternity of Freemasons, an example of the best fruits of the great Ma- 
sonic Brotherhood. 

A. J. CONANT. 

The advancement of art and art taste in St. Louis has been as rapid and substan- 
tial as the progress of the city itself in population and wealth and general refine- 
ment. While the city was new, and gathering up the matei'ial resources which 
should enable its citizens to surround themselves with objects to please a refined 
taste, the few patrons of art were compelled to collect the paintings to adorn their 
homes from foreign sources. 

But the older people remember with pleasure the artist De Franca, who was with 
them many years, painting the portraits of those who had the taste and means to 
transmit such mementoes to their successors. 

Chester Harding, Sr., was ever a welcome guest, for he left in the homes visited 
rare and beautiful portraits, monuments of liis skill and of the people who were so 
fortunate as to secure his art. A few others came now and then, painted a few 
pictures, and went to other fields of labor. 

It was the fashion to patronize foreign art. Those who traveled bought pictures 
and had portraits painted. They paid well, but often returned with poor pictures. 
Others obtained specimens of art that richly adorn many of our homes. But for 
the last decade or more, since educated and skilled artists have made St. Louis their 
homes, the taste for art and the love of good pictures have rapidly advanced, and 
our home artists have received a liberal patronage, even from those who have freely 
indulged their tastes in the purchase of foreign productions. 

For this progress of art and art-taste, St. Louis and many adjacent towns are 
indebted to Mr. A. J. Conant, whose works adorn so many of our homes, giving us 
such truthful representations of living friends and the loved ones who have passed 
away. 

Mr. Conant is the oldest of our resident artists ; we have more of his works, and 
we are more indebted to his art and his influence for our present appreciation of the 
fine arts and the possession of so many valuable sioecimens of art treasures. 

Rare natural endowments, and an enlightened and untiring application of science 
to the art of portrait-painting, have placed Mr. Conant at the head of his profession 
in the West. He has now the enviable position usually assigned those who have 
worked their way up through all the grades of progress, meeting and overcoming 
the many difiiculties which beset every pathway to permanent success. 

Among those mentioned in early colonial history, by Cotton Mather and others, is 
Roger Conant, who came over from England in 1624, to aid in establishing and 
governing the infant Colonies. He was possessed of education, firmness and sterling 
integrity, which so won the esteem and confidence of his associates that he was 
made Governor of a colony near the present site of Salem, Massachusetts. This 
colony was noted for its family and factional quarrels, which had bafiled the skill of 
many chosen to govern ; but Roger Conant, with his just and persuasive ways, soon 
won all hearts and persuaded all to live in peace. This peaceful solution of a dis- 
tracted community gave the name of Salem (Peace) to the colony. 



704 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MLSSOURI. 

Roger Conant clesceiiclecl from the Quoinants of the Norman conquerors, and 
from Roger the line of descent was through his son Caleb, and his descendants, 
Bcnajah, Jonathan, Caleb and Alban Jasper, the subject of this sketch. 

Alban Jasper Conant was born in Chelsea, Orange county, Vermont, September 
24th, 1821. AVhen not attending the district school, he was kept at work with his 
father in his sign-painting shop or upon his small farm. At fifteen, he found a place 
to work for his board while preparing for college. AVhen eighteen he taught a 
country school for a three months' term, and with the money earned he entered 
Randolph Academy. At this time he wrote poetry, articles for the rural press, and 
began to draw sketches and paint the portraits of his school-mates. These efibrts 
were crude, but promising, and highly appreciated by his friends as evidences of 
genius. His money giving out, he returned to work upon a farm. While in the 
fields he saw the lofty mountain peaks of his native State, and longed to explore the 
great world beyond. As he studied the outlines of mountain, tree and stream, day 
after day, he had wonderful thoughts and theories, as his mental and moral nature 
expanded, in contemplating the source of all this grandeur in nature. 

After several months' farm labor, he left home to find a district school in St. 
Lawrence county. New York. The committeemen, who needed a strong, robust 
man, to whip, rather than teach, the big boys, employed Mr. Conant without inquir- 
ing into his literary attainments. But all liked the new teacher, and the " big boys 
needed no whipping ; or, rather, his genial spirit and genius led them to the pursuit 
of knowledge rather than to the mischief and tricks which trouble the teacher. By 
teaching and other labors he acquired the means of attending. a first-class institution 
in St. Lawrence county, where he took an eclectic course. 

Mr. Conant was, at this time, a good vocalist, and had some knowledge of instru- 
mental music. He taught pui^ils during the week, and led the choir on the Sabbath. 
He had, so far, never seen an artist, knew nothing of combining colors or the rules 
of art, yet he continued making sketches and painting portraits — some of wliich sold 
for, to him then, the fair price of five dollars. A gentleman from New Yoi-k visited 
the neighborhood, painted several portraits, talked much of art and artists, and men- 
tioned the Academy of Design, all of which filled Mr. Conant's head and determined 
him to become an artist. He borrowed a small sum of money, and in June, 1844, 
started for New York. He soon found Mr. Henry Inman, then at the head of his 
profession, who received him very kindly. Mr. Conant could not become the pupil 
of Mr. Inman, as the latter was just leaving for Europe, but he spent several hours 
with the young student, finding out the extent of his knowledge, his plans for the 
future, and, giving him some excellent advice, dismissed him with many encourag- 
ing words. This visit, Mr. Conant thinks, was the first lesson he ever had. It con- 
vinced him that every true disciple in art, religion or science, must begin as a little 
child ; and he commenced at the elementary principles of art and worked his way 
up. After a time he went to Troy, secured employment as teacher of music and 
choirister, and opened a studio. He frequently visited New York, studying art, and 
taking lessons of the best artists. He remained in Troy twelve years, during which 
time he was married. 

In 1857, for his wife's health, he made a journey west; and being much pleased 
with the place, settled in St. Louis, and opened a studio. Art was then in its infancy. 
He soon began to agitate the starting of an art gallery, in which project Boye enthu- 
siastically co-operated. In 1860, the Western Academy of Art was established, with 
Mr. Conant as one of the principal managers. The war came on, however, and this 



ST. LOUIS. 705 

creditable collection of rare statuary, casts, and engravings from Europe, besides a 
good collection of pictures from home and foreign artists, was scattered. The 
rooms were taken for militar.y purposes , and these art treasures lost. 

Mr. Conant rapidly gained patronage, and painted portraits for some of St. Louis' 
most prominent citizens, giving great satisfaction. For a time during the war his 
work was interrupted, and he visited the eastern States. He received commissions 
to paint portraits of Hon. Edward Bates, Attorney-General, and members of his 
family, Hon.Edwin M. Stanton, and others. His bust portrait of President Lincoln, 
now in possession of Mr. James B. Eads, of St. Louis, is doubtless the best por- 
trait of the deceased President in his pre-eminently social aspects. 

Since the war, Mr. Conant has resided in St. Louis, where the demand for his 
portraits ha? given him constant work. It has been his pleasant duty to fill our 
homes with family pictures, mementoes of afiection and love, to keep fresh the mem- 
ories of other and brighter days. His brush has also been largely employed by the 
public to delineate the features of the benefactors of mankind. His skill has left 
faithfal portraits of the men, whose deeds shoiild be embalmed in the public places 
of the land, in the shrines consecrated to history and the memory of the good and 
the great. In the National Capitol, the State University, the Chamber of Com- 
merce and other consecrated spots, may be seen the portraits which alike honor his 
genius and the memories of such men as Edward Bates, Edgar and Henry Ames, 
John J. Roe, Mr. Von Phul and W. M. McPherson. 

Portrait painting has been the life-work of Mr. Conant. Still he has not neglected 
other departments of art; he has indulged his tastes in figure painting and land- 
scapes with marked success. His portraits are distinguished for individuality, purity 
of tone and faithfulness of detail. He studies the character of the person he is to 
paint; learns the accustomed expression of countenance, the habits and manner of 
the sitter, and makes what he has observed a careful study. In form and outline he 
is seldom at fault, and he excels in coloring and portraiture of character. He is 
especially successful in child-pictures, often reproducing, after the little one's death, 
from a photograph, the loved features radiant in smiles and innocent beauty. Many 
saddened homes have had their happiness partially restored by these life-like 
pictures. 

Mr, Conant occupies a high social position in St. Louis and in the adjacent States. 
His varied learning, warm, genial nature, and rare faculty of adaptation to all, — the 
children and youth as well as the mature and aged, — give him a warm welcome at 
every fireside and in every heart. 

His acquisitions in literature, ancient art and aesthetic culture, and his happy 
mode of speaking, have employed his hours of i-ecreation in imparting these rich 
treasures in lectures before colleges, seminaries and lyceums. To these and kindred 
labors, St. Louis and the Mississippi Valley are largely indebted for its cultured 
and liberal views on these noble subjects. 

For many years, he has devoSsgd much of his time npt demanded bj? his profes- 
sion, to the study of the remains of pre-historic arts and peoples, confining his 
investigations in the main to the ancient monuments and remains of America. The 
results of his labors, especially his own explorations of the mounds of the Mississippi 
Valley, he has partially set forth in his article on Archaeology in the Commonwealth 
OF Missouri, and proposes, at no distant day, to give them more fully. 

His position, so long retained, as Curator of the University, brought him into a 
more close and authoritative i-elation with the leading minds and educators of the 
45 



706 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

State, on whom his catholic and practical views have exerted a happy influence. 
His belief that education should -have its adaptations to every department of our 
life-AVork, has had its happy influence over the University itself and its Agricultural 
College and its School of Mines. His personal efforts have largely contributed to 
give these departments of the University whatever of success they may have attained. 
All departments have felt the influence of his wise and enlightened policy, and it is 
to be hoped some, at least, of the plans he had conceived, for the advancement of 
this great school of the people, may be realized, as the State shall give the means 
needed to make this University the peer of the best in the land. He contemplated 
a school of design as a department of the State education. This, and a gallery of 
art, should be added to the educational features of the University of our great 

State. 

Mr. Couant is a religious man by nature and culture. He accepts the Christig-n 
relioion as the great gift of the Creator, and the Bible as the divine exposition of its 
miraculous origin, its principles and designs. These convictions have impelled his 
warm and generous nature to increasing labors in the Church and Sabbath-school, 
especially among the destitute, to impart a knowledge of the religion he so firmly 
believes. It has been said he is a Baptist; but he is so cathohc and so much of a 
Presbyterian, so much of a Methodist and so much of a Christian, that all good 
Christians recognize his brotherhood and bid him God-speed. He has sought no 
commission from Conference or Presbytery to preach Christ's Gospel ; but he accepts 
the higher Commission, " Let him that heareth say, Come" ; and he seldom fails to 
interest all in the glad tidings. He believes in a cheerful Christianity, which gives 
brighter hopes, and substantial comforts, in the joys and sorrows and aspirations of 
human life. 

While art is his life work, he never neglects the pleasant duties of friendship and 
humanity ; and he has the rare faculty of making professional labors conducive to 
the development of our higher social and religious natures. His art has filled a 
thousand homes with the dearest memories of the loved ones, separated, perhaps 
by life's duties, perhaps by death. A home on the " eastern shore " contains his 
portrait of a son or a daughter on the " western slope" ; the homes of the mountains 
are adorned with his portraits of fathers and mothers of the far-off elder home. 

Mr. Conant lives in the memories of all. He may have the grey hairs of care and 
labor; but his heart is warm and his affections are ever fresh and abiding. When 
he dies, he need have no cares about the marble monuments to be erected to his 
memory, for he has left more enduring monuments in the temples and homes of the 
people. 

MYER A. EOSENBLATT 

was born in New York City, July 10th, 1841. His parents were Germans, from 
Kuhr-Hessen. He was educated at the public schools in New York City, and then 
went into business with his father. In 1860, he went to California on business upon 
his own account, and shortly after moved to Nevada, where, at the general election 
in November, 1864, he was elected a member of the first State Legislature. He 
moved to St. Louis in 1866, and immediately opened a wholesale jewelry house. 
This was a successful enterprise ; the business rapidly increased in volume until in 
1872, when the house was united with the old, extensive firm of L. Bauman & Co.— 
established in 1844— by Mr. Rosenblatt buying out Mr. Bauman's interest. Mr. 



ST. LOUIS. • 707 

Rosenblatt became then, and has since remained, the senior partner of the new firm, 
•which retains the name of L. Bauman & Co. This house now does an exclusively 
wholesale business, being one of the largest and most complete jewelry establish- 
ments in the United States. 

Mr. Rosenblatt was appointed Police Commissioner of St. Louis, by Governor 
McClurg, which office he filled ably and acceptably until his time expired. 

He was married, July 9th, 1871, to Clara, youngest daughter of Louis Bauman, 
Esq., an old and honored citizen of St. Louis. They have a family of three inter- 
esting girls. 

In the fall of 1876, Mr. Rosenblatt was elected by the Republican party to the 
office of Collector of State, City and School revenue for St. Louis County. In con- 
sequence of the adoption of the Scheme and Charter for dividing St. Louis County 
and City, his office was vacated. He became a candidate for the same office under 
the new city government, and was elected by a majority of fourteen thousand. 

Mr. Rosenblatt is an active, energetic, systematic and successful business man. 
In his position as Collector, where he has a large force of assistants and clerks, 
who must meet with and settle with nearly every citizen of the city, he brings to 
bear the same systematic responsibility, exactness and dispatch that characterized 
;the conduct of his own large and successful business. 



H. CLAY SEXTON 

was born in Wheeling, Va., in March, 1828. His father was also a Virginian, and 
;gave his children the fullest advantage of a public school education ; and Clay, as he 
has always been familiarly called, graduated at the public high school. His father 
moved to St. Louis in 1844, and followed his trade of carpenter and builder, in 
which he soon took a leading position, contracting for and erecting some of the 
finest buildings and residences in the city. Clay, when he came to St. Louis, was 
sixteen, and at that time a fair mechanic, continuing to work at his trade until 
1867. At this time St. Louis had no Fire Department. There were a few hand 
machines and a voluntaiy company, but being entirely voluntary and wholly with- 
out organization, the city was exposed constantly to a conflagration which there were 
no means at hand to oppose. 

In the year named, the insurance companies having large risks here, and a number 
of property-holders, met to discuss the necessity of a thoroughly-organized and well 
paid fire department. H. Clay Sexton was one of the prime movers, and in the dis- 
cussions of the subject he exhibited a thorough compi-ehension of the requirements 
•of such an organization. So generally were his opinions deferred to, that, in the fall 
of 1867, the organization was accomplished, and by universal consent Clay Sexton 
was appointed Chief by Mayor John M. Wimer. 

In a comparatively short time he perfected an organization and disciplined 
his men so thoroughly, that in one year after he became Chief the city reposed 
with a feeling of security from the ravages of fire. He discharged his duties so 
successfully that he was re-appointed by Mayors Filley and Taylor, and continued 
as Chief of the Fire Department until the year 1862, when St. Louis came practically 
into the hands of the military, and he was deposed by General Schofield because of 
a personal dislike. 

Many of the largest property-holders were greatly incensed at what they consid- 



708 ■ GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKT. 

ered an unwarranted display of military authority, but could not prevent his remo- 
val, and Mr. Sexton was too proud to ask for a reinstatement, as he was conscious 
of having at all times discharged his duties thoroughly. 

Mr. Sexton then retui'ued to his trade, forming a co-partnership with his brother 
John, and the tirm erected some of the largest and finest buildings in St, Louis. He 
continued at his trade, which had become very lucrative, until 1869, when Mayor 
Cole, appealed to by the insurance companies and large property-holders in the city, 
re-appointed him Chief; but as the salary was then only $2,000 a year, Mr. Sexton 
refused to accept. 

The insurance companies keenly appreciated his ability, and proposed to add 
$3,000 a year to that allowed by the Council. Mr. Sexton then accepted his old 
position, and determined to make the St. Louis Fire Department the most effective 
organization of the kind in the country ; and that he has succeeded, there are none 
in the city and few in America will deny. 

After the great fire in Chicago, he was urged by the authorities and insurance 
companies of this city to take charge of their Fire Department at a salary of $10,000. 
St. Louis, however, retained him. He had no inclination to leave his old home, 
where he was surrounded by friends, and where he had accumulated some property. 
The insurance companies raised his salary, and he still remains where he is so 
highly esteemed. 

H. Clay Sexton is a truly courageous man, who never neglects duty. He is almost 
invariably the first man at the scene of the fire, where his perception and judgment 
directs just the right thiug to be done. He has been frequently injured while in the 
discharge of his duty, the last time breaking his collar bone ; still he never fails 
discharging his duties before seeking relief for himself. He suboi'dinates everything 
to duty, and is utterly careless of his own safety when he sees the lives of others 
imperilled. Mr. Sexton is not only esteemed for his devotion and efficiency, but 
also for his magnanimous disposition ; while he is a thorough disciplinarian, he never 
asks his men to do anything he would not himself undertake, and his treatment of 
them is of such a true fellowship character that they regard him with a feeling 
almost akin to reverence. 

Mr. Sexton was married to Miss Sarah L. Lyon, of this city, in July, 1850, the 
fruit of which union is four children. He is in domestic life what he is in his 
special calling, devoted to his family, and his home is as pleasant as affection can 
make it. 

JOHK FENTON LONG 

was born at " Wlfitehaven," Oi-avois, St. Louis county, Missouri, August 29th, 1816. 
His father, "William L. Long, who was one of the early English stock of the Atlan- 
tic sea-board colonists, emigrated from Port Eoyal to Missouri in 1796, settled upon 
a tract of land and opened a farm near Chestei-field, in the Bonhomme settlement. 
He moved to the Gravois farm in 1807, and the following year married Miss Eliza- 
beth Sappington, a lady of Welsh descent, born in Madison county, Kentucky. 

John Fenton Long, after a fair preparatory education, entered St. Charles College 
in 1834, from which institution he graduated in 1836. Succeeding his graduation, 
he taught a private school for two years. Among his pupils were a number who 
succeded to brilliant distinction in after life, and who regarded their tutor with the 



ST. LOUIS. 709 

kindliest and most grateful friendship. Some of these are Judge Wolflf, Perry Sap- 
pington, F. J. Sappington, Mrs. U. S. Grant and her sisters, the wife of Judge 
Griflnlth, of St. Charles, and Mrs. Matthews. 

In 1838, in company with Geo. "W. Dent, he opened a store near Valle's Mines, 
Jefferson county, the firm. Long & Dent, continuing business successfully for two 
years, when Mr. Long- returned to St. Louis, and engaged as collector and reporter 
on the old Missouri Argus, edited by William Gilpin, since governor of Colorado. 
About fourteen months later he was appointed a deputy marshal under Captain 
Geo. H. Kennedy. Under Mayor Geo. Maguire's administration, in 1843, he was 
appointed Chief of Police, and held the ofllce for about a year, when he removed to 
the country and engaged in farming and surveying. From 1844 to 1847 he was 
engaged in merchandizing and teaching school in Gravois, and surveying in St. 
Louis and Jefierson counties, serving also as post-master and justice of the peace. 
In 1848, he was elected county Marshal, the duties of which office required him to 
reside in the city. In the closing month of this term of office, he took Gonsaloe 
DeMontisque — the insane hero of the tragedy in which Mr. Kirby Barnunr and Mr. 
Albert Jones were killed — to New York City, and shipped him to his friends in 
France. The brother-in-law of the unhappy young man. Count DeSasac, exhausted 
his powei'S of persuasion, and ofiered a large sum to induce Mr. Long to accom- 
pany them to France, but the nature of his duties would not permit him to yield to 
these kind importunities. 

In 1855-6, Mr. Long was a member of the City Council, from the old Fifth Ward, 
and in 1856-7, was a member of the Board of Public Schools. He was also, while 
fulfilling other duties, for eight years General Road Superintendent. In 1865, he 
was elected a member of the county court, and served four years. 

In 1860, when our political difficulties began to assume a serious aspect, he was 
elected a member of the State Convention, called ostensibly to take the State out of 
the Union. A staunch Union man, he exerted all his powers to hold and maintain 
the position of Missouri as a Union State. 

In 1865, he engaged in surveying and i*eal estate sales, in the firm of Edwards, 
Lanham So Long, the firm changing to Lanham So Long, and again to Lanham, Long 
So Voorhis. Judge Long withdrew from this firm in 1874, to accept the position of 
Surveyor and Collector of the Port of St. Louis, which he now holds. This 
appointment was an honor justly bestowed ; for, though Judge Long was a life-long 
friend of the President and his family, his well-known qualifications and tried 
judgment made the selection a fitting and acceptable one to all the business men of 
the city. When Judge Long took charge of the offices of Surveyor of the Port and 
Disbursing Agent, he addressed his clerks and employees as follows : 

Gentlemen — Knowing personally but three or four persons in this office, I desired 
this interview for the purpose of making your acquaintance, and to say a few words 
to you touching our coming relations. 

Through the kindness of the President, perhaps, more upon the grounds of per- 
sonal friendship than any merit or qualification I possess, I have been appointed to 
fill the vacancy in this office, occasioned by the resignation of Col. Fox, who has, 
with your assistance, so satisfactorily discharged the duties of the office for the past 
several years. 

And now, gentlemen, addressing myself more particularly to the principal depu- 
ties, in taking charge of the office of Survej'or, I have but a limited knowledge of 
the general duties, and less of its details ; but I shall endeavor to learn from each 
■deputy the duties of his department, and I shall have no hesitation in asking each 



710 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

of you to impart to me that knowledge of the business you have gained by exper- 
ience and practice. Yet, whilst you are to be my teachers, and, during my novitiate^ 
my advisors, I am to be the Survey oi-, the absolute head of the dei^artment. 

Again, it is known to you, as intelligent men, that I have been required to give 
an official bond for the faithful discharge of my duties, and knowing the ability of 
every good and honest man to do the same, I shall ask each deputy and clerk who 
handles government money, by virtue of his office, to give a reasonable and moder- 
ate bond for his fidelity tome and my securities. Those of whom such bond will be 
required shall be notified in a short time. 

And now, gentlemen, in conclusion, let us work together in harmony, and in order 
to escape the scathing rebukes of similar officers in other departments of the govern- 
ment, by members of Congress and others, let us, as you doubtless have done, try 
to avoid everything like corners, rings, bribes, tricks and corruption. With but one 
sentiment, one feeling, one purpose and determination to faithfully discharge our 
respective duties, we shall prove our fidelity to the government and have the confi- 
dence and respect af all good men, our neighbors and ourselves. For the present, 
continue as you are, and in due time a list will be furnished the secretary for Ms 
appointment or approval. 

Since that time, now over thi'ee yeai's, the business of the offices has been con- 
ducted fairly, equitably and honestly by him and his faithful clerks, — not a breath 
of suspicion against the offices or their operations. 

Judge Long has been thrice married. On the 29th of September, 1836, to Miss 
Tannie E. Pipkin, of Nashville, Tenn., by whom he reared a family of children — 
the late Mrs. Egbert, of New Jersey, Mrs. O. R. Hawken, Mrs. Captain Jolly, Mrs. 
Dr. Mc Workman, J. Fielding Long and William P. Long. He was again married 
in 1864, to Pamela Lanham, widow of Dr. Wood. She died in 1867, and two years 
later, in 1869, he was married to his present amiable wife, Mrs. Mary N. Gale n^e 
Sappington. 

Judge Long has interwoven his personal history with the events of St. Louis and 
her surroundings in a most remarkable manner. He is one of the few prominent 
and useful citizens of the meti'opolis of the West, who were born and educated in 
the county, and whose labors and endeavors have had no other field of operation^ 
and has wielded a power for good whose influence has since been constantly 
expanding, and which cannot well be estimated. Commerce, journalism, surveying^ 
State and municipal afiairs, politics and real-estate transactions successively engaged 
his attention, throughout which he was consistent and able, sustaining the varied 
relations of life with honor, and winning the golden opinions of those who were 
carefully attentive of his course. His stability of character and soundness of judg- 
ment, brought more conspicuously to view, perhaps, from the personal friendship of 
President Grant, have impressed his thoughts and his genius upon our growth and 
improvement in a wonderful degree. He is a man of fiije social qualities, generous 
and enterprising ; and although his private fortune has been small as compared with 
the influence he has wielded, it must be put down to his credit that he has never 
taken that advantage of his opportunities, which less scrupulous men would have 
used. The public has very largely shared in the results of this restless and well- 
directed vigor, and has appreciated the benefits received in according to Judge Long 
a high regard and a kindly gratitude. His vigorous and active life, judged by the 
best standards, has been a truly successful one. 




WpalemEngi'-^'uiSCompHiP.-of StXouis. 




U-c^ 



ST. LOUIS. ' 711 

Dr. JAMES H. McLEAN 

was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, August 13th, 1829, and, when an infant of a few 
months of age, was brought by his parents to America. His father, a man of energy 
and skiJl, had received the appointment of geologist and superintendent of the 
"Albion Mining Company," then controlling valuable lands in Nova Scotia, and he 
emigrated to that province to direct operations. 

As the time came when the boy was to map out his plans for the battle of life, his 
father, with extreme caution, favored the idea of buying him a small farm and so 
settling him for life. This, for various reasons, was repugnant to the youth of 
thirteen. He felt a strong desire for medical pursuits, and daily contact with the 
physician of the Mining Company, who took an unusual interest in him, imbued 
him with the desire to make the practice of medicine his vocation. His father, 
seeing that his determination was fixed, furnished him with $200, with which he set 
out for Philadelphia, thinking there to fully qualify himself for the profession of his 
choice. Taking passage for New York in a sailing vessel, his boyish imagination 
was inflamed by his taste of a sea life, and he made a trip with the captain to Ber" 
muda. He afterwards returned to Boston with unsettled views, yet it is noticeable 
that he revived his original plan and proceeded to Philadelphia. 

Coming to St. Louis, he engaged with a druggist, and took one course of lectures 
in the University of Pennsylvania. He afterwards became a clerk for a large coal 
company at Minerville. This, however, he abandoned in 1849, and returned to the 
city. 

It was a season of business depression and stagnation, owing to the cholei'a 
epidemic which was then devastating the city. On the day of his arrival he bought 
a lot of land, and resold it the same day at an advance of $50. 

That he should have had such confidence in his o vn judgment, and acted upon it 
so promptly, is in itself a remarkable circumstance, and one that furnishes the key 
to his subsequent success. The next day he entered into an arrangement with Dr. 
Bragg to manufacture and sell Mexican Mustang Liniment. After a year the part- 
nership was dissolved, and Dr. McLean went to New Orleans. On his arrival 
there he learned that there was but one small lot of turpentine in the market. This 
he immediately purchased, and disposed of it at a large advance. The banker with 
whom he deposited his money, having noted the readiness with which he acted in 
imforeseen emergencies, recommended him to the managers of the Lopez Cuban 
expedition as eminently fit to provide its supplies. The well-known disaster which 
overwhelmed that remarkable eflTort left Mr. McLean with three large cargoes of 
provisions on hand, and a prospect of being financially engulfed. Through the 
assistance of business friends, he was enabled to buy up enough of the provisions to 
control the market, and then to dispose of the whole more advantageously than he 
could otherwise have done. 

Eeturning to St. Louis, he put upon the mai'ket "Dr. McLean's Volcanic Lini- 
ment," when a long controversy sprang up between his old partner and himself, 
which resulted in Dr. McLean holding an undisputed field. Meanwhile he had 
perfected his pi'ofessional education in the St. Louis Medical College. From that 
time he unwaveringly devoted himself to the introduction of his medical prepara- 
tions. 

The magnitude of his business may be partially conceived when it is stated that 
he is publishing annually nine million almanacs, in eight different languages; a 



712 GEE AT CITIES AKD TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

monthly paper. The Spirit of the Age, with an edition of 130,000, and a floral book, 
of which are issned nine million annually. 

From fifteen to twenty men with wagons are kept continually on the road, and a 
few travelers are engaged moving from i^oint to point by rail, superintending their 
operations and looking after other interests requiring attention. A small steam 
propeller, for service on the Mississippi Eiver and the bayous of the South, is a 
little gem of a steamer, which does effective service in the distribution of the 
remedies. 

During his identification with St. Louis — now more than a fourth of a century — 
he has been an able advocate of every deserving public measure that has engaged 
his attention, and has done much to bring trade to St. Louis and contribute to her 
welfare. His business, in a field more fruitful of failures than of successes, is the 
result of a hard contest, in which it has been necessary for him to be ever alert and 
continually at work. 

He has erected upon his property, in various localities, some elegant structures, 
and is in that respect one of our leaders of progress. Churches and educational 
improvements find him a steady defender and a warm supporter. 



THE ST. LOUIS SHOT TOWER. 

One of the most striking features presented to the eye of one approaching St. Louis 
from the East is the St. Louis Shot Tower, which, reaching far above the lofty chimneys 
of the manufactories surrounding it, impresses the beholder with the idea of a great 
design. Its height is 176 feet. It was projected by Ferdinand Kennett, and com- 
pleted in February, 1847. It then stood in open fields, without any of the buildings 
since attached to it as adjuncts of the work, and was the wonder of the inhabitants 
of the city. The men who initiated the enterprise were possessed of extraordinary 
boldness, and to do the brick work men of very superior hardihood were required. 
Over thirty years have passed since then, and the charm of novelty has not yet worn 
away. The great monument is serving its purposes and doing an increasing busi- 
ness from year to year, turning out more shot and distributing its products to a wider 
section and more numerous people. 

In 1858 the property passed under the control of a joint-stock company and has 
since been operated by that organization. The pi-esent executive officers are, G. W. 
Chadbourne, president, and Theodore Forster, secretary, both having occupied their 
positions since its organization. The capital stock is $200,000. The annual con- 
sumption of lead is from 5,000,000 to 6,000,000 pounds, valued at about $400,000. 
The goods produced are patent or drop-shot, buck-shot and bar lead, and these are 
distributed to all parts of the Mississippi Valley. 

G. W. Chadbourne, President of the Shot-Tower Company, was born in Potosi, 
Washington County, Missouri, August 30th, 1824. Potosi was then and long 
subsequently the heart of the mining district of Missouri, and Mr. Chadbourne 
was consequently familiar from boyhood with the metal which he has so long 
handled. He enjoyed good early frontier advantages. 

At the age of twenty he became a clerk in a general country store at Liberia, 
Missouri, and, in 1847, moved to St. Louis and entered the employ of Mr. 
Kennett, the projector and owner of the shot-tower. When the stock company was 
organized in 1858, which succeeded to the ownership of the shot-tower proper, Mr. 



ST. LOUIS. 713 

Chadbourne became president of the company and has held the position ever since. 

Besides making a pronounced success of the Shot-Tower Company, he has estab- 
lished a commission house, which, under the name of Chadbourne and Forster, com- 
mands a wide respect and confidence. He has assisted in the organization of banks, 
insurance, and mining companies ; and, is now, besides directing the affairs of the 
shot-tower and of his commission house, president of the St. Fi-ancois Lead and 
Zinc Mining Company, president of the Old Mines Lead Company, vice-president 
of the St. Louis Smelting and Refining Company, a director in the Lumbermen's & 
Mechanics' Insurance Company, and vice-president of the St. Louis House Building 
Company. 

He was married in 1854 to Miss Rule, a daughter of one of St. Louis' oldest and 
most respected citizens. He has a family of six children now living. He is a clear- 
headed, conscientious, liberal business man, and his counsel and assistance are 
freely sought in the promotion of schemes bearing upon the development of our 
material and commercial resources; and, as the i-ecord shows, he has responded with 
enthusiasm and good judgment. His successes have grown out of his sterling qual- 
ities, which in their development have done much for the common good and for the 
extension of the commercial relations of St. Louis. 



EDWARD MADISON SAMUEL 

.was born in Henry county, Kentucky, October 12, 1807. His father, Reuben Sam- 
uel, moved to Missouri about 1815, and was, for many years, clerk of the Circuit 
Court of Randolph county. The Samuel family is of Welsh descent. The ancestors 
of the American branch of it settled in Virginia about the year 1700, as is supposed. 
About that time a large number of Welsh families came to America. 

When eighteen yeai-s of age, Edward was placed in business in Old Franklin, 
Howard coxmty. In 1829 he removed to Liberty, Clay county, where he engaged in 
mercantile pursuits for over twenty-five years. He at once became one of the lead- 
ing business men of Northwest Missoui-i, and established a character for probity and 
financial ability which he retained through life. 

His associates and warm personal friends dui-ing ihose early years at Liberty were 
Colonel Alex. W. Doniphan, General David R. Atchison, Hon. Peter H. Burnett, 
sometime Governor of California, and, subsequently, one of the Justices of the Su- 
preme Court of that State, the late Dr. Connolly, Governor of New Mexico, Dr. 
Joseph M. Wood, the late Colonel John Thornton, and the late Colonel Shubael 
Allen. 

In 1841 he was appointed Receiver of Public Moneys at the Land office in Platts- 
burg, Missouri, for the Platte District. That large and valuable portion of the State 
known as the " Platte Purchase " was included in that district, and had recently 
been surveyed and subjected to pre-emption and settlement. Improvements and 
settlements were made before the lines of survey were run, and every hill-side, 
grove of timber, and patch of prairie was covered with conflicting claims. During 
the period of his incumbency, the late Colonel James H. Birch, Sr., was register of 
the District. The Register and Receiver were constituted a court to adjust these 
claims. They found this a very difficult task, for in every case there was one, and 
often several disappointed claimants. Mr. Samuel soon distinguished himself as a 
very clear-headed business man, as well as an able and impartial judge. 



714 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEl. 

His decisions were seldom revei-sed. After the expiration of his four-year term of 
office as Receiver, he returned to Liberty. 

A vacancy occurring on the bench of the Clay County Court, at the urgent re- 
quest of his friends, and because of his fine financial and administrative faculties, 
he was appointed a justice of that Court, June 14, 1853, and continued to fill the 
postion with much ability until September 26, 1854. 

At the organization of the Liberty Branch of the Farmers' Bank of Missouri, in 
1857, he was elected its first president, and was continuously re-elected until his re- 
moval to St. Louis. 

In 1865 he removed to St. Louis and established the commission house of E. M. 
Samuel & Sous, his sons entering the house with him. Shortly after, he organized 
the Commercial Bank of St. Louis and was elected its first pi-esident — a position he 
i-etained, by the wish of the stockholders, until his death, September, 22, 1869. 

Mr. Samuel was married to Miss Elizabeth Garner (her mother was a Miss Wigg) 
May 23, 1833. She died iu 1849. He was married June 17th, 1852, to Mrs. Sarah A. 
"White, who survives him. By the former marriage there survived him two sons 
and two daughers, and one son by the latter marriage. 

Mr. Samuel was a gentleman of delicate physical frame, but of great mental ac- 
tivity and endurance. He filled a large space in the commercial, religious and 
political world of the community where he lived. The period of his youth was too 
early for collegiate education in the "West, save for persons of afiluence who 
could afibrd to send their sons to the East. Hence, he received only the common- 
school instruction of his time. He very largely supplied the want, however, of 
those' advantages by extensive and varied reading. He was a well-informed man, 
and few were better posted than he on economical and political questions. Being 
strictly a self-made man, he hail that peculiar reliance on the correctness of his con- 
clusions which springs from painful and laborious investigation. 

In politics, Mr. Samuels was a thorough Whig of the school of Clay and Webster. 
He was twice nominated by his party for Congress, but though his canvasses were 
spirited and able, j'^et it was impossible for him to overcome the overwhelming nu- 
merical superiority of the Democracy in his district. 

He was a public-spirited, useful citizen wherever he resided, a financier of a 
high order, with the special gift of being able at a glance to see wherein the real 
issue lay. 

He was a clear, logical speaker and writer. His communications to the public 
journals — particularly to the 3Hssouri Eepublican— were frequent, and often gave 
direction to popular thought. In social life and in the bosom of his family his genial 
nature and warmth of heart shone with superior lustre. He was true to his friends 
and charitable to all- Though a devoted member of the Presbyterian Church for 
twenty-five years, advancing its principles and institutions, yet he often aided the 
enterprises of other churches. He was, notably, a friend of William Jewell College,^ 
controlled by the Baptists, from its foundation, and often aided it by contributions 
and personal effort. It is said that he contributed to every public and religious 
movement in Clay county during the entire period of his residence there. He was a 
great encourager of young men, and many for life will thank him for timely and 
judicious advice and aid. He noticed boys closely, and whenever he saw one who 
betrayed acuteness of intellect, he made it a point to stimulate him to the highest 
effort. 





kc. 0^ 



ST. LOUIS. 715 

Mr. Samuel's last appearance in political life was in 1860, as a Bell-and-Everett 
elector. The platform of the Bell-Everett party embraced the whole theory of his 
political life and action — the Union, the Constitution and the enforcement of the 
laws. 

His acquaintance will retain a life-long remembrance of him as a humane, charita- 
ble, courteous gentleman. 

WEBSTER M. SAMUEL 

was born in Clay County, Missouri, March 7th, 1834. His father, Edward M. 
Samuel, was a native of Kentucky, who moved to Missouri Valley in Clay County in 
1829. He was for many years a prominent merchant in northwest Missouri a 
banker at Liberty, and was President of the Commercial Bank of St. Louis at the 
time of his death in 1869. The subject of this sketch was educated at Center 
College, Kentucky. In 1857 he moved to St. Louis and established the firm of 
Samuel & Allen, which continued in business until the breaking out of the war in 
1861. In 1865 he entered the firm of E. M. Samuel & Sons, of which he is now 
the senior partner. In 1871 he was elected a director of the Merchants' Union 
Exchange ; in 1873 he was chosen vice-president ; and in 1874 he was elected its 
president, the highest compliment his fellow-merchants could confer on his business 
capacity and integrity. As President of this body, he laid the corner stone of the 
Chamber of Commerce, and in his address on that occasion referred to the i*esources 
of Missouri as follows : 

*' It will not be amiss to state here the very suggestive fact, an eloquent proof of 
our great resources and advancement in science and in the mechanic arts, that the 
foundations of granite, the walls of sandstone and brick, the frame-work of iron 
and wood, the lead and iron plumbing and heating apparatus, a large portion of the 
glass, and even the very paint which will decorate its ceilings and graceful columns, 
will come from the surface and bosom of our own State, and will be chiseled into 
beauty and moulded into form by our own citizens, artists and manufacturers." 

Mr. Samuel has been connected, in various] capacities, with some of the most 
important enterprises in the city. He has been director in the Commercial Bank 
fiince 1869, and President of the Phoenix Insurance Company since 1872, and is now 
a director in the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, and President of the South- 
west Pass Jetty Company. He is also connected with various other organizations, 
where his experience, sound judgment, ready apprehension and enterprising spirit 
are in merited demand. Mr. Samuel is a gentleman of fine physique, with suave 
and affable manners and benevolent and enterprising disposition. He is unassuming 
and undemonstrative in his daily life. He receives the honors bestowed upon him 
by his fellows in a manner which makes them doubly merited. In social life he is 
much beloved by a large circle of intimate friends who know and appreciate the 
sterling qualities of head and heart which make him loved at his own fireside as he 
is admired and respected among his business associates. 



JAMES HARRISON 

was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky, October 10th, 1803. His early years were 
passed upon a farm, where his habits of industry built up for him that bodily vigor 
and sinewy endurance which in after life enabled him to bear the fatigues which his 



716 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

adventurous disposition imposed upon him. He made the most of his limited school 
advantages, and obtained a good "common school education", vrhich, with his 
sanguine temperament and business activity, which brought him into daily contact 
with men, gave him a breadth of culture and an insight into men and things which 
many book students fail to obtain or understand. Prompted by a desire for adven- 
ture and enterpi'ise, he left his Kentuckj- home in 1822, and in company with James 
Glasgow commenced commercial pursuits in Fayette, Howard county, Missouri, 
where he continued with great success for several years. In 1830 he married Miss 
Maria Louisa, daughter of Joel Prewit, of Howard County, and sister of Dr. 
Prewit and Mrs. "Wm, N. Switzer, of St. Louis. She died in 1847, leaving four 
children, three daughtei's and a son, now Mr. Edward Harrison, of the well-known 
firm of Chouteau, Harrison & Yalle. Duiing 1831 and 1832 he led a busy life, full 
of adventure, in Chihuahua, Mexico, where he was one of two who escaped death 
and scalping out of a party of thirteen who had a running fight with the blood- 
thirsty Indians of that country. During 1836-40, his partnership still continuing 
with Mr. Glasgow, his operations lay mainly in Ai-kansas, where he met with 
the most flattering successes. Mr. Harris came to St. Louis in 1840, and forsaw the 
importance of its future, and the wealth that must I'apidly be concentrated there. 
He knew the vast mineral wealth of Missoui'i, and set about its development. He 
formed connections with men of ability, wealth and influence, and with them 
conducted successfully speculative mercantile and manufacturing operations. In 
1845 he was a prime mover in forming the Iron Mountain Company, which has 
resources to become in time, and promises to become, one of the largest iron- 
producing corporations in the world. He also became a member of the firm of 
Chouteau, Harrison & Valle, who have done much, not only to build up and 
establish the iron interests of St. Louis, but also to establish the general reputation 
of the entire business community. Mr. Harrison was inclined to engage in impor- 
tant enterprises alone, His keen foresight enabled him to see oj)enings for extensive 
transactions ; his courage fitted him for their execution at any risk of health or life, and 
prudence and integrity secured the ready co-operation of capitalists when he desired 
such aid. He embarked in several important, extensive and dangerous enterprises 
in the Southern Slates and in Mexico, in all of which he was successful. He was 
always a staunch defendant of home interests, and everything that promised public 
utility had his attention and encouragement, while talent, however humble, was 
appreciated and encouraged. He took an active interest in the Pacific, Iron 
Mountain, and other railroads. His later efforts were directed to producing iron 
from native oi'e. Long-continued and perplexing discouragements and enormous 
expense attended the development of this industry ; but the unwearying energy of 
Mr. Harrison and his associates finally triumphed over every obstacle and laid the 
foundation of a business which has since grown to immense propoi'tions. 

Mr. Harrison lived to see many of his predictions, largely through his effort and 
direction, more than fulfilled. He possessed a rare talent for understanding char- 
acter and winning confidence. He selected and attached to himself, as partners, 
associates and employees, men of talent, industry and honor, each worthy of trust 
and possessed of ability for his particular work. He appreciated education and 
culture and especially scientific attainments, which his early life denied him. James 
Harrison toiled, not for wealth alone, but to expend his enei^gies and use his abilities 
on worthy objects for useful purposes. No taint of dishonor or suspicion attaches 
to any of his numei'ous and immense ti'ansactions ; and, though dead, his example 



ST. LOUIS. 717 

still speaks to the memory of the living, inciting to industrious, honorable and 
useful pui'suits. In person Mr. Harrison was tall and erect. His dignified manner 
repressed undue familiarity, and his courtesy attracted all whom he deemed worthy. 
His temperate habits gave his industry unflagging energy. He was serene under 
misfortune and not over-elated with success. He died August 3d, 1870, leaving the 
record of an honest man and monuments of his industry that are not only useful but 
honorable to Missouri. 

ARTHUE W. SOPEE, 

General Superintendent of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Eailway, 
was born in Eome, iSTew York, July, 1838. Young Soper received a good academic 
education, and for some years engaged in the lumber business with his father. At 
the age of nineteen he entered the freight department of the Rome, Watertown and 
Ogdensburgh Eailroad, at Eome, where he remained four years, when he was 
appointed General Superintendent's clerk. He also spent two years as a conductor, 
when he returned to the superintendent's department, and was appointed Assistant 
Superintendent, which position he held until February, 1871, when he came to St. 
Louis and assumed the duties of Assistant Superintendent of the Iron Mountain 
Railroad. He performed the duties of his position to the entire satisfaction of the 
company, and in October, 1871, he was advanced to the position of General Super- 
intendent, which office he still fills. At the date of his appointment the road was 
225 miles in length. The extension of the Cairo and Fulton, and the consolidation 
of 1873, make a continuous line of nearly 700 miles, of which he is the General 
Superintendent. 

Mr. Soper was married, in 1871, to Miss Hettie M. Wardwell, of Eome, New 
York, a lady of many and varied accomplishments. But few men in the West are 
more fitted to fill the position of General Superintendent of a great trunk line of 
railway than Mr. Soper. Practically identified for many years with the American 
system of railroading, he brought to the position that experience which is so 
absolutely necessary in the executive or head of any department in such vast enter- 
prises. Energetic, and above all thoroughly practical in all his business relations, 
with a full and complete knowledge of all the duties pertaining to his responsible 
position, the corporation he so ably represents never suffers through a lack of 
attention on his part, or that of any of his subordinates. Socially, Mr. Soper stands 
high in St. Louis, and has always received a cordial welcome into our most select 
circles of society. Generous in his nature, and regular in his habits, he never fails 
to make friends of those with whom he comes in contact, whether in business or 
private life. 

Dr. ISAIAH FOEBES 

was born in Albany, ISTew York, March 25th, 1810. His father was a prominent 
architect, who unfortunately lost his means, so that Isaiah was compelled to take an 
imperfect public-school education as his sole inheritance. He went to JSTew York 
city, where, finding no satisfactory employment, he visited Buffalo, remaining there 
eighteen months. In 1834 he returned to New York, where he arrived just after 
the great fire, and entered the dental office of Ambler & Kingsbury, He mastered 
his profession, and in 1836 hung out his sign, meeting with fair success, and soon 
having a fine library and a well-furnished office. He generously allowed a friend 



718 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

of his, for economj^'s sake, to use his office as a sleeping-room ; who, during Dr. 
Forbes' absence to attend his sister's funeral, sold out the furniture, library and 
dental instruments, and absconded with the proceeds. Dr, Forbes settled in 
St. Louis in the spring of 1837, and through the kind assistance of Mr. "Wade, 
who then kept a hotel on the corner of Second and Vine streets, opened a dental 
office within a week of his arrival, and rapidly built up a lucrativ^e practice. In 
1849, he closed his dental office and embarked in the milling business, which in 
eighteen months absorbed his accumulated capital, and he resumed his profession. 
His first patient paid him $2, and the joyful realization that, though he had lost all 
his wealth, he could again apply his hands to the acquisition of new riches, and that 
his manhood was still intact, found expression in a flood of tears. 

"While Dr. Forbes has spent nearly half a century in his profession, and has gained 
a first rank among his brethren, he has at the same time been more or less active in 
municipal politics, and has held several prominent elective positions, among which 
are the following : He represented the old Sixth Ward in the Council during the 
Mayoralty administration of Bryan Mullanphy, and was chairman of the Committee 
on Hospital ; he served as a member of the School Board for twelve years, and had 
the honor of being twice elected President of the Board. He was at one time Presi- 
dent of the American National Dental Convention. In every position he has hold 
he has dischai'ged the duties in a manner which entitles him to the highest praise 
of every citizen. 

He is one of the most honored of the representative class of old-time St. Louisans. 
He is a member of the Historical Society, and was selected as one of the committee 
commissioned to inspect the historical monuments at Kaskaskia, last spring. He is 
a gentleman of most entertaining address, very courteous to every one, actuated by 
the most honorable purposes, and is endowed with a most generous nature, qualities 
which cause him to be loved and respected by all who meet him. 



THOMAS GRISWOLD COMSTOCK 

was born at Le Boy, Genessee county, jSTew York. His grandfather on his mother's 
side was the eminent Daniel Calkins, M. D., of East Lyne, Connecticut. His father, 
Lee Comstock, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and his uncle. Dr. J. L. Comstock, 
of Hartford, was a sui-geon in the army during that struggle. The latter gentleman 
was an eminent chemist and scientist, and the author of Comstock's Philosophy, and 
many other standard school text-books of his day. It is also claimed, on seemingly 
good authority, that Dr. J. L. Comstock was the first discoverer of the method of 
utilizing India-rubber in the arts and manufactures, and Goodyear is said to have 
appropriated to himself the results of Dr. J. L. Comstock's experiments, without 
rendering him any adequate compensation or credit. 

The subject of this sketch received an academic education in his native State, 
moved to St. Louis in 1847, and studied medicine tvith Dr. J. V. Prather, the 
founder of the medical department of St. Louis University (now St. Louis Medical 
College), and graduated from that institution in 1849. 

Dr. Comstock, soon after his graduation, studied the homo&opathic system of 
medicine, and in 1851 estabhshed himself in its practice in St. Louis. He is liberal 
in his medical belief, by no means rejecting the accumulated experience of the old 
school profession, accepting the doctrines of Hahnemann only partially, and reserv- 



ST. LOUIS. 719 

iag for himself perfect ft-eedom in practice. He believes that it is the duty of every 
physician to be well informed in all rational systems of medicine, and to keep up 
with all the new improvements and discoveries which are constantly being made by 
the profession, and in an unprejudiced manner be prepared and willing to adopt or 
prescribe any expedient which can relieve his patient in the safest, quickest and 
pleasantest way. 

In 1856, Dr. Comstock visited Europe, and spent two years in Italy, and received 
the degree of Master in Obstetrics from the University of Vienna. He also spent 
some time in study at Berlin, Prague, Paris and London. After his return from 
Europe, he devoted himself entirely to his profession, having a very large and 
extensive practice. 

In 1862, he married Miss Marilla Eddy, daughter of the late Jabish P. Eddy. Dr. 
Comstock is known as a hard student. He has been one of the attending physicians 
of the Good Samaritan Hospital since 1858. In practice, he has paid especial 
attention to obstetrics and gynecology, and has been a lecturer and private teacher 
in this branch of medicine for the past seven years. 



CHAKLES WHITTLESEY STEVENS 

was born in Pompey, Onondaga county, New York, June 16th, 1817. He received 
an academic education in his native town. He determined to be a civil engineer, 
and, with this intent, taught school in winter to pay his way while pursuing his 
studies at the acMemy in summer. In 1839^ he commenced the study of medicine 
at Kushville, Illinois, and graduated at Kemper College, St. Louis, in 1842, in 
which city he has practised his profession ever since. 

In 1844 Dr. Stevens was appointed demonstrator of anatomy in his alma mater, 
which position he held until 1855, when he was appointed professor of general, 
special and surgical anatomy. In 1868 he resigned this chair to become Superin- 
tendent of the St. Louis County Insane Asylum, of which he had been for several 
years one of the Board of Managers. Before entering upon the active duties of 
this office he visited, for study, most of the leading asylums of the country. 

For the treatment of the insane Dr. Stevens is, in qualities of head and heart, 
eminetly fitted. He is a true and worthy friend and physician for these children of 
misfortune. After four years of great success. Dr. Stevens found his political 
opponents in power, and relinquished his post in order that the insane might be 
cared for by a physician in political sympathy with the county authorities. So eveu 
our mental ailments must be ministered to by party pap. Dr. Stevens resumed his 
general practice, but is much engaged in nervous and insane cases, and often called 
as an expert in medico-legal trials where insanity is an issue. 

He has twice served on the Board of Directors of Public Schools, and was an 
active and useful member. In 1844, he married a daughter of the late Colonel P. M. 
Dillon, a lady of superior intellectual and social qualities. In 1850, he made a trip 
to Europe, spending a year in the hospitals and medical schools of London, Dublin 
and Paris. He is one of the incorporators of the St. Louis Academy of Science, 
and has contributed many valuable specimens, among others the rare fossil Bos. 
Cavifrom, an extinct species of ox. 

In the late war, Dr. Stevens was, at three different times, in service as contract 
surgeon ; he served four months as post surgeon at Pilot Knob ; was several weeks 
at Coi'inth, and afterward on a hospital steamer at Vicksburg, and there witnessed 
the grand occupation by the Federal army. 



720 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

Dr. Stevens is an ornament to his profession ; his integrity has been above sus- 
picion ; in all business, professional or personal relations, his word is as good as his 
bond. Though now well advanced in life, Dr. Stevens is in the enjoyment of unim- 
paired faculties and robust health, pursuing his practice with all the ripened 
experience of successful years, and with the energy and vigor of earlier years. 
Surrounded by all that is calculated to smooth the path of life, his intercourse with 
the world is as full of sunshine and geniality as in the days of his youthful prime. 



ELISPIA HALL GEEGORY 

was born in Todd county, Kentucky, September 10th, 1824. He belonged to a 
family of physicians, and has now in his possession the ticket admitting his maternal 
grandfather, Dr. Elisha Hall, afterwards a prominent physician of Fredericksberg, 
Virginia, to the lectures of the celebrated Doctor Benjamin Eush, of Philadelphia, 
and dated 1772. Elisha had a good common-school education, studied medicine and 
commenced practice with Dr. F. W. G. Thomas, of Boonville, Missouri, in 1842, 
and after considerable practical experience, graduated from the Medical Depart- 
ment of St. Louis University in 1849, and the same year moved to St. Louis, where 
his ability won for him a good practice. Three years after his graduation, he was 
called to the position of Demonstrator of Anatomy in his Alma Mater. This 
position he filled with honor to himself and profit to his pupils until 1866, when he 
was elected to the chair of Surgery in the St. Louis Medical College, and has ever 
since that time occupied that responsible office of instruction. 

Dr. Gregory was married April 15th, 1845, to Miss Jael K. Smallwood, of Cooper 
county. They have seven children; one son and six daughters. 

Dr. Gregory has held many positions of lionor and trust bestowed upon him by 
his professional brethren ; among others the presidency of the Missouri State Med- 
ical Society. About 1867, his general medical practice was practically given up on 
account of his time and strength being required to give proper attention to the 
increasing calls upon him for surgery and the collateral branches of professional 
science, in which department he has won an enviable fame and a comfortable for- 
tune. He is an honored, active an<i helpful co-worker in all that is calculated to 
increase the usefulness, raise the standard and extend the influence of the healing 
art, and enjoys alike the confidence, esteem and respect of the profession and the 
public. 

JOHN SAPPmGTON MARMADUKE 

was born in Saline county, Missouri, March 14th, 1833. His father, Hon. Meredith 
M. Marmaduke, was a native of Vii-ginia, born in Westmoreland county, in 1791, 
and emigrated to Missouri in 1823. After a year or two spent in the Santa Fe trade, 
he settled near Arrow Eock, Saline county, and engaged in merchandizing. He also 
bought a large tract of land near that place, and paid some attention to farming. 
In 1828, he made another trip to Mexico, and a few years later retired from mercan- 
tile pursuits and devoted himself to farming, in which he delighted and signally 
excelled. In January, 1826, he married Miss Lavinia, daughter of Dr. John Sap- 
pington, a native of Maryland, who emigrated to Missouri in 1817, first locating in 
Howard county, where he practiced medicine until 1822, when he removed to Saline 
county, continuing the practice of his profession^, and likewise engaged in farming, 





l^C-^ 




^/^/^^^^^^^/^ 



ST. LOUIS. 721 

where he died in 1856, aged eighty-one years, having long been prominent in his 
profession and admired and loved by all who knew him. 

The elder Marmaduke showed his Saxon origin not only in his adventurous dis- 
position, enterprise, energy and courage, but in his administrative ability, manly 
virtues and contempt for idle and effeminate men. Although a gentleman of means 
and a large slave-owner, he brought his sons up to work on his farm regularly and 
systematically; not from greed, but to give them practical ideas of life, manly 
ability, industrious habits and self-reliance. He was active in politics, being a State- 
rights Democrat, but not an office seeker. He was elected Lieutenant-Governor of 
Missouri in 1840, and became chief executive upon the death of Governor Reynolds, 
and discharged the duties of his high office with justice and ability. He took no 
active part in the exciting times of the war, and died honored, respected and 
beloved, in March, 1864, aged seventj'-three years. 

Young Marmaduke worked upon his father's farm, attended the country school in- 
his neighborhood, and at the age of seventeen entered Yale College. At the end of 
the second year he withdrew and entered Harvard. In 1853, he was appointed by 
the Hon. John S. Phelps, a cadet at West Point, and entered that Academy in June, 
1853. He graduated in 1857, and was assigned as lieutenant to the Seventh Infantry, 
a portion of the command under General Albert Sidney Johnson, then marching 
against the Mo rmons. He served in Utah two years, and was then ordered to New 
Mexico. His frontier service gave him much militaiy discipline and valuable exper- 
ience in the practical duties of an officer. 

Upon the election of President Lincoln in 1860, he returned to Missouri upon leave 
of absence. When the ensuing conflict was seen to be inevitable, he resigned his 
commission, and, upon its acceptance, cast his fortune with the Confederate cause. 
He raised a company of Missouri State Guards — of which he was elected captain — 
and tendered its services to Governor Jackson for State defense. He was soon after 
elected colonel of a regiment composed of his own and other companies. After the 
capture of Camp Jackson, Generals Lyon and Blair, with 2,200 men of all arms, 
moved up the Missouri River, and the Governor retired from Jefferson City, the 
capital of the State, to Boonville. A council of war was held, and the Governor 
advised to give battle to the Federal forces at Boonville. Colonel Marmaduke 
strenuously opposed such action, stating concisely that Generals Lyon and Blair 
were experienced and able officers, commanding 1,700 troops — infantry, cavalry and 
artillery — that these troops were well-armed, supplied with fixed ammunition — 
drilled and experienced, while the troops under his command, with which to meet 
them, consisted of 600 raw recruits, who had scarcely begun to put on the restraints 
of military life — one-third were unarmed and the balance armed with hunting 
rifles and fowling pieces and supplied with only a few rounds of loose ammunition. 
He declared that the attempt to fight under such circumstances would end in a disas- 
trous rout or in the slaughter of his men, and that it was the duty of a commander to 
avoid unnecessary and unavailing defeat. In place of this rash attempt to give battle, 
he advised that the Governor and troops retire in a southwesterly direction, fixing 
their headquarters at some central point in the interior, where troops could be con- 
centrated, organized and drilled ; and where they could give battle to the Federals at 
a distance from their base of supplies. His arguments were unanswerable, and he 
was ordered to move his troops as he had advised. A few hours later, however, these 
orders were countermanded by the Governor, and Colonel Marmaduke was ordered to 

46 



722 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF [NnSSOUEI. 

give battle at Boonville. He remonstrated without avail — and thereupon tendered his 
resignation. The Governor, however, insisted upon battle, and explicitly assumed 
the entire responsibility. The result was as Colonel Marmaduke predicted — disas- 
trous. 

Colonel Marmaduke, seeing that politicians, and not military men, were control- 
ling military matters in Missouri, immediately handed his resignation lo the Governor, 
and, repairing to Richmond, tendered his sword to President Davis, asking to be 
ordered to report for duty with any command that might be moving to the relief of 
Missouri. He was commissioned First Lieutenant, reported for service to General 
Wm. J. Hardee, then moving up White River, was assigned to duty on his staff, and 
a few weeks later promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and placed in command of a bat- 
talion of infantry. In the fall of 1861, he was made Colonel of the Third Confeder- 
ate Infantry, which became a model in drill, discipline and efficiency, and won 
laurels on many a hard-fought battle-field. This regiment was in Hindman's brigade 
of General Albert Sidney Johnson's army, in the fall of 1861-2, continually moving 
between Bowling Green and Green River, and covered the rear of the army on its 
retreat from BoAvling Green to Nashville. To lead the advance of an aggressive 
force or cover the rear of a retreating column, was the position most often assigned 
to Colonel Marmaduke's regiment. 

In the terrible battle of Shiloh, on April 6th, 1862, Colonel Marmaduke's regiment 
was given by General Hardee (who commanded the first line of battle) the distin- 
guished honor of bearing into battle the guiding colors of the battle line, and at day- 
break of that memorable day his regiment opened the teri-ible conflict by firing the 
first gun and capturing the first prisoners. In courage and skill he was conspicuous 
among those who won laurels in that bloody day's battle. When at evening he was 
withdrawn from the field, he, with his ambulances, traversed the ground, gathering 
up the dead and wounded of his decimated regiment, and spent the night in the 
hospital superintending and assisting in dressing their wounds and alleviating their 
sufferings. The next morning his regiment was ordered to hold a certain position. 
Gathering every straggler he could find, and with the remnant of his regiment as a 
nucleus, he repulsed repeated charges, and in the face of impending disaster rode in 
the thickest of the fight, carrying the colors and leading the forces until he was 
cai'ried wounded from the battle-field. 

For gallant and meritorious services on that bloody battle-field Colonel Marma- 
duke was assigned to duty as a Brigadier-General. 

In the Spring of 1862, General Holmes, commanding the Trans-Mississippi Depart- 
ment, and General Hindman, commanding the District of Arkansas and Missouri, 
applied to have General Marmaduke ordered for duty with them. Generals Bragg 
and Hardee, under whom Marmaduke was serving, gave him the option of staying 
or going. lie decided to go to the West Mississippi, and upon reporting to General 
Holmes at Little Rock, was ordered to relieve General Rains and take command of 
his division, then in northwest Arkansas. In the latter part of November, ] 862, 
General Marmaduke was attacked at Cane Hill by General Blunt with 8,000 troops. 
Fighting, in. which Shelby's Missouri Cavalry bore the brunt, in the face of superior 
immbers, lasted all day, as they fell back upon Dipping Springs. General Marma- 
duke bore a conspicuous part in the Battle of Prairie Grove. In the last days of 
1862, he commenced movements upon General Blunt's communications which forced 
the latter to abandon the Arkansas River (at Van Buren) , and fall back to Spring- 
field . In his march south, Marmaduke had a short but sanguinary battle at Hartville,. 



ST. LOUIS. 723 

and, after great suffering by the troops from hunger and cold, reached Batesville;, 
Ai'kansas, where his command went into winter quarters. In the spring of 1863 he 
led a force of 4,000 men and eight pieces of artillery into Missouri. He extricated 
General Carter from his perilous position before Cape Girardeau, and successfully 
withdrew his command from the combined forces of Generals McNeil and Vandiver , 
the latter with their united army of 10,000 strong, pursuing as far as St. Francis River.' 
General Marmaduke swam his horses and took his men, ammunition and artillery 
over the swollen torrent on hastily and rudely-constructed raft-bridges which he 
immediately destroyed, and proceeded with the main body of his troops to Jackson- 
port, from which point he raided around Helena. General Holmes' attack in force 
upon Helena, July 4th, in which Price's division carried the works and entered the 
town, losing over 1,000 in killed and captured, proving a failure, he fell back to 
Little Roek with all his force except Marmaduke's Cavalry Division, which was 
ordered to resume its former position, with head-quarters at Jacksonport. A few 
weeks thereafter upon General Steele's advance from Helena towards Little Rock 
Marmaduke was ordered to Brownsville with his Division, and there reported to 
General L. M. Walker, who was resisting Steele's advance. Marmaduke was 
ordered to cover the retreat, and fought Steele stubbornly till reaching Bayou Metre 
an ugly stream, almost impassable except by bridges. Here he determined to make 
a more deadly resistance against Steele's overwhelming columns, and here after a 
hard fought battle of many hours, Steele's advance was driven back and was forced 
to take another route to reach Little Rock. 

Shortly afterwards occurred the unfortunate duel between General L. M. Walker 
and General Marmaduke. The affair is now spoken of "with regret by the friends of 
both parties, without the charge of malice against either of the participants, but as 
au unfortunate result of the prevailing code of honor among military officers every- 
where, as well as then recognized by gentlemen in the South. 

General Marmaduke displayed great skill in the defense of Little Rock, upon the 
evacuation of which by General Price, he was left to cover the retreat and retard 
the advance of the pursuing enemy. He planned the attack on Pine Bluff com- 
manding three brigades. His demand to surrender being refused, he drove the 
garrison within the fortifications, captured their encampments, quartermaster 
commissary and ordinance supplies, their horses and mules and the officers effects 
destroying all he could not carry off, shelled their fortifications, and withdrew, 
rather than sacrifice hundreds of lives for an inadequate result. 

General Marmaduke was, in the spring of 1864, assigned to the duty of maneuv- 
ering against Steele to retard his progress long enough to allow General E. Kirbj^ 
Smith to dispose of General Banks, then moving from New Orleans. Marmaduke's 
force of 4,000 men and eight guns was so admirably handled that he forced General 
Steele, with a magnificently-equipped army of 13,000 to occupy nearly three weeks 
in moving from Little Rock to Camden, a distance of one hundred and twenty-five- 
miles. He harassed him at every possible point, until Steele was driven into Cam^ 
den where he exhausted his supplies. On April 20th, Steele sent a forage train out 
with a guard of 3,000 men. Marmaduke, by skill and hard fighting, captured the 
train — about 250 wagons and ambulances, 1,500 horses and mules, and four pieces 
of artillery — killing and capturing several hundred Federals. Steele being forced 
to evacuate Camden, marched for Little Rock, but being hotly purposed by Marma- 
duke's cavalry, was forced to give battle, and this gave time for General E. Kirby 
Smith to come up with a heavy infantry force, whereupon followed the sanguinary 



724 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWXS OF MISSOUEI. 

battle at Jeakins' Ferry, in which Steele's army was saved by a hasty and disorderly 
retreat. 

For distinguished services rendered in this battle, and in the general campaign 
against Steele, Marmaduke was made a Major General. During the summer of 1864, 
General Marmaduke established himself near Lake Village, Chicot county, and suc- 
ceeded in breaking up the traffic between Federal traders and trhe citizens and render- 
ing navigation hazardous except to the better class of gun-boats. In this position, 
with 600 men and twelve pieces of artillery, he four times, during an engagement of 
six hours, repulsed the Federal forces under General A. J. Smith ; and when the 
latter turned his position by a flank movement, he retreated across the bayou, har- 
■rassed the rear of the retiring expedition, and the next day resumed his old position 
against the enemj^'s transportation on the river. 

General Marmaduke commanded a cavalry division under General Price, when 
Ihe latter marched into Missouri, in the fall of 1864. He advised General Price not 
io turn aside and lose valuable time and lives in attacking Pilot Knob, but nrged 
•him to press on with all possible speed to the capture of St. Louis. After the 
repulse of the Confederates in the attack on Pilot Knob, Marmaduke moved with 
his division up the Missouri Kiver as far as Westport. Several battles and skir- 
mishes occurred, until finally, about thirty miles from Fort Scott, he was surrounded 
and, after desperate fighting, captured on October 24th. His men, who had fought 
with him on half a hundred battle-fields, ranging over hundreds of miles in distance, 
had learned his kind yet firm discipline, his honest frankness, his genial and dignified 
manners, and were most warmly attached to him. Every one of them felt that in the 
^capture of their leader, who was foremost in the fight, last in the field, and present 
where he was most needed, they had each one met with a personal loss. He was 
sent to Johnson's Island, and, two months later to Fort Warren, from which he was 
released in August, 1865. In the then disturbed condition of the country — his health 
much broken by prison life, he determined on a trip to Europe, and sailed in Sep- 
tember, 1865. Journe3dng through most of the countries of Europe, he returned to 
Missouri in April, 1866, and in the month of May following, in connection with Dr. 
WyattM. Brown and his bi-other, D. ^Y. Marmaduke, established the commission 
house of Marmaduke & Brown, from which he retired in the fall of 1869. 

In November, 1869, he became the special agent of the Life Association of America, 
to organize and superintend its business in the Southern States, from Maryland to 
Texas. In this position he brought to bear upon his work the intuitive reading of 
character, the prompt decision, the systematic organization, and the administrative 
ability which he had developed and displayed in his military career. When, on 
account of ill-health, he terminated his connection with this company in April, 1871, 
its business, under his management, had been thoroughly organized on a firm basis, 
and was in most successful operation in all the Southern States. 

Shortly after this, he bought an interest in the Journal of Commerce, and in the 
■latter part of the same year he, his brothers Vincent and Leslie and Messrs. Wolcott 
and Hume, established the Daily Evening Journal. Later, in 1871, this company 
bought the monthly Journal of Agriculture and changed it to an illustrated paper. 
In 1872 he sold his interest in the above company and with his brother Vincent bought 
the Illustrated Journal of Agriculture. In June, 1873, he disposed of his interest in 
this paper and accepted the position of Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture, 
to which office he was re-appointed in 1874. In 1875 he was appointed by Governor 
Hardin, one of the Kailroad Commissioners of the State. At the request of 



ST. LOUIS. 725 

the State Board of AgricuKure he continued also to perform the duties of his office 
as their Secretary until the expiration of liis term. In ISTovember, 1876, lie was 
elected by the people Railroad Commissioner for four years, in the duties of which 
office he is now engaged. 

The same kind and generous disposition, frank, honest and truthful nature, 
gentlemanly manners, prompt, energetic action, and self-reliant character, which 
every associate officer and soldier recognized and admired in his military career,. 
General Marmaduke carries into his civil and official life and duties. 



GAEL SCHURZ 

was born at Liblar, near Cologne, Germany, March 2d, 1828. His parents were in 
respectable and moderate circumstances. He was educated at the Cologne Gymna- 
sium preparatory to his entering the University of Bonn, where he took a course of 
history, philosophy and the ancient languages. At the outbreak of the revolution 
in 184:8, Schurz with other i^tudents took an active interest in the prevailing agita- 
tion, and with Gottfried Kinkel, the professor of rhetoric at the University, started 
a liberal newspaper. This paper was conducted by Schurz, while Kinkel was ab- 
sent as a member of the Prussian Legislature. Having unsuccessfully attempted to 
produce an insurrection at Bonn, Kinkel and Schurz fled to the Palatinate, where a 
body of revolutionary troops were already organized. He entered the military 
service as Adjutant to Gustav Nickolaus Tiedemann, and upon the capitulation of 
Kastadt became a prisoner. Tiedemann was condemned and shot, August 11th, 
1849, but Schurz escaped from the fortress by concealing himself during three days 
and nights, without food, in a sewer, through which he reached the Rhine. He 
reached Switzerland early in August, and remained secluded at Zurich until the fol- 
lowing May. Kinkel was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment, and confined in 
the fortress of Spandau. Schurz determined to rescue Kinkel, and made his way 
secretlj'' back to Germany. He was three months in Berlin, endeavoring to establish 
relations with the guards who watched the prisoner. Kinkel's cell was broken open 
November 6th, 1850 ; he was brought out upon the roof of the prison, and lowered to 
the ground. The fugitives escaped the same night across the fx-ontier into Mecklen- 
burg, and thence to Rostock, from which, after a short concealment, they escaped in 
a schooner to Leith, arriving there December 1st. Schurz then went to Paris, where 
he remained as a correspondent of German journals until June, 1851, when he went 
to London, and taught music and languages till July, 1852. About this time he mar- 
ried the daughter of a rich merchant of Hamburg, Miss Margarette Meyer, and 
shortly afterward came to America, landing in Philadelphia. He remained in that 
city two or three years, familiarizing himself with the English language, the laws 
of the counti-y, its history, etc., and then removed to Watertown, Wisconsin, where 
he had bought a fann. 

In the presidential canvass of 1856, Mr. Schurz became known as an orator in the 
German language. In 1857, he was nominated by the Republican State Conven- 
vention as their candidate for the office of Lieutenant-Governor of Wisconsin, but 
failed of election. 

In 1858, during the contest between Douglas and Lincoln for the United States 
Senatorship in Illinois, he delivered his first English speech, which was widely 
republished by the journals in various parts of the country. 



726 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

In the spring of 1859, he attended the celebration of Jefferson's Anniversary, and 
in Fane nil Hall delivered a speecli ou Americanism, He was at this time practising 
law at Milwaukee, where he lived. During the winter of 1859-60, he frequently- 
lectured before lyceums and literary societies in various parts of the country. Mr. 
Schurz was a delegate from Wisconsin to the Republican National Convention which 
met at Chicago, in June, 1860, and exercised considerable influence, especially in 
securing the adoption of that portion of the platform which related to citizens of 
foreign birth. He entered heartily into the canvass which followed, speaking con- 
stantly throughout the Northern States, both in the English and German languages, 
his principal speeches being on '' The Irrepressible Conflict," delivered in St. Louis, 
and one entitled, " The Bill of Indictment Against Douglas," delivered in New 
York. 

Under Lincoln's administration, Mr. Schurz accepted the Spanish mission, and 
went to Madrid during the summer of 1861. 

In December, 1861, he asked the President to release him from diplomatic duties, 
that he might fight for the Union. The desire was granted, and he entered the army 
^s Brigadier-General of Volunteers in Sigel's corps, in time to distinguish himself at 
the second battle of Bull Run, and fought bravely also at Chancellorsville and Get- 
tysburg, where he won the rank of Major-Geueral. 

On his return from Spain, he delivered in New York City, March 6th, 1862, a 
speech on the necessity of abolishing slavery in order to restore the national unitj'", 
which was regarded by many as the ablest of his public discourses. 

During the summer of 1863, General Schurz joined General Sherman at Chatta- 
nooga, and on his arrival there was placed in command of a division, which position 
he held to the close of the war. 

In the latter part of 1864, he obtained a short leave of absence to make speeches 
in favor of Mr. Lincoln's re-election. His voice had the same power and attraction 
as in the campaign of 1860, and it is, perhaps, owing in some measure to his influ- 
ence, that many of the Germans were induced to leave the independent movement 
made at Cleveland against Mr. Lincoln, and support the regular nomination. 

After the assassination of Lincoln, President Johnson sent General Schurz thi'ough 
the Southern States on a tour of inspection, to gain information as to the social and 
political condition of the people. Schurz traveled in all parts of the South, con- 
versed with people of all classes, and made a complete report of what he saw and 
heard, suggesting such remedies for existing evils as in his judgment seemed 
proper. Johnson was not pleased with the report. It conflicted with his " policy," 
and he tried to suppress it. The newspapers, however, gave it to tbe people, and 
General Schurz was sustained. 

In 1866, he removed to Detroit, to take charge of the Daily Post, but remained 
only a few months. In the spring of 1867, he moved to St. Louis, bought an inter- 
est in the Westliche Post, and became a principal editor. General Schurz was cor- 
dially welcomed to Missouri by the Republican party, and immediately took an 
active part in politics. 

He was a delegate to the National Republican Convention of 1868, was chosen 
temporary chairman, and had much to do with constructing the platform. He took 
the stump for the Republican ticket during the summer of 1868, and spoke with 
his accustomed vigor and eloquence in many of the cities of the Union. 

In January, 1869, the Legislature of Missouri met in joint session to elect a United 
States Senator. General Schurz, although strongly opposed by Charles D. Drake, 






.€yC-Cyt</^' 



ST. LOUIS. 727 

Ihen Senator, who came from "Washington especially to defeat him, was nominated 
and afterward elected by the joint session. His German friends throughout the 
country hailed his election to the Senate with signs of delight, and congratulations 
froin all classes poured in upon him. 

General Schurz's career in the United States Senate was a brilliant and successful 
one. He pursued a moderate course, and disagreed with the party in power on 
many questions ; but his opposition was manly, and his reasons for action were 
clearly and eloquently set forth to the country. He became an intimate friend of 
Sumner, and upon most of the leading questions agreed with him. Many Repub- 
licans regretted that Schurz disagreed with the President, but generally conceded 
that he was governed by disinterested motives. His speeches gave evidence of 
scholarship and research. Though claiming still to be a Eepublican in all essential 
principles, he did not hesitate to defeat measures introduced into Congress whenever 
they appeared to him injurious to the public interests. 

In 1870, he favored the removal of disfranchisement from those who had partici- 
pated in the rebellion. He knew the result would hurl him from office. He was 
bitterly denounced for his course on this occasion, and still later, in 1872, for the 
support he gave to the National Liberal movement. He was chosen President of 
the Cincinnati Convention, and afterward made speeches for the ticket there nom- 
inated. 

In 1874, General Schurz aided in organizing the People's Reform party in Missouri. 
He was the author of a large portion of the platform which the Convention adopted, 
and took the stump for William Gentry, candidate for Governor, traveling over a 
large portion of the State, and making eloquent and fearless speeches. The ticket 
received a large vote, but the movement was unsuccessful. General Schurz, at the 
close of the campaign, resumed his editorial duties. 

After a short lecturing tour in the Northern States, he made a visit with his 
family to Europe. 

In the Ohio campaign of 1875, Mr. Schurz did valiant service, assisting materially 
by his plans and speeches in electing Governor Hayes. 

A deep cloud was thrown over his life by the loss of his beloved and devoted wife 
in March, 1876. She was a lady of estimable virtues and accomplishments. 

In the fall of 1876, Mr. Schurz threw his whole force into the presidential contest, 
working incessantly and effiictively. After President Hayes' inauguration, he was 
called to the Cabinet position of Secretary of the Interior, which place he now 
(1878) fills with great ability. 

No citizen of Missouri of foreign birth has ever attained such a degree of political 
influence, or occupied such a prominent position before the American people. Few 
of Amei-ican birth and education handle the English language so elegantly and log- 
ically in writing, or use it more idiomatically, fluently, or forcibly in oratory. 



EDWARD AUGUSTUS LEWIS 

was boi'n in Washington, the Capital of our Nation, on the anniversary of Washing- 
ton's birthday, February 22, 1820, and is a blood relative of the '^Father of His 
Country." His grandfather, Samuel Lewis, was of Welsh descent, a civil engineer 
attached to Washington's staff". Judge Lewis' father, Edward S. Lewis, was born 
in Philadelphia, held for many years a clerkship in the Third Auditor's office, up to 



728 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

the time of his death in 1829, at the age of thirty-foiiv. He was a man of literary 
cuhivatioii and taste, a contributor to the magazines of the day, and author of sev- 
eral prize tales and poems. Judge Lewis' mother, Susan Jean, was a daughter of 
Lund Washington and a sister of the Hon. P. G. Washington the well-kuown Sixth 
Auditor, and afterwards Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under President 
Pierce. She Avas a native of Virginia, and died in 1829, leaving the subject of this 
sketch and his older sister, who married Thos. P. Slade of Mississippi, in which 
State she died. 

Mr. Lewis was thus left an orphan at the age of nine, and last attended school 
when twelve years old, at Charlotte Hall, Maryland. All subsequent education was 
acquired by private study^- without teachers, at intervals from labor for his support. 

At the age of fifteen he went into the printing office of Gen. Duff Green, formerly 
of Missouri, then of Washington. A year later he left Washington on foot, and after 
traveling through several counties in Virginia he was established as pi"ivate teacher in 
the family of Ludwell Luckett, Esq. , Loudon county, Virginia. While here, through 
constant and laborious study he achieved a partial classical and pretty thorough math- 
ematical course. He returned to Washington at the age of eighteen, and after a 
seven months' clerkship in the General Land Office, he went to Mississippi, saihng 
from Philadelphia. 

He was deputy Circuit Court Clerk of Yazoo county one year, during which he 
diligently devoted his leisure time to reading law. His savings from this year's sal- 
ary enabled him to give the next year exclusively to his legal studies, and he was 
admitted to the bar the day following his twenty-first birthday. He practiced his pro- 
fession in Mississippi for four years with flattering success ; but continually failing 
health, with an apparentl}^ wrecked constitution, induced him to seek a more con- 
genial climate. He came to Missouri, arriving at St. Louis, January 1, 1845. He 
proceeded to Eichmond, Kay county ; where, on February 3, 1845, he was, upon 
examination, licensed to practice law in Missouri by Judge Austin A. King, after- 
ward Governor of Missouri. 

On September 9lh of the same year he was married to Miss Parthenia A, Brans- 
ford, daughter of Walter L. Bransford, formerly of Kentucky. This union has 
been blessed with six children, as follows: Walter F., born in 1846; Edwai'd S.^ 
born in 1848; Florence E., (now Mrs. Eobert Atkinson, St. Charles) , born in 1850; 
Eugene W., born 1855 ; P. Grayson, born in 1857, and Bransford, born in 1862. Mr.. 
Lewis was County Attorney for Eay county in 1849, and Public Administrator in 
1850-51. He practiced law all over the Kay Circuit, consisting of eight counties,, 
until April, 1851, when he moved to St. Louis and became associated with Hon. 
Jos. B. Crockett (since, for many years, on the Supreme bench of California) as ed- 
itor of thQ Daih/ Intelligencer. In 1852 Mr. Crockett went to California and Mr. 
Lewis became editor-in-chief, and afterwards sole proprietor. Mr. Lewis was a 
delegate from St. Louis to the Printer's National Convention, which met at Cincin- 
nati in 1852. He introduced the resolution which created the National Typograph- 
ical Union, and was elected vice-president with life membership. In October, 1853, 
he returned to the practice of law, and was in the spring of 1854 appointed land at- 
torney for the North Missouri Kailroad, While in this position he had much to do 
— by procuring adjudications in the Supreme Court — in shaping the policy and juris- 
prudence of the State, with reference to condemnations of private lands for railway 
purposes, a subject then comparatively in its infancy in Missouri. 

In 1856, he was one of the four candidates for Judge of the St. Louis Land Court^ 



ST. LOUIS. 729 

coming out second best after making a veiy close contest with Hon. C. B. Lord, 
since deceased. The same year, Mr. Lewis removed to St. Charles to practice his 
profession. In 1857 he purchased two hundred acres of land on the route of the 
North Missouri Railroad, laid off a town — naming it after his daughter — sold lots, 
built a station house, and secured thepermanent establishment of the station at that 
point (IS'ew Florence) w hich is now a flourishing village of 600 inhabitants. In 
1858 he was elected Curator of St. Charles College, of which he was afterwards vice- 
president and acting president for several years. In 1860 he was on the Breckin- 
ridge electoral ticket. He was president of the St. Charles Branch of the Southern 
Bank of Missouri in 1861-2. 

Dui'ing the w:ar. Judge Lewis maintained a bold and uncompromising stand against 
all infractions of the civil rights of non-combatants, done under pretense of putting 
down the rebellion. His theory was, that while duty demanded every outlay of life 
or treasure in vindicating the supremacy of the Government over any armed force 
that could be arrayed against it, yet the constitution was supreme in war, as well as 
in peace, and no civilian, whatever his offence, could be subjected to nailitary arrest, 
trial or punishment. 

His utterances in this connection, although literally endorsed by the Supreme 
Court of the United States in the celebrated Milligan and Horsey cases, subjected 
Judge Lewis to the denunciation of the military authorities, and to disfranchise- 
ment during the dark days of political intolerance that followed the war. He 
was a constant contributor to the press on the legal and constitutional questions 
which grew out of the existing complications. His productions were of such 
marked ability as to attract universal attention. Many of them were adopted as 
campaign documents, republished in pamphlet by the Democratic State Central 
Committee, and thus scattered broadcast over the State. 

In 1868, Mr. Lewis was nominated by the State Democratic Convention, by the 
largest vote given in that body, for Judge of the Supreme Court, with Hon. 
Wash. Adams and Hon. E. H. Norton. The entire Democratic State ticket was de- 
feated. John. S. Phelps was candidate for Governor, Norman J. Colman for Lieu- 
tenant Governor, and John A. Hockaday for Attorney General, 

All the above named gentlemen have since been called to fill respectively the same 
stations for which they were then unsuccessfully placed before the people. In 1872 
Mr. Lewis was one of the Presidential Electors for the State, and in that capacity 
oast his vote for B. Gratz Brown, of Missouri, and Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana, 
The death of Horace Greeley had superseded the implied instructions of the Democracy 
and left the electors free to construct their own tickets for President and Vice- 
President, Mr. Lewis was, on that occasion, chosen to convey the vote of Mis- 
souri to Washington. 

An incident in the life of Judge Lewis, to which he refers with peculiar pleasure, 
was his invitation to appear before the International Typographical Union, at its ses- 
sion in St. Louis in 1874. This was the same body which, under a different name, 
he had been instrumental in organizing at Cincinnati twenty-two years before* 
Upon being introduced by President Bodley, he addressed the assembled craftsmen 
in terms full of feeling, recalling many touching reminiscences of his earlier and 
later associations with printer life, and dwelling on the pride that would always 
live in those memories. His welcome was most enthusiastic, as may easily be 
.supposed. 



730 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

Governor Woodson, in 1874, appointed Mr. Lewis Judge of the Supreme Coui't 
of Missouri, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Wash. Adams, He then 
became, by constitutional pi'ovisiou, presiding Judge of that Court. His opinions 
are reported in the 67th, 58th and 59th volumes of the Missouri Reports. In 1875, 
Judge Lewis, T. T. Gantt, Esq., and Robert A. Bakewell, Esq., were appointed 
judges of the St. Louis Court of Appeals, created by the new Constitution of the 
State, adopted as an appellate court for the four counties constituting the most 
populous and wealthy district in Missouri. This court is practically, in its constitu- 
tional jurisdiction, the court of last resort for about seven-eighths of the litigation 
arising in the counties of St. Louis, St. Charles, Warren and Lincoln. In the fall of 
1876, Judge Lewis, Judge Bakewell and C. S. Hayden, Esq., were, by popular vote, 
elected judges of this court, and again, by virtue of a constitutional provision. Judge 
Lewis became the presiding judge. The Constitution provided that their terms of 
office, which were respectively four, eight and twelve years, should be determined 
by lot. Judge Lewis drew the twelve-year term, commencing January, 1877. 

As a writer and speaker, it may be said of Judge Lewis, that few men, either with 
or without early education, have so mastered the English language or measured its 
powers in expressing its higher foi-ms of thought. His style is singularly pure, and 
free from tautology and superfluity. It is terse, perspicuous, strong, elegant and 
often eloquent, neither fettered by set forms of expression, nor led captive by fancy 
phrases. Possessed of arich vein of poetic sentiment,his miscellaneous writings always 
have a freshness and a nervous vivacity which charms and fascinates the reader. 
As an editor and magazine-writer, he was always popular and successful ; and when 
the stern jurist relaxes into the mystic, the musician, the poet, the "divine atila- 
tus" inspires him still to throw off at times rare gems of poetic composition. " I'll 
Come to Thee," and " Yes, I would Live Alway," will compare favorably with the 
finest sonnets of the age. 

The dual nature of great men, represented in the diflferences between the profes- 
sions they follow in public and the private taste they indulge and cultivate at 
home, is beautifully illustrated in the character of Judge Lewis. The dry, plodding 
lawyer and judge, who seemingly has no thought beyond the hard, cold technicali- 
ties of Coke and Littleton, may be found in private life spending hours amid the 
intricacies of some ingenious contrivance of which he is the inventor, playing with 
children, arranging and studying pictures, or dallying with music or the muses. 
The inner side of his life but magnifies the stronger and higher faculties of mind 
and heart, which so eminently fit him for his exalted position. 

As a jurist, neither common or constitutional law will have an abler, a clearer or 
a truer exponent among the living jurists of the day. His decisions are so clear and 
strong that they are capable of but one construction. 

An eminent clergyman, one of Judge Lewis' most intimate and long-attached 
friends, says of him. 

"A born jurist, a learned lawyer, a cultivated gentleman, a chaste and elegant 
writer, his life-work on the bench will enable him to impress his own high-toned and 
irreproachable character upon the jurisprudence of the country, and erect a monu- 
ment to his learning as enduring as ' the pure English undefiled, ' and as indestruct- 
ible as the inherent principles of American common law." 




^y,-^. 






^^jCA^^rvt^, 



ST. LOUIS. 731 

J. GABRIEL WOERNER 

was born in Moehringen, a village in the kingdom of Wurteraburg, April 28th, 
1826, and was the youngest in a family of fourteen children. His father, Christian 
Woerner, was a carpenter, Avho emigrated with his younger children to America in 
1833. He lived in Philadelphia four years, where the subject of this sketch for three 
years attended the public school, there conducted on the '^Lancaster system (four 
hundred pupils under the care and tutorship of one teacher), and spent one year 
at a parochial school. The family in 1837 removed to St. Louis, where young 
Woerner for about two years attended a private German school, vrith frequent 
inteiTuptions by work at home. 

In 1841 he commenced clerking in a country store in Springfield, Missouri, then a 
town of about 200 inhabitants. Three years of this life sufficed, and he sought 
more active employment by returning to St. Louis and becoming an apprentice to 
the printer's trade with Mr. N. R. Connaway, propi'ietor of the German Tribune. 
His apprenticeship expired in 1848, and, being desirous to participate in the struggle 
then convulsing the German States, he was sent to the scene of action as correspond- 
ent of the German Tribune and the New York Herald. 

Mr. Woerner remained in Germany until the revolution was finally suppressed 
and on his return to St. Louis, in 1850, he was made editor of the German Tribune, 
and the year following bought out the establishment, which, in 1852, with the view 
of studying law, he sold to Messrs. Kibben & Schneider. On November 16th, 1852, 
he was married to Miss Emilie Plass. He studied law with C. C. Simmons, Esq.; 
was appointed clei-k of the Recorder's Court in 1853, and again in 1854, and admitted 
to the bar by Judge Alexander Hamilton in 1855 ; and was for a time associated with 
Mr. Simmons in the practice of law. Mr. Woerner was appointed clerk of the 
Board of Aldermen in 1856 (on the sixteenth ballot, over three othei' candidates). 
He was elected City Attorney in 1857, and re-elected in 1858. He was elected to 
the City Council in 1861, and also in 1863; to the State Senate in 1862, and again in 
1866. Mr. Woerner was associated with Edward C. Kehr, Esq., in the practice of 
law from 1865 until 1870, when he was elected as Judge of Probate for St. Louis 
county. He filled this office so ably, and, by his wisdom and unquestioned 
fidelity to the widow and the orphan, so endeared himself to the people, that in 1876 
he was re-elected by an overwhelming majority over a popular and worthy opponent, 
who was nominated by the party who carried nearly every other county office. 

Although largely confined for the last ten years, by the duties of his office, to the 
study of the law — a duty which he has discharged in such a manner that his 
decisions on the bench command the respect of the entire bar — still this severe 
discipline has not been able to wean him entirely from his earlier devotion to litera- 
tiu'e. Such leisure as he can command is still devoted either to the exploration of 
the remoter spheres of thought or to the production of original works. In these he 
pours forth his warm sympathy with every form of human suffering, his love of 
justice, his bitter, unrelenting hatred of wrong, under whatever form it may pre- 
sent itself, and his jubilant exultation over every achievement of modern art, 
science, social or political organization which tends to elevate man in his intellectual 
life, or to improve the conditions of his physical existence. Unobtrusive, genial, 
loving, as private, citizen, as author, as legislator and as judge, with warm sym- 
pathy, quick appreciation and untiring mental activity, Judge Woerner is a worthy 
type of the Americanized German, who possesses the earnest strength of an honest 
purpose to do his duty and the laudable ambition to honor alike the country of his 
birth and the land of his adoption. 



732 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

JAMES O. BROAD HEAD 

was born in Oharlotteville, Albemarle County, Virginia, May 29th, 1819. His 
parents were both Virginians. His father, Achilles Broadhead, was a native of 
Albemarle County, where he lived until he removed to St. Charles County, Missouri, 
where he was a farmer, and a captain in the war of 1812, for many years county 
surveyor, and for a time Judge of the County Court. He was a j^lain, earnest, 
common-sense, Christian gentleman, a Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church, and 
alike honored and trusted in public and private life. 

His mother's maiden name was Mary Winston Carr. Her ancestors occui)ied 
large estates in Virginia, where they settled after emigrating from Scotland. The 
family consisted of tive childi'eu, of whom two were girls, and three boys — one of 
whom is the distinguished geologist, Garland C. Broadhead. James, the subject of 
this sketch, was the oldest son. His maternal uncle, Dr. Frank Carr, a highly- 
educated gentleman, taught him in his classical school at Red Hills, Virginia, giving 
him thorough instruction in English and the classics; and he remained under his 
care until, at sixteen years of age, in the autumn of 1835, he entered the University 
of Virginia. Here he spent a year in diligent study, supporting himself wholly by 
his own efforts, when he was engaged as teacher of a iDi'ivate school near Balti- 
more. Called to his new home in St. Charles county by the illness of his mother,. 
James closed his school, reaching St. Louis in June, 1837, and soon became tutor 
for the children of Hon, Edward Bates. The gentlemanly bearing, correct 
deportment and excellent attainments of the young teacher, secured the friendship 
and confidence of his employer, and while instructing his pupils, he himself was 
studying law under the direction of that distinguished statesman. Three years, 
from 1838 to 1841, were thus spent, full of earnest study, and of careful trauiing, 
and a faithful use of the rare advantages thus offered him. 

In 1842, Mr. Broadhead was licensed to practice law, by Judge Ezra Hunt, of 
Bowling Green, Missouri; at which place he settled, opened an office, and entered 
at once upon a large and lucrative practice. The circuit in which he practiced 
embraced the counties of St. Charles, Lincoln, Pike, Ralls, Montgomery andWarren,^ 
and the bar was composed of eminent men, and the successful struggle for a place 
among them, by a youth just licensed, proved abilities and attainments of more than 
usual merit and grasp, and secured his election as a delegate to the Constitutional 
Convention in 1845, from the Second Senatorial district. In 1847, he was elected a 
member of the Legislature from Pike County — running as a Whig against Nicholas 
P. Minor, a popular and influential Democrat, and securing his election after an 
exciting contest against a decided Democratic majority. 

Again, in 1850, he was chosen to the State Senate, after a canvass of great warmth. 
The great ability, — in debate and otherwise — he displayed in these struggles, 
strengthened his hold upon the people. In all these positions, he took at once a 
prominent and influential place, adding constantly to his own reputation and popu- 
larity, and proving, by efficient service, the wisdom of the popular choice. 

Whilst living in Pike County, he married a most estimable lady, and has a large 
family. 

In 1859, in seeking a larger field, Mr. Broadhead moved to St. Louis, where, soon 
after, he formed a co-partnership with the late Fidelio C. Sharp, Esq., in the 
practice of law. 

In the exciting times preceding the outbreak of the civil war, Mr. Broadhead took 



ST. LOUIS. 733 

a conspicuous and influential part among those who held meetings to consolidate 
the Union sentiment, concoct measures for the preservation of the Union, and who 
determined, at all hazards, that Missouri should not be swept into the secession 
movement, and that force should be met with force, if needful . He was secretaiy 
of the '' Committee of Safety " (five persons) selected by the leading Unionists of 
St. Louis, in February, 1861, to whom was confided the guidance of all movements 
in the interests of the Union, and who were to co-operate with the military organ- 
ization formed for the protection of Union men, and to resist any attempt to carry 
the State into the secession movement. 

During those days, no one was more vigilant, earnest and efficient in protecting 
the interests committed to him ; and with his associates, and conspicuous among 
them, he displayed a zeal, gallantry, skillful leadership, prudence, foresight and 
wisdom, without which the Union cause in Missouri must have suffered great 
reverses. The military forces engaged under the direction of this committee and 
the leadership of the gallant Lyon, prevented the capture of the St. Louis Arsenal 
under the Jackson regime. 

Mr. Broadhead was a delegate to the Convention of 1861, and chairman of the 
committee which reported the resolution by which the offices of Governor, Lieu- 
tenant-Governor, Secretary of State, and Treasurer, were declared vacant. A 
provisional government was organized, Hamilton R. Gamble was elected Governor, 
and the other vacant offices filled. During all the sessions of this body — which 
were frequent during two years — Mr. Broadhead was one of its prominent, active 
and influential members, shaping its course, and moulding the Union sentiment of 
the State. While attending the Convention, Mr. Broadhead was appointed Provost- 
Marshal General of the Department, which, with headquarters at St. Louis, 
embraced Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, the Indian Territory and the lower portion 
of Iowa ; and the skill and vigor with which he discharged the delicate, embarrass- 
ing and most reponsible duties of that office, gave only additional proof of his 
ability, while the sei"vice rendered was of value beyond estimate. 

In 1861, when the duties were most difficult and responsible, Mr. Broadhead was 
appointed United States District Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouin. The 
pressure of his other duties compelled him to resign at the end of six months. 

Any more detailed account of Mr. Broadhead's services during the war would 
involve a history of the entire struggle in Missouri. Suffice it to say that, with 
devoted love for the Union, he put its preservation beyond and above all other 
questions, and that he was among the foremost of the noble men who, with earnest ■ 
patriotism and true courage saved Missouri to the Union, and that he deserves to be 
honored with others, as the friend, counselor and supporter of the lamented Lyon. 

He was chosen a member of the Constitutional Convention which assembled at 
Jefferson City, in May, 1874, and took a leading part in the action of that body and 
in framing the organic law of the State. 

His great success as a legislator ; on the stump ; in council ; shaping the course of 
military affairs ; as Provost-Marshal of a great department ; in occupations so im- 
portant and diverse, demonstrates great ability and proves a wonderful versatility. 
But it is as a lawyer, and in the labors of the profession of his choice, that he excels. 
For this and kindred pursuits, his training best fits him, and here his best powers 
are most fully called into exercise. As a lawyer, he is not only successful, but he 
deserves success, and stands without dispute among the very few who are in the 
foremost rank of the profession. 



734 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

Those who are familiar with his jfine personal appearance, his open, manly face^ 
broad and strong, yet genial and gentle in expression, cannot fail to observe how 
well his character is illustrated by his appearance. In seeking to analyze his mind 
and character, he should be described as strong, direct, straightforward, open^ 
candid, truthful, severely logical, and yet graceful at times, and eloquent as well as 
forcible in ^i^eech. He would be found to be more wise than witty, and yet posses- 
sing a fiuc fund of humor; remarkable leather for strength than for agility; full of 
sympathy for the unfortunate and the suffering; of inexhaustible kindness of 
heart and charity; of unfailing fidelity in friendship; fond of nature, and of simple 
tastes. 

FEANCIS PRESTON BLAIR 

was born in Lexington, Kentucky, February 19th, 1821. When he was nine years 
old, his father moved to Washington to take charge of the Globe. There he attended 
the primary schools. His collegiate course was commenced at Chapel Hill, North 
Carolina; but, for good reasons, he afterward entered Princeton College, New 
Jersey, where he graduated with high honors at the age of twenty. He began 
reading law with Lewis Marshall, of Kentucky, and completed his studies at the law 
school of Transylvania University, and commenced practice at St. Louis in 1843. 
His health was so poor that, to recuperate, he made a trip with trappers and traders 
to the Rocky Mountains, and in 18i5 he accompanied Bent and St. Vrain to their 
fort in New Mexico, now Colorado, and remained in that wild and hostile country 
until the arrival there of the expedition under General Kearney, when he joined the 
enterprise and served to the end of it in a military capacity. In 18 i? he returned 
to St. Louis, his health being re-established, and resumed his profession. The same 
year he was married to Miss Appoline Alexander, of Woodford county, Kentucky. 

In 1848 his father gave him a liberal amount of money, which he invested 
judiciously, and from it derived a competency. He became an active politician and 
a prominent leader of the Free-soil party. Making speeches against slavery on 
slave soil was somewhat dangei'0us,but Mr. Blair understood the temper and mettle 
of his opponents, and knew how much to say and when to say it. His political 
enemies soon discovered that he would not be put down by threats. He went to 
the Legislature in 1852, and again in 1853, and there aroused a strong sentiment 
against the exactions and encroachments of slavery. His bold words inflamed the 
Pro-slavery part_v, but he was not deterred from the work he had undertaken. 
While the Free-labor movement made but little headway in the State, it gained a 
strong foothold in St. Louis, where a large German element existed. In 1856 the 
Free-soil party was so well organized and drilled, under Blair's leadership, that it 
nominated and elected a municipal ticket. The same year Mr. Blair was elected to 
Congress from the First District, and boldly advocated the doctrines of his party. 

In 1858, Mr. Blair contested Mr. Barrett's seat in Congress, and the matter was 
referred back to the people. An election was held for that and the next term ; Mr. 
Barrett was elected to the short and Mr. Blair to the long term. He served as 
chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, and on other important committees, 
and exercised much influence. 

In 1860 he was a delegate to the Republican Convention at Chicago, and took a 
prominent and efficient part in reconciling the internal factions of the partJ^ While 
addressing a ratification meeting at Lucas Market he was much interrupted by the 



ST. LOUIS. 735 

roughs, and forth-with invented the "Wide Awakes," who, with their torches and 
uniforms, often accompanied Blair on his country electioneering tours, and prevented 
many a stoning, wliich he and his companions would otherwise have received. 

On the breaking out of the civil war, Mr. Blair was captain of the first Federal 
company enlisted in Missouri, and was unanimously elected Colonel of the first 
regiment organized. Colonel Blair discovered the plot to seize the Arsenal at St. 
Louis, and, on his advice. General Lyon captured Camp Jackson, thus nipping the 
conspiracy in the bud and saving Missouri to the Union. 

During the most of 1861, Colonel Blair looked after the interests of Missouri. He 
secured the removal of General Harney, and subsequently of Fremont, because the 
former he deemed unsafe and the latter unwise in his military management. By 
the latter course he offended the Radicals, but was indorsed by the Conservatives 
and War Democrats. Li the meantime he was active both in Congress and in the 
field. He remained with the army during the spring and summer of 1862. He 
returned to St. Louis in the fall, and became a candidate for Congress, and was 
given the certificate of election. Mr. Knox, the Radical candidate, however, suc- 
cessfully contested the seat. November 29th, 1862, Colonel Blair was promoted to 
Major General of volunteers, and he commanded the First Brigade of the Fourth 
(Steele's) Division, which acted so gallantly in the unsuccessful attack onVicksburg 
in December following. 

From this time until the final siege and capture of Vicksburg, General Blair was 
doing efficient service as a division commander. Whenever a difficult movement 
was to be made, he was selected to lead it, and when hard fighting was necessary, 
his men were sure to be near. During the siege of the city, by order of General 
Grant, the division vmder Blair sorrowfully, but firmly, laid waste the country for 
fiftj' miles around. 

At the battle of Keuesaw Mountain, General Blair held the extreme left of General 
McPherson's line, and rendered important service against the enemy. During the 
fall and winter of 1863, he participated in the active and successful campaigns of 
Sherman in Tennessee. 

On the death of General McPherson, General Blair was advanced to the command 
of the Seventeenth Army Corps. He had, in the operations before Atlanta, borne 
a conspicuous part as commander in the Seventeenth Corps. His discipline was 
perfect, his judgment never at fault, and his courage inspired all his comrades. In 
the celebrated "mai'ch to the sea," Blair's men were usually in advance and skir- 
mishing with the enemy. 

At the termination of the war. General Blair returned to his old home in St. Louis, 
where he was received with the warmest demonstrations of friendship and affection 
by all classes of citizens. 

He at once made war upon the disfranchisement of Missouri citizens, and fought 
the battle on the stump, in the Convention, and in the Senate, to which he was 
elected in 1870. At the close of his short term in the Senate, his health was shat- 
tered and continued to fail until his death, on July 8th, 1875. General Blair was a 
professed Christian, in the communion of the Presbyterian Church. 

Colonel Thomas T. Gantt, before the State Convention at JetFerson City, when the 
fact of General Blair's death was announced, expressed the feelings of that body. 
From his eulogy we quote : 

''How well he served the State need not be stated here. His acts belong to the 
•story of the country. I have not attempted to chronicle either his civil or military 



736 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

career. Time does not permit it; but this much I may sa}- : Frank Blair went into 
public life a rich man ; he left it impoverished and destitute. He was never sus- 
pected, by the bitterest enemy, of unlawfully appropriating to his own use a single 
penny, either from the treasury of the public or as a gratuity from those who beset 
the halls of legislation, and, in one shape or another, give to men in public stations 
bribes for the betrayal of public duty. He leaves to his children an unspotted name 
in lieu of worldly wealth. It is a precious and it is an imperishable inheritance. 
" Among all the men I have ever known, I rank the departed as supreme in 
generosity and magnanimity. Eancor and malice were foreign to his nature. The 
moment he had overcome his enemy, his own weapons fell from his hands. Any 
one who had seen him only when a stern duty was to be performed — when mistaken 
lenity would have been the greatest cruelty — might imagine that he was all compact 
of flint and iron. The moment that firmness had done its work, and there was no 
longer occasion for rigor, he was the surest refuge for all who had ceased to resist. 
To those who had been guilty of wrong and treachery toward himself he was for- 
giving to a degree which bordered on weakness. It is an honorable distinction that 
this is the worst censure that can be passed upon his heroic nature." 



EDWARD BATES 

was born at Belmont, Goochland county, Yirginia, September 4th, 1793. His ances- 
tors were among the Jamestown colony, and probably came from England in 1625. 
They were Quakers, but Edward's father, T. F. Bates, fought as a soldier in the 
Revolutionary war, for which violation of the rules of the Friends he was expelled 
from the denomination. Edward was the seventh son in a family of twelve children. 
He was quick and intelligent, but in his neighborhood books were scarce and schools 
unknown. He was partially instructed by Benjamin Bates, a kinsman, Hanover, 
and afterwards received a classical education at Charlotte Hall, Maryland. He was 
appointed midshipman, but his mother objecting, he declined the position. He 
served in the Virginia militia, however, in 1813. In 1814 he arrived in St. Louis, 
where his elder brother, Frederick, was secretary of the Territory of Missouri. He 
read law with Rufus Easton, and was admitted to the bar in 1816. He was an indus- 
trious, able and conscientious lawyer. He was appointed United States Circuit 
Attorney in 1819. In 1820 he was an active and prominent member of the conven- 
tion which framed the State Government under which the State was admitted to the 
Union. He was the first Attorney General of the State. He continued his law 
practice, taking an active part in politics as a "Whig, and being frequently called to 
the Legislature. 

Mr. Bates was married in 1825, to Miss Julie D. Coulter, a lady of good family, 
possessing all true womanly qualities. He built up a happy home, a lucrative prac- 
tice, and occupied a prominent and honorable position. 

In 1824, President Monroe appointed him United States District Attorney for 
Missouri. He resigned this office in 1826, and went to Congress, where he served 
with distinction. During this term he became intimate with Henry Clay, and they 
were fast friends during their life-time. He was elected to the Legislature in 1834, 
and was a leader in many important issues. He spent several years recruiting his 
health, by superintending a farm on which he lived, riding to town to attend court. 

When tbe Internal Improvement Congress met at Chicago, in 1847, Mr. Bates- 



ST. LOUIS. 737 

"was, after some eastern opposition, elected its president. At this time, the policy 
of Congi'ess had been to limit governmental aid to tide-water improvements. An 
impartial historian says of this convention, which met to devise methods of lake and 
river improvements: "Ho one entirely met the requii-ements of the case. Mr. 
Bates, at the close, asked permission to make a few remarks. No single speech 
ever resulted in more benefit to the country. Unity, enthusiasm, strength and 
organization followed, and the West was admitted to be entitled to a share of Fed- 
eral assistance in the improvement of its lakes and rivers, and in building its rail- 
roads." He arose to address the convention, known only as an " obscure western 
lawyer," as the eastern: opponents to his presidency of the Convention had sneer- 
ingly called him. He sat down with an established reputation as a national orator 
and statesman. 

In 1850, Mr. Bates was appointed Secretary of War by President Fillmore. He 
was the tirst Cabinet minister ever appointed from west of the Mississippi. He 
declined the office. In 1853, he was elected Judge of the St. Louis Land Court. 
In 1854 he opposed the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and co-operated with the 
Republican party. He presided over the Whig convention at Baltimore in 1856, but 
after that identified himself fully with the free labor movement. Harvard College 
conferred upon him the honorary degree of LL.D. His name was quite prominent 
before the Republican convention in Chicago in 1860, as the candidate of the Con- 
servative element of that party. His name was withdrawn, and he gave his hearty 
support to Mr. Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln tendered Mr. Bates any office within his gift 
or nomination except Secretary of State, which had been accepted by Mr. Seward. 
Mr. Bates accepted the position of Attorney General. How well he bore his part 
during the ensuing troublous times is a matter of record. He was unflinching in 
his devotion to the Union, and favored prompt and vigorous policy as being the most 
merciful, and least disastrous to the material and moral growth of our country. 

Mr. Bates was, for some time, a member of the Board of Directors of the public 
schools of St. Louis. He took a lively and liberal intei-est in education, and advo- 
cated laying deep and broad the solid foundations of the Public School system. 
Many of its excellent features are due to his suggestion and co-operation. 

Mr. Bates united with the Presbyterian Church in 1824. He was an exemplary 
Christian in act as in precept, and was, for many years, a Ruling Elder in his 
denomination. 

On account of failing health, he resigned his position in 1864, and retired to 
private life at his old home in St. Louis. His disease assumed new force late in 
1868, and he died March 25th, 1869, at his residence in St. Louis, and he was buried 
at Bellefontaine Cemetery. 

At a meeting of the St. Louis Bar, Hon. John F. Darby presided and pronounced 
an elegant eulogy, reciting many facts concerning his deceased associate. Among 
the resolutions was the following, offered by Colonel Broadhead : 

''He has filled high places of trust, both in the State and Nation; and, following 
the maxim of Sir Matthew Hale, he discharged those trusts 'uprightly, deliberately 
and resolutely', so that no man could say that he did not confer more honor on the 
office than the office did upon him ; and he retired all the poorer for his public 
^services, except in that esteem which follows the faithful discharge of duty." 



47 



738 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

HENRY TAYLOR BLOW. 

Among the immigrants to St. Louis about 1830, when the city contained 7,000 in- 
habitants, and when the laws, language, manners and customs of the English- 
speaking people preponderated the French, were Mr. Peter Blow and his family, 
from Southhampton county, Virginia. They were of English descent, and, tracing 
their ancestry back to the time of Charles I, were always in respectable positions in 
society. Mr. Blow and his wife both died in a few years afler coming to St. Louis ; 
she preceding him. Of their twelve children, they left seven surviving, with small 
means, among strangers, and all young. There were three daughters. One became 
the wife of Joseph Charless. One of them was the first wife of Charles D. Drake, 
formerly United States Senator from Missouri ; the other died unmarried. The four 
sons Peter E., Henry T., Taylor and William T., all became active men of business 
and well-known in the city. The family love among these brothers and sisters was 
always so strong as to be remarkable. 

The second son, Henry Taylor Blow, was born in Southhampton county, Virginia, 
on July 15th, 1817, and at his father's death, in 1831, was fourteen years of age. He 
was at that time a student in the St. Louis University, then the only place in St. Louis 
where the higher branches of education were taught, and where he remained for 
several years. At the age of nineteen, he forrhed a partnership with his brother-in- 
law, Joseph Charless, as dealers in drugs, paints, oils, etc. They soon commenced, 
on a small scale, the manufacture of castor-oil, linseed-oil and white lead. 

In 1844, the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Charless retaining the commercial, and 
Mr. Blow the manufactuiing department of the business, which he carried on suc- 
cessfully until he organized and put in operation " The Collier White Lead and Oil 
Company," which continues to be one of the largest manufacturing concei-ns in.the- 
city. Mr. Blow, from dealing in and making white lead, very naturally directed 
his attention to the making of metallic lead from the ores. 

Shortly before the late civil war, Mr. Blow, in connection with his brother, Peter 
E., and Mr. Ferdinand Kennett, started important mining and smelting works in 
Newton county. At the very beginning of the war, their works and accumulated 
property were destroyed and the prosecution of the business rendered impi-acticable. 
Mr. Kennett died during the war, and his interest in that property was bought by 
the brothers, Peter and Henry Blow. 

After the war, they formed " The Granby Mining and Smelting Company," and 
renewed their operations in Newton county, under the principal management of Mr. 
Peter E. Blow, upon whose death Mr. Henry T. Blow, who iiad always been presi- 
dent of the Company, took the chief care and management of the whole business.^ 
These constitute the most important business enterprises in which Mr. Blow engaged, 
and by means of which he accumulated a fair fortune. 

He took a lively interest in the government and improvement of the city, anc 
especially in its moral and social condition. One of the public schools bears his 
name. With the merchants he joined, often as a leader, in associated efforts for the 
advancement of commerce. He advocated and assisted the construction of railroads^ 
and was at one time president of the Iron Mountain Railroad Company. He workec 
heartily for the improvement of the river navigation, for the development of the 
mines, for the mechanic arts and manufacturing industries of the city, a^d in con-l 
junction with his good wife, for every practical enterprise of benevolence, to relieve 
the needy, to comfort the distressed, to enlighten the ignorant. and to encourage the 
unfortunate. 



ST. LOUIS. ^ 739 

Mr. Blow was, in early manhood, a Whig, and was a member of the Eepublican 
party at its organization in Missouri. In 1854 he was elected to the State Senate, 
and although belouging to the despised minority, he was, on account of his per- 
sonal qualities, able to command respect and do much for the general good. In 1860, 
he was a member, and one of the vice-presidents of the Republican convention 
which nominated Mr. Lincoln for President. 

^ In the early part of 1861, when all was doubt, uncertainty, and vague apprehen- 
sion of a dreadful future, he counseled with leading Union men of Missouri, and 
assisted in raising and equipping troops. Later in the year he was appointed Min- 
ister to Venezuela. His interest in the civil contest was, however, too strong to 
permit him to remain at a distance ; and, after about a year's absence he resigned 
his mission and returned to Missouri. 

In the fall of 1862, he was elected a representative in the XXXVIIth Congess, 
and two years afterwards was elected to the XXXVlIIth . Congress. The'four 
years of these two Congresses are the most memorable in congressional annals, 
and in each of them Mr. Blow occupied important positions. In the first, he 
was a member of the Committee of Ways and Means, upon which devolved the duty 
to provide the " sinews of war," with the least detriment to the country. In the 
second, he was a member of the Committees on Appropriation and on Eeconstruc- 
tion, the duties of which he performed with recoguized usefulness to the country 
and credit to himself. Upon the expiration of his second term in Congress, he 
decUned to become a candidate for re-election. In 1869 he was appointed Minister 
to Brazil. During his residence at Rio Janeiro he cultivated friendly relations 
between the two governments, and stimulated commercial intercourse between their 
citizens. The present relations of the two countries and their citizens are evidences 
of the success of his eiforts. 

Whenhereturned, in 1871, the party which had conferred upon him offices of 
distinction needed his services, and he accepted positions in which he could gain 
neither honor nor emolument, and yet was subject to invidious criticism. 

He became chairman of the Republican State Central Committee, and faithfully 
performed the duties of tlie place until after the general election in 1872. 

Again, in 1874, when the affairs of the District of Columbia were in a sadly 
disorganized and unfortunate condition, he was, on account of his experience in 
public affairs, his business capacity and sound sense, and the universal recognition 
of his probity, selected as one of the commissioners to administrate the government 
of the District. He remained but a few months in this position, but that short time 
sufficed to a considerable extent to restore order and confidence. He resigned at 
the end of the year, and here may be said to have ended his political career, though 
to the time of his death many of his friends looked to his attaining a yet high°er 
position, and proposed to present him as the candidate for Vice-President of the 
United States. 

Mr. Blow, in 1840, married Minerva, daughter of Colonel Thornton Grimsley, an 
old and honored citizen of St. Louis. She was, in every way, his worthy spouse, 
companion, friend and help-meet in the struggles of early youth and the triumphs 
of maturer age ; his associate in acts of benevolence, as in the sacred feelings that 
prompted them, his sympathetic counselor in all troubles, and partaker with him of 
all his griefs and joys. She died on the 28th of June, 1875. 

After the death of his wife, the pleasant home was so full of sad reminders to the 
family that they left it for a time and scattered to different places. On the 11th of 



740 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

September, beiug at Saratoga, apparently in the vigor of mature manhood, he was 
suddenly striken with a fatal disease, and in an hour was dead, leaving a memory 
without a stain. He was buried at St. Louis, with public and private expression 
of the love and honor in which he was held. 

Mr, Blow was of medium stature, round-limbed, active and energetic in move- 
ment. Slender in early manhood, he became in after years more robust, without 
impairing his activity. His hair and eyes were dark, his features small and retined, 
his skill smooth and delicate, easily flushing to redness. Ever a courteous gentle- 
man, he was often quick and impulsive, always pleasant and genial, cordial and 
kind to his friends, with a sweet and manly tenderness for the dearer ones. He 
was a o-entleman of elegant and refined tastes, with a sincere and appreciative love 
of art. His hospitality was broad, genial, graceful, and the worth and charm of his 
society made him ever a welcome guest among his acquaintances. 

Mr. Blow was an observant, thoughtful, prudent man, and while not a speculator, 
some of Ms ventui'es were very bold. Such was the establishment of oil mills in 
St. Louis at that time. Not only was the business a new one, but the material on 
which to operate was not here, and it required that he should induce farmers to 
produce the oil-bearing seeds. The cultivation of flax for the seeds had been very 
small and that of the castor bean was wholly unknown. He himself learned, and 
then tauo-ht to the farmers, the mode of cultivation, and adhering persistently to his 
plans attained success. The introduction of the manufacture of white lead was 
also a bold venture. The material for use could be easily procured, but the pro- 
cesses by which it was corroded and prepared for use were obscure, and thought to 
be very dangerous to health and life. He persevered, and was successful in a 
business sense, and also made such improvements in some of the processes which 
were most unhealthy, as to render them almost innocuous. 

He was a liberal man. Not merely in ithe giving of money for patriotic, scientific, 
artistic relio-ious, benevolent and charitable purposes — this he did largely — but in 
his iudo-ment of the character and conduct and motives of others. During the 
late war he was in prominent and responsible positions, with a firm devotion to 
the Union and determination to suppress the rebellion, and yet he was ever without 
ersonal acrimony. Probably no man exerted himself more actively and success- 
fuUv to relieve the distresses of sufi"ering public enemies. 

Ml- Blow was a successful man — some say a fortunate man. His labors were less 
pen than their results. He accumulated in business an ample fortune. In political 
I'fe he attained high honors, and an exalted reputation. In social life he had hosts 
of warm worthy friends, and in his domestic ties was most happy. Mr. Blow was 
a member of the Presbyterian Church, and his religion formed a part of his daily 
IT It accompanied him in his business transactions and in his intercourse with 
men Never obtrusive, it tempered his opinions and acts with that charity which 
thinketh no evil, and imparted a kindly tone to his inflexible truth and justice. 



.^^n/^ 



THOMAS HAET BENTON "N\^2:.w 

was born near Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina, March 14f^,^7i.. 
When he was eight years old his father died, leaving but little means to support and 
educate the children. He, however, received a good grammar-school education, and 
attended the State University of North Carolina ; but before completing the course 



ST. LOUIS. 



741 



of study, his mother moved to Tennessee and settled upon a farm. Thomas did not 
like farming-. He did like books. He studied law, and soon gained a lucrative 
practice. He served one term in the Tennessee Legislature, and secured the pas- 
sage of several important bills, among them one securing the right of trial by jury 
to slaves. He became acquainted with Andrew Jackson, then Judge of the Supreme 
Court of Tennessee. When Jackson became Major-General of the State Militia, 
Benton was made Aid-de-Camp. Jackson and Benton became fast and intimate 
friends. A sudden rupture, growing out of the duelling code, occurred, and it was 
long before even a partial reconciliation took place. 

During the war with England, in 1813, Benton raised a regiment, and waS ap- 
pointed Lieutenant-Colonel; but news of peace reached him when on his way to 
service, and he resigned. He shortly after moved to Missouri, and settled in St. Louis 
in the practice of his profession. He established the Missouri Inquirer. His plain 
language and positive opinions aroused dispute, bitter altercation and personal 
encounters. A duel was forced upon him. He killed his challenger, Mr. Lucas, 
and regretted the event all his life. 

Colonel Benton took strong ground in favor of admitting Missouri to the Union, 
notwithstanding her slavery Constitution; and the tirst Legislature under that 
Constitution elected him United States Senator, His power in the State and Nation 
now began to be felt. He was in the prime of life. He was resolute, industrious 
and temperate. He had a wonderful memory, a vigorous intellect, and a large, 
varied and liberal culture. He soon became a power in the councils of the nation. 
He urged the selling of government lands for cash, at low rates, with special advan- 
tages to actual settlers. He induced President Jackson, of whom he was a firm 
supporter, and with whom he had great influence, to embody these ideas in an 
annual message, thus secui'ing in time the land reform triumph. He opposed duties 
on the imported necessaries of life, and was partially successful in their repeal. 
He encoui'aged explorations in the ''far west." He urged the early occupancy of 
the mouth of the Columbia River. He advocated overland transit between the 
Atlantic and the Pacific. He became the recognized exponent of Western interests, 
and though taking part in all the great que<?tions of his day, he always bore in 
mind and worked for his immediate constituency. He advocated the location of 
military stations in the interior. He advised the cultivation of honorable relations 
with the Indians. He spoke for the development of commerce on our internal lakes 
and rivers. He advised the making and maintaining of post-roads, etc. Many of 
his most elaborate and logical speeches were made upon the currency question, in- 
which he demonstrated that a gold and silver currency was the remedy for the then 
existing embarrassments, and the only true medium for government use. His 
views attracted much attention at home and in Europe, and gained for him the title 
of which he was so proud, " Old Bullion." 

Colonel Benton showed great courage, devotion and persistency, and made many 
political enemies, by moving and securing the passage of the " expunging resolu- 
tions," wiping from the journal of the Senate a censure of President Jackson. He 
became the leading Democratic opponent of Calhoun in his violent rupture with 
Jackson, and this diflTerence continually grew more and more hostile. 

When Calhoun, in the Senate, in 1847, introduced resolutions stating his doctrine 
concerning the power of Congress in the Territories, the admission of States and 
the use of common property — all bearing directly upon slavery, Colonel Benton 
denounced them as " firebrands." Mr. Calhoun expressed surprise — he had expected 



« 

742 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

Colonel Benton's support, as he was from a slave State — but added, ''I shall know 
where to find the gentleman." Colonel Benton replied as only he could reply, " I 
shall be found in the right place — on the side of my country and the Union." The 
resolutions were never voted upon in the Senate, but were sent to Missouri, where 
they were endorsed by both branches of the Legislature. Colonel Benton appealed 
from the Legislature to the people, and then ensued one of the most hotly contested 
Senatorial contests ever known in the West. The Democratic party was divided 
into Benton men, who were a plurality in the Legislature, and "Anties." By an 
affiliation between the latter and the Whigs, Henry S. Geyer was elected. Colonel 
Bentwn then made an appeal direct to the people, and in 1852 was elected, over all 
opposition, to Congress from the 1st district. His opposition to Pierce's administra- 
tion, on account of Calhoun's Influence with the President, resulted in the latter 
removing Benton's friends from all Federal offices in Missouri. Colonel Benton 
put forth his whole strength in opposition to the Kansas and Nebraska Bill, 
and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise ; and as a consequence was, in 
1854, defeated for Congress by a combination of all opponents in his district. He 
then devoted himself to literary pursuits ; but, in 1856, he was nominated for Gov- 
ernor, and once more took the stump and rostrum with all his power. Vast crowds 
congregated to hear him, and great enthusiasm prevailed ; but he was defeated. In 
the presidential election of that year, he supported Buchanan against his son-in- 
law. Colonel Fremont, because he erroneously supposed the former would gives us 
an "Andrew Jackson administration," while the latter's election might increase the 
already bitter sectional animosities. 

After this he devoted himself to finishing his works already begun or planned. 
His " Thirty Years View" was completed, then his ''Abridgement of Debates in 
Congress." His review of the Dred Scott decision attracted much attention. He 
was an incessant worker. On his death-bed, even, he dictated, in a whisper, the 
final portions and some revisions of his " Debates." 

Colonel Benton married Ehzabeth, daughter of Colonel James McDowell, ofKock- 
britlge County, Virginia, by whom he had four daughters. 

He died in Washington, April 10th, 1858, of cancer of the stomach, and his body 
was buried by the side of his wife's, in the family lot at Bellefontaine Cemetery. 

Colonel Benton was a born leader, politician and statesman. His oratory was, 
when the fitting occasion demanded it, deliberate and irresistible; and he abounded 
in facts, figures, logical deductions, and historical illustrations. On the stump and 
rostrum, and in his personal encounters, he displayed, beside the above qualities, a 
wealth of wit, a raciness of humor, and a keenness, bitterness and strength of invec- 
tive, that is proverbial among his coteraporaries and their descendants. 

Among the good men who, during the first half of the present century, moulded 
the opinions of our citizens and shaped the policy of our nation, few, if anj, stand 
higher or fairer than Thomas Hart Benton ; and his name deserves a conspicuous 
place among the noble army of martyrs who laid down their lives, politically, soci- 
ally and physically, in defense of right, liberty and Union. 

WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 

situated on Washington avenue, west of Seventeenth street, was chartered in 1853, 
as " The Eliot Seminary." At the organization of the Board of Directors, Febru- 
ary 22d. 1853, William G. Eliot, D.D., was elected president, and Hon. Wayman 
Crow, to whose wise forethought is due the charter, was made vice-president, and 



ST. LOUIS. '^^^ 

$80,000 in lands and money were subscribed. At Dr. Eliot's request, Ms name was 
not used as designated in the charter, and as thej^ were assembled on the anniversary 
of Washing-ton's birthday, it was in the constitution called Washington Institute. 
One article in that constitution was as follows : 

No instruction, either sectarian in religion or partisan in politics, shall be allowed 
in any department of the University, and no sectarian or partisan test shall be used 
in the election of professors, teachers or other officers of the University; nor shall 
any such test ever be used in said University for any purposes. This article shall_ be 
undei-stood as the fundamental condition on which all endowments of whatever kind 
are received. 

Three years later, the charter was amended, making the name " Washington 
University," and incorporating the article just quoted, thus securing the Univer- 
sity forever from all danger of theological or political dissensions. 

The first teaching under this organization was under the charge of Mr. (now 
Doctor) ]Sr. D. Tirrell, and was an evening school known as the O'Fallon Polytech- 
nic Institute. 

The University was formally inaugurated, April 22d, 1857, upon which occasion 
Hon. Edward Everett delivered an oration upon " American Education." Professor 
Joseph G. Hoyt was elected Chancellor. He entered upon his duties in February, 
1859, was inaugurated the following October. 

Mary Institute was founded May 11th, 1859, and opened September of the same 
year, under the charge of Professor Edwin D. Sanborn. 

On the 19th of March, 1860, the law department of the University was established. 
The war, however, delayed the opening of this department until October, 1867. 

The first class graduated from the college in June, 1862, Chancellor Hoyt confer- 
ring the degrees. 

On the 26th of November, 1862, the University sufiered its first great loss in the 
death of Chancellor Hoyt. He died in his prime, at the age of forty-eight years. 
Chancellor Hoyt was an enthusiastic and successful teacher, a thorough scholar, a 
wise and judicious officer, a brilliant speaker, and an active, public-spirited citizen. 
Professor William Chauvenet was elected to the Chancellorship, and was formally 
inaugurated in June, 1863. 

In the summer of 1871, Professor C. M. Woodward was appointed Dean of the 
Faculty of the Polytechnic School. 

Chancellor Chauvenet was a teacher and writer of the first rank. In his death, in 
December, 1870, which was mourned throughout the continent, the University suf- 
fered another great loss. Upon Chancellor Chauvenet's death, President Eliot 
became acting Chancellor. He was afterwards elected Chancellor and formally 
inaugurated February, 1872, and has filled the position ever since. 

Washington University embraces the whole range of " University studies" except 
Medicine and Theology. It comprises five distinct departments, the three higher of 
which are equally open to both sexes. These departments, to each of which the 
people of St. Louis can now point with pride, are as follows: 

I. The Academy, in care of Professor Denham Arnold, is a most excellent clas- 
sical and English school for boys. The studies are more especially arranged for 
those who desire to enter the College or Polytechnic ?choo], and for business life. 

II. Mart Institute, although a department of the University, is in a separate 
building, and its connection with other departments is limited to a few of the ad- 
vanced classes, which receive instruction from the professors of the College or 
Polytechnic school. The course of study is quite extended, and in addition to an 



744 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

"advanced course/' the graduates of Mary lustitute have, by a recent vote of the 
directors, free admission to the College or Polytechnic School. The Institute is 
under the superintendence of Professor C. S. Peunell, who has been principal for 
the last fifteen years. The school is, and ever has been, very popular, and though 
its earlier accommodations have been doubled, they are still too small to meet the 
demand. Mary Institute is at prosent in Lucas Place, but it is shortly to be removed 
to Beaumont street, corner of Locust, where an elegant and commodious build- 
ing, with all conveniences and appliances for securing the best advantages to the 
patrons of the Institute, is now in process of erection upon spacious grounds, and 
will be ready for use at the beginning of the scholastic year of 1878-79. 

III, The College, Professor M. S. Snow, Dean, has always maintained a high 
standard of careful and thorough teaching. Especial attention is paid to the study 
of modern languages. All graduates of this department are able to read French 
and German at sight, and are trained for post-graduate study in history, literature 
and the special sciences. Greek, Latin and Mathematics, although not required 
studies after the sophomore year, can be pursued as electives throughout the course, 
and earnest endeavors are made by the Faculty to supply all the modern demands 
for a truly broad and liberal culture. The degree of Bachelor of Arts is conferred 
upon candidates who complete satisfactorily the four-years' course ; that of Ilaster 
of Arts upon graduates of three years' standing who present an approved thesis 
upon some subject of their own selection. 

IV. The Polytechnic School, since its complete organization, has been under 
the superintendence of Professor C. M. Woodward, Dean. Its growth has been 
slow, but sure. The raisings of the standards of admission, and of promotion after 
admission, have been attended with a loss of numbers ; but the gain in dignity and 
value to the remaining students has been great. The courses of study are six in 
number — five being semi-professional, while the sixth is more general, intended for 
those who do not desire a professional training, or who look forward to a later 
study of their profession. The semi-professional courses of study are: 1. Civil 
Engineering. 2. Mechanical Engineering. 3, Chemistry. 4. Mining and Metal- 
lurgy. 5. Building and Architecture. Beside the above regular courses of study, 
each one of which requires the entire time of a student for four years, instruction is 
given to special students in physics, chemistry, drawing and other branches, either 
in connection with the regular classes or by themselves. 

In drawing and design, under the care of Professor Halsey C. Ives, clearly-rlefined 
and comprehensive courses of study and practice are laid down, in which students 
are taught geometrical drawing, descriptive geometry and its application to shades, 
shadows, perspective and stereotomy, machine and architectural drawing, the 
elements of design, cast drawing, and painting. There is at present a large number 
of special students, nearly all of whom are ladies, in the classes of drawing and 
design. The excellence of the work done in this school has been proved in various 
ways. Its outfit in apparatus and working laboratories is very complete. In mental 
and manual skill, the students will bear comparison with the best. St. Louis has 
reason to be proud of its technical school. 

The degrees conferred, corresponding to the six courses of study, are : Civil En- 
gineer, Mechanical Engineer, Cliemist, Engineer of Mines, Architect, and Bachelor 
of Philosophy, A new feature has been recently added to this department, in the 
shape of a carpenter- shop and a machine-shop, Avhere students are taught the use 
of tools, and where much of the apparatus used in the school will be made by the 
students themselves. 



I 



ST. LOUIS. 745 

The special class in wood-carving, under the direction of Miss Calista Halsey^ 
is in successful operation, teaching the practical application of artistic design to 
fui'niture and household decoration. Particular attention is paid to industrial 
education. 

Though possessing separate organizations, the College and Polytechnic School are 
quite intimately connected in their daily programmes, many of the exei'cises being 
common to students of both departments. In each of these departments, very 
generous aid is offered to good stu.dents who are really in want of assistance. 

The Faculties of the" College and Polytechnic School include the following 
actively-engaged Professors : 

Wm. G. Eliot, D.D., Chancellor and Tileston (1) Professor of Political Economy. 
, Abram Litton, M.D., Miot (2) Professor of Chemistry. 

Calvin S. Pennell, A.M., Bridge (3) Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy, and 
Principal of Mary Institute. 

Sylvester Waterhouse, A.M., Collier (4) Professor of Greeh. 

C. M. Woodward, A.M., Thayer (5) Professor of Mathematics and Applied Mechanics^ 
and Dean of Polytechnic School. 

George E. Jackson, A.M., Professor of Latin. 

Marshall S. Snow, A.M., Professor of History^ and Begistrar of the College. 

"William B. Potter, A.M., E.M., Allen (5) Professor of Mining and Metallurgy. 

Denham Arnold, A.M., Professor of Physics, and Principal of the Academy. 

Charles A. Smith, C.E., Professor of Civil and Mechanical Engineering. 

John H. Jenks, M.D., Professor of Physiology and Instructor in German. 

J. K. Hosmer, A.M., Professor of English and German Literature. 

R. Thompson Bond, A.M., Professor of Mathematics. 

Francis E. J^ipher, B.Ph., Wayman Crow (7) Professor of Physics. 

Halsey C. Ives, Artist, Professor of Draining and Design. 

University professorships have recently been created and the following appoint- 
ments confirmed : 

Truman M. Post, D.D., Ancient and Modern History. 

George Engelman, M.D., Botany and Natural History . 

W. T. Harris, A.M., Philosophy of Education. 

J. T. Hogden, M.D., Anatomy and Physiology. 
• C V. Eiley, Ph.D., Entomology. 

The faculty of the Law Department comprises the following: 

Henry Hitchcock, LL.D., Professor of Peal Property Law, and Provost of the Law 
School. 

Samuel Treat, A.M., President of the Law Faculty. 

Albert Todd, A.M., Lecturer on the Law of Peal Property as applied to Conveyancing. 

Alexander Martin, A.M., Pro/essor of International Admiralty, Marine Insurance, and 
Maritime Law. 

Samuel Keber, A.M., Professor of History and Science of Law, Constitutional Law, 
Torts, Equity and Succession. 

John M. Knim, A.M.. Lecturer on Criminal Law. 

George A. Madill, A.M., Professor of Peal Property Law. 

George M. Stewart, A.M., Professor of Mercantile Law and Contracts, and Dean of the 
Law Faculty. 

Chester H. Krum, Esq., Professor of Law, Practice, Pleadings and Evidence. 

The following is the present Board of Directors of the L^niversity, the names of 
those who have been Directors from the beginning being printed in small capitals : 

William G. Eliot, President; Wayman Crow, Vice-President; John M. Krum, 
James Smith, Seth A. Ranlett, Secretary and Treasurer; George Partridge, John 
E. Shepley, Albert Todd, Henry Hitchcock, James E. Yeatman, Samuel Treat, Carlos 
S. Greeley, Eobert Campbell, John P. Collier, John T. Davis, George E. Leighton. 

The present property and endowment of the University amounts to about $750,000. 

1 In honor of Thomas Tileston, Esq., of New York Cit^. 2 In honor of Chancellor Wm. G. Eliot. 3 In 
honor of Hon. Hudson E Bridge. * In honor of Messrs .7. P. and T. F. Collier. 6 in honor of Nathaniel 
Thayer of Boston. 6 jn honor of Honorable Thomas Allen, of St. Louis. 7 in honor of Hon. Wayman 
Crow, of St. Louis. 



746 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

ST. LOUIS UNIVERSITY 

is one of the earliest educational institutions of collegitite rank in the Mississippi 
Valley, and dates back to the Territorial days of Missouri. The varying architecture 
of the new and the old buildings connected with it shows the social and artistic 
advancement of our people, and emphasize to the eye the distinctions between two 
eras, which, though not widely separated by time, are yet remote in spirit, span- 
ning, as it were, a gulf, from the opposite sides of which it looks out upon two 
civilizations. 

The two squares of ground occupied by the University were donated by Jeremiah 
Conner, in 1820. The college was founded in 1829, principally by the exertions of 
the Rev. Fathers Van Quickenborn and Verhagen, members of the Society of Jesus. 
It was incorporated in 1832, and empowered to confer degrees and academical honors 
in all the learned professions, and, generally, " to have and enjoy all the powers, 
rights and privileges exercised by literary institutions of the same rank." The first 
building, on Christy avenue, 40x50 feet, and four stories high, was begun in 1828, 
and was completed in 1829, classes beginning on November 2d of that year, with 
ten boarders and twenty-five day scholars ; and at the end of the session there were 
30 boarders and 120 externs. 

An exhibition hall, with rooms for apparatus, was erected in 1835, the building 
fronting on "Washington avenue, nearly opposite Tenth street. The church was 
completed in 1843 ; a building for dormitories and an infirmary was erected in 1845, 
fronting on Christy avenue, between Tenth and Eleventh streets. In 1849, the 
medical college on Washington avenue, between Tenth and Eleventh streets, was 
purchased, and converted into a stud3'^-hall, dormitories, etc., for the junior students, 
and a building was erected to the north of it, in 1852, for the further wants of the 
juniors. The fine building on the corner of Ninth and Washington avenue was 
begun in 1853, and was ready for use in 1855. The exhibition hall is justly consid- 
ered to be one of the most elegant in the West. It was painted in fresco by L. 
Pomarede, a St. Louis artist. The last of the buildings erected on Ninth street, 
between Washington and Christy avenues, is 96x45 feet, and contains twelve fine 
class-rooms, the Philalethic Hall, and a magnificent dormitory. 

The college posses a valuable museum, which contains a great variety of speci- 
mens, both of nature and of art, collected from various quarters of the globe. 

The library contains 23,000 volumes — embracing all branches of literature and 
science — and among them are some rare old works, published but a short time after 
the invention of the art of printing. 

The system of instruction is paternal, and the greatest harmony and kindness 
seem to be kept up between professors and students. 

Upon the resignation of President L. Bushard, in 1877, Joseph E. Keller was 
elected to, and now fills, that responsible position. About 225 students at present 
attend the University ,9 2 of whom board in the institution. 

This time-honored institution has reason to be proud of its alumni, whose promi- 
nent positions in society, and whose success in the professions as well as mercantile 
pursuits, attest equally its worth and the efficiency of its instruction and discipline. 

Over the door of the Ninth street entrance of the main building is inscribed 
simply, " St. Louis University, Founded A. D. 1829." The pile represents the 
beneficence of many individuals, and the earnest life-labor of others, distinguished 
alike for their piety and learning. 





^^^^^^Vi^ 



KANSAS CITY. 747 



KANSAS CITY 



A little more than two hnndred miles west of St, Louis, and near the 
political line that divides Missouri and Kansas, is situated, upon the 
great bend of tlie Missouri River, Kansas City, the second, city of 
the State, Its geographical location, as well as its central position in 
a vast area of country rich in productive power, at once fixes it as 
a city destined to be among the leading ones of the Mississippi Valley. 
Thus far in the history of western cities none have grown so rapidly us 
this young emporium of the valley of the Missouii. With no rival 
within three hundred miles, and. standing at the gate of a boundless 
territory, rich in agriculture, live-stock and minerals, this city is bound 
to become one of the great and prosperous business marts of the conti- 
nent. 

Kansas City is rich in history. When De Soto discovered and Mar- 
quette explored the Mississippi, Kansas City was already a flourishing 
Osage village,. and the month of the Kansas River was called home by 
the Kaw Indians. While the Spaniards under Francisco Yasques de 
Cosanado were exploring western Kansas and Colorado in the sixteenth 
century, the hardy French traders and Jesuit missionaries were advancing 
from the East. Here it was that Lewis and Clark halted for a week's 
rest in their famous expedition in 1804, and this was Zebulon M. Pike's 
point of departure for his overland trip in 1806, when he discovered and 
named Pike's Peak. The names of Father De Smet, Colonel Bonneville, 
John C. Fremont, Governor Gilpin, and Thomas H. Benton are 
inseparably interwoven with the annals of this city of marvellous growth. 
It bore a conspicuous part in the exciting events of the Kansas troubles 
of 1855-6 and figures prominently in the border warfare of 1861-2. 
The first railroad across the great plains was built from this point, and 
here was built the first bridge across the muddy Missouri. Here the 
first wind wagon launched forth and spread its sails in a futile efl:brt "to 
cross the plains to Mexico, and here F. X. Aubrey, the originator of the 
celebrated " Pony Express " over the prairies, came riding in from his 
ever-memorable " eight hundred miles in four days " ride from New 
Mexico to Missouri. 

The earliest historical mention made of the present site of Kansas City 
is found in the memoirs of Daniel Boone, Jr., who reached the "great 
bend" of the Missouri River as early as the close of the last century. 
When young Boone was but eighteen, he left his home atFort Hamilton, 
on the Big Miami, just west of Cincinnati, and, being well armed and 



748 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

mounted on an Indian pony, came west. After thirty days' travel through 
the wilderness then intervening between the Ohio and i\[ississippi, he 
reached the latter river and came up the banks to the trading post of 
St. Louis. After a sojourn of several months, this adventurous young 
man started westward on a trapping and hunting expedition. He went 
as far as the "Great American Desert" and returned to St. Louis, 
having passed by and noted the spot upon which Kansas City is now 
built. Daniel Boone himself related, just before his death, to some 
of the residents of Kansas City, the story of his son's adventures in this 
western wild. The young man, after his return to St. Louis, sent word 
to his father and many other people he had left in Kentucky and Ohio, 
that he had found a new and rich country ; and the consequence was the 
removal of Daniel Boone to Missouri. Young Boone lived many year& 
in the vicinity of Kansas City, and now lies buried a few miles south in 
the old Westport graveyard, with no mark over his resting place. While 
Daniel Boone and his family were building their cabins in Boone 
county, another family of pioneers, equally as brave and adventurous, 
left the little French village of St. Charles and made their wa^' to the 
present site of Kansas City. This was at the beginning of the present 
century, and the family alluded to is well remembered by many of the 
old settlers of western Missouri as that of Louis Grandlouis. His wife, 
Madame Grandlouis, was the first white woman to go as far west as the 
mouth of the Kansas River. She was left a widow, and as late as 1845 
lived in a loo- cabin in the bottoms near where the Union Elevator now 
stands ; but the channel of the Missouri River now sweeps over the spot. 
The Grandhniis family left St. Charles in a keel-boat and proceeded up 
the Missouri to their future home at the rate of four miles a day. At 
the end of the third month after their departure theyarrived at Randolph 
Bluffs, in the bend in the river below Kansas City. They landed their 
stores and erected their cabins for the winter, which was near at hand. 
The Osage and Kaw Indians then held undisputed sway over the terri- 
tory now included in the counties of Jackson, Cass and Lafayette. 
Many of their villages were erected on the Little Blue, just east of 
Kansas City ; which, on account of the high, rank grass found in its bot- 
tom lands, and which they used to cover their tepees or wigwams, they 
called Cabin Creek. 

Soon after the arrival of Grandlouis, as above stated, winter set in and 
the Missouri River was closed with ice, and as the whites were not per- 
mitted to enter the Indian huntins^ orrounds on the south side of the 
river, they crossed over on the ice and sought game, which was abund- 



KANSAS CITY. 749 

ant in the vicinity of Gooseneck and the mouth of Blue Creek. Al- 
th'ouo-h Madame Grandlouis was the first white woman to reach within 
view of the mouth of the Kaw, she was not the first woman to settle 
there. The Grandlouis family remained at Randolph Bluff's till the fol- 
jowino; Auoust, diirino' which time Marie Berenice Chouteau arrived 
from St. Louis and took up her abode at the trading post below the 
prese fit gas-works. Soon afterwards, Madame Grandlouis came up with 
her husband to locate at the same place, and what must have been her 
joy to find another white woman already there. The two became fast 
friends and suffered together the privations and the limited comforts of 
a lonely pioneer life. Madame Chouteau lives at this writing, but 
Madame Grandlouis died some years ago, at the age of nearly one hun- 
dred years. 

About the year 1815, a party of thirty Canadian voyageurs started up 
the Missonri River with a bateau laden with Indian goods, ammunition and 
stores. They were employed by the North American Fur Company, 
and their destination was the mouth of the then unexplored Kaw, or 
Kansas River. With that expedition went Jacques Fournais, better 
known to the people of Kansas City as " Pino." Soon after his arrival 
at the point of destination, he resolved to make it his abiding place, and 
become one of the few French settlers already there. He died in 1871, 
at the advanced age of over one hundred and twenty-four years. 

By the year 1820, a heavy emigration had set in from Kentucky, Vir- 
ginia and North Carolina to the Territory of Missouri, and the eastern 
portion of Jackson county began to fill up rapidly with white settlers. 
But while the lands in the middle of the State were being taken up antl 
improved, the French traders continued to cordel their wa}'^ up the Mis- 
souri and swell the little settlement at the mouth of the Kaw. First 
came the Grandlouises, the Prudhommes, the Chouteaus, the Sublettes 
and the Guinettes, all French traders, then the Chicks, the Campbells, 
Ransoms, Smarts, McDaniels, Jenkins, Lykins, Rice, Scarrett, McGee, 
Gilles, Mulkey, McNeis, Gregory, Troost, Hopkins, Pomeroy, and a 
chain of others equally as well known. In 1823, there were two settle- 
ments — one located on the bottom now occupied by West Kansas City, 
and known as "Kansasmouth," the other located just below the gas- 
works on the banks of the Missouri. At the latter the Chouteaus made 
their headquarters. While these two trading posts were yet enjoying the 
quietude of pioneer settlements that great commercial current which has 
since proved so great a source of wealth to the people of the United 
States and the world had already begun to shape itself. The trade of 



750 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

the Mexicos had been going to St. Louis, then to old Franklin, long 
since washed awa}^ by the restless Missouri ; and it obtained a temporarj' 
foothold at Independence. Here for ten years was the outfitting post 
for the west. It Avas during this period,- and previous to 1840, that the 
first railroad was built on Missouri soil. It was constructed from the 
river landing to the town of Independence, a distance of some miles, 
but it proved a disastrous failure, and no grade or cut is left to mark its 
course. Up to this time the rich prairie lands lying south of Independ- 
ence and Westport were left open, and considered worthless except for 
grazing grounds for the stock of the Mexican traders ; but after some 
time emigration began to flow in, these lands began to be occupied, and 
the Mexicans were crowded further west to find pasturage. Independ- 
ence began to fail, and Westport, a small village just south of Kansas 
City, began to assume some importance. A rivalry sprang up between 
Westport and Independence, and while the dispute was raging Kansas 
City gradually worked her way into favor by having the advantages of a 
good landing from the river. One by one the swarthy financiers of the 
Mexicos found their way to the little city under the hills and at the 
great bend of the Missouri. The principal merchants of those days 
were the Chicks, the Chouteaus, the Sublettes, the Gillisses and the 
Campbells. To these came such far famed Mexican traders as Colonel 
St. Vrain, Cordeno, Sam McGofiin, Colonel Bent, Delgardos, Waddell, 
Majors, Russell, Cheviez Perez and F. X. Aubrey. The names of the 
last two are associated with two notable tragedies, both interwoven with 
the history of the city. While the Mexican trade was yet in its infancy, 
Senor Chaviez Perez started' from Santa Fe to the Missouri River 
to purchase goods. The report reached the frontiers that Perez was 
bringing with him an enormous amount of silver. A party of lawless 
characters was organized in the vicinity of Kansas City, and went out on 
the prairies to meet the incoming treasure. They had not proceeded 
very far south of Westport when the Mexicans were sighted. The land 
pirates dashed down upon their victims, and Perez, with a number of his 
companions, was brutally murdered. The teamster having the bulk of 
the treasure in his wagon started off at breakneck speed, full of mortal 
wounds, towards the timbered region bordering along the stream known 
as Bio' Blue. He drove his team pell-mell into the creek, and, in cross- 
ing, the "end gate" of his wagon came out, and the money, some $30,- 
000, was lost in the water. The robbers failed to find their booty, but 
it is said that many years afterwards a number of Mexican dollars were 
found by farmers when the Big Blue was at a very low stage. Some of 



KANSAS CITY. 751 

the perpetrators of the crime were captured and afterwards hung in the 
city of St. Louis. Tliere was more of romance about the life and 
fate of Aubrey, who was named at tlie beginning of tliis chapter as the 
hero of the most wonderful feat of horsemanship on record — the riding 
of eight hundred miles in four days. He was a Canadian Scotchman, 
and came to St. Louis fiom Toronto, about 1840. He was about twenty- 
seven years of age and possessed of the hardy characteristics of a true 
Scotchman, spiced with the habits of frontier life. He came to St. Louis 
with about two thousand dollars in money, and by his gentlemanly ap- 
pearance and good address, backed by unquestionable references, ob- 
tained credit for an equal amount in Indian goods and Mexican merchan- 
dise. He made his first purchase from Eugene Kelly and Robert Camp- 
bell & Co. His investment proved profitable, and on his return in the 
fbllowing fall he came loaded with Mexican silver. He loaded his treas- 
ure on the little steamer lone, at the foot of the levee at Kansas City, 
and returned to St. Louis. In May, 1841, he again landed at Kansas 
City and loaded up sixteen wagons with his goods for Mexico. He con- 
tinued to prosper until his last train numbered seventy-four wagons, 
each drawn by eight Mexican mules. Soon after arriving at Santa Fe 
with this immense stock of merchandise, he made a wager of $1,000 that 
he could ride from the plaza of Santa Fe to Kansas City, a distance of 
eight hundred miles, in four days. The wnger was accepted, and he 
started amid the vivas of his Mexican friends. Day after day he rode, 
taking a fresh horse as occasion required, and successfully achieved his 
triumph in three hours less than the time given. He was the lion of the 
day in Kansas City and St. Louis, and like all heroes met with those 
who envied him his honors. Among those who made unfriendly criti- 
cism of Aubrey was Richard H. Weightman, a Kansas City journalist. 
Aubrey met Weightman in a saloon and asked him to drink with him. 
The invitation was accepted, but instead of drinking, Aubrey threw the 
liquor in his glass into Weightraan's face. As soon ^s Weightman re- 
covered from the surprise and blinding effect of the whiskey, he drew a 
knife and stabbed Aubrey to the heart. Thus died one of the great 
•freighters of the olden time, and thus ended the life of the originator of 
the famous " Pony Express." Weightman became a confederate soldier 
at the opening of the late war, and died at the head of his brigade at the 
battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri, within a few hundred yards of where 
General Lyon fell. 

The fl.ood of 1844 came, and swept away both villages that composed 
all there was of Kansas City, and became the real founder of the present 



752 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUBl. 

city. There had been an unprecedented fall of snow during the winters 
of 1843-4, and when it began to melt and pour down the Upper Missouri 
heavy rains began to fall, which lasted until what is known as the " June 
rise." The consequence was a flood, the like of which has never before 
been known in the history of the Western country. All the old settle- 
ments in the Kansas and Missouri bottoms were destroyed. The water 
extended from the bluffs upon which Kansas City is built to the range of 
hills on the other side, a distance of several miles. All that laud upon 
which West Kansas City is now built was covered with water fifteen feet 
deep. The steamboat " Missouri Mail," which happened to come up 
at the time, rounded to alongside what was then called the Chouteau 
Mansion and ran her gangway plank into one of the second-story win- 
dows. The bottom lands were rendered almost worthless by an immense 
deposit of clay and sand, and by the cutting of deep ravines through the 
loose soil. The flood lasted two weeks, and all the settlers were driven 
back to the highlands. Many were completely broken up, and left the 
country utterly dispirited. But from that day Kansas City began to grow, 
and a misfortune became a blessing:. 

The first incorporation of the town of Kansas was made in 1839, 
but in the recorded description of the town site some glaring errors 
were made, and, upon their subsequent discovery, the incorporation was 
declared null and void. A new company was organized, and the town 
was incorporated under the auspices of the following gentlemen : Hiram 
M. Northrup, Jacob Kagan, John C. McCoy, Henry Jobe, Wm. Gillis, 
Eobert Campbell, Fry P. McGee, W. B. Evans and W. M. Chick. The 
first recorded sale of lots bears the date of May, 1839, when the follow- 
ing lots were sold in " Old Town" : To W. B. Evans, lot 1, $15'5 ; lot 
48, $144.80. To J. H. McGee, lot 3, $70. To F. Kleber, lot 5, $52. 
To J. C. McCoy, lot 10, $200 ; lot $24, $80. To J. Eagan, lot 26, $32 ; 
lot 81, $62. They were sold on six years' time, with interest at ten per 
cent. From the year 1839 to 1846 no entry was made on the town com- 
pany's books. On the 30th day of April, 1846, another sale is recorded 
in which one hundred and twenty-four lots were sold, mostly to different 
individuals, at prices ranging from $25 to $341, W. M. Chick paying 
the highest price. On Monday, July 19, 1847, the shareholders of the 
town p]-oceeded to draw lots and divide up the remaining property. A 
second drawing was held at Chick's old loo- ware-house on the levee in 
September following. May 3, 1847, Fry P. McGee was elected Collec- 
tor for the " Town of Kansas," being the first oflScer chosen for official 
duty in the young city. In the following record we find the first men- 




^ J .f (KOlotX^ 



KANSAS CITY. 753 

tion of a newspaper : '' May 8, 1847, at a meeting of the proprietors of 
Kansas, present Wm. Gillis (3 shares,) W. B. Evans, Fry P. McGee, 
John C. McCoy and Henry Jobe. On motion of Wm. Gillis, Wm. b! 
Evans acted as chairman. On motion of J. C. McCoy, Lott ' Coffman's 
account for taking acknowledgments of deeds and power of attorney, was 
ordered paid out of the funds on hand, $9.50. On motion of T. P. 
McGee, it was ordered that we make another sale of lots to commence 

on the day of , and that the sum of $20 be appropriated to 

printing handbills and advertising in the " Western Expositor." 

From the year 1847 to 1852, few events of importance transpired in 
the history of Kansas City. The cholera plague came in 1849, and the 
first day swept away thirty victims out of a population of three hundred 
A colony of Mormons, camped on O K Creek, near the southern limits of 
the present city, was almost exterminated. People died so rapidly that 
coffins could hardly be supplied fast enough to meet the requirements of 
the dead. All who could leave did so, and the town was almost depop- 
ulated. The flood had come in 1844 and scourged the place, and now 
the plague had breathed out its death-dealing contagion with stil.l more 
fatal results. It was a terrible shock, but the advantages of the 
location combined to assert themselves, and in May, 1853, a proclamation 
was posted on the trees and at the crossroads, stating that there was to 
be an election of Mayor and Aldermen for the " City of Kansas" on 
the first Monday in April. This proclamation was signed by Lott Cofl"- 
man, Thompson McDaniels, Benoist Troost ; and in the six copies so 
posted upon trees, walls and fences, it was announced that John M 
Eichardson had granted a charter to the " City of Kansas " The first 
city election was held on the first Monday in April, 1853, at which sixty- 
five votes were polled. Wm. Gregory, the Whig candidate, received 
56 votes, and D. Benoist Troost, the Democratic candidate, 27 votes. 
The council was Democratic and was composed of the followino- men • 
Johnston Lykins, Thos. H. West, Wm. G. Barclay, Thompson McDan- 
iels and M. J. Payne. Messrs. John C. McNeis and Alfred Dale each 
received 26 votes for Councilman. M. B. Hedges was elected City Mar- 
shal. The judges of the election were Thomas Wolf, Lott Coff'man and 
J . P. Howe. In those days the council meetings were held quarterly, on 
the second Mondays of April, July, October and January. At the first 
meeting of the Council the following officers were nominated by the 
f T' w t^"^^ confirmed : City Eegister, J. W. Simmons ; Assessor, 
t5 J ' T^^*^''^^"^^^'' P- M. Chouteau, who held the same office in 
1876. The revenue of the city for the first year was placed at $5,000. 
48 



754 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

At the meeting of the Council, April 29th, 1853, a resolution was passed 
calling on the " Old Town " company to settle up and turn over all sur- 
plus funds to the City Government. In compliance with this demand, 
Samuel Geir, the former town Treasurer, delivered to Treasurer Chou- 
teau the sum of $7.22. 

One of the tirst acts of the new city government was to invite Thomas 
H. Benton to visit the place and address the people. The Mayor, ac- 
companied by Messrs. M. J. Payne, and Wm. G. Barclay, pro- 
ceeded down the river to Randolph Bluffs and there met the steamer 
that was bringing the illustrious statesman. A halt was made and the 
party landed and proceeded to the top of the bluff, from whence a 
fine view of the young city and the great bend of the Missouri could 
be obtained. Pointing to the hills, now covered with the houses of a 
busy city, but then dressed in the wild verdure of a primitive forest, he 
said : " There, gentlemen, where that rocky blufi* meetsand turns aside 
the sweeping current of this mighty river; there where the Missouri, 
after running its southward course for nearly two thousand miles, turns 
eastward to the Mississippi, a large commercial and manufacturing com- 
munity will congregate, and less than a generation will see a great city 
on those hills." The people of Kansas City take much pride in referring 
to this remarkable prophecy, and also to that of John C. Fremont, who, 
passing here as early as 1842, said : " This is the key to the immense 
territory west of us." Both these men looked far into the future, and 
their wisdom has already been vindicated by the presence of a city of 
nearly fifty thousand inhabitants . 

When the war broke out, Kansas City had a population of near seven 
thousand, but at the close of the terrible conflict the number had dwin- 
dled down to perhaps five thousand. It suffered from the ravages of 
war, as every other place did situated in a territory subject to the continual 
invasion of contending forces. The war closed in the spring of 1865, 
and in October of that year, the first raih^oad, the Missouri Pacific, reached 
Kansas City. This was the opening of a new era, and on that day the 
marvelous growth began. 

THE KANSAS CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

were organized August 1st, 1867, when the Board of Education was com- 
posed of Messrs. W. E. Sheffield, president; H. C. Kumpff, secretary; 
J. A. Bachman, treasurer; Ed. H. Allen, T. B. Lester, M. D., and E. 
H. Spalding. This Board of Education found 2,150 children of school 
age within the city limits, but they found nothing bearing the name of 



KANSAS CITY. 



755 



*'school-house," and not a dollar available for school purposes. Some 
deserted dwellings, unoccupied storerooms and church basements were 
secured and scantily furnished ; a superintendent was appointed, and six- 
teen teachers employed, and the schools formally opened in October. 

Many difficulties were to be contended with. A powerful element in 
the community was then averse to free schools, and put forth a bold and 
defiant opposition. The unparalleled growth of the city largely increased 
the school population, but did not, in a corresponding degree, increase 
the value of taxable property for their education ; and bonds were issued 
for a building fund. A course of study was adopted, grounds purchased 
and school-houses erected, and a broad foundation laid for a liberal 
system of education. 

It was not until 1870 that the school system was crystalized into form 
Before this the work had been irregular, and classification and ..radino- 
mipossible. The Board, by unremitting labor, and by the advanc'^e made 
m traimng of both teachers and scholars, were enabled to establish a 
more thorough and complete schedule. The teachers were required to 
adhere as closely as possible to the tabular course of study; and history 
and physiology were for the first time incorporated in the list of instruc- 
tion. During this year the first published report of the schools was 
made by J. E. Phillip, superintendent. 

The Board of Education, early in the history of the schools, decided 
to exclude everything of a partisan or sectarian bias, and to secure the 
best teachmg talent available for the salary offered. To this course 
ever since steadily pursued, is to a very considerable degree due the' 
great success of the Kansas City schools. In the fall of 1872, the enroll- 
ment of children of school age had risen from 2,150 to 8,303 and the 
pupils were taught in nine school buildings, erected and furnished at a 
cost of $230,000. 

The following summary of statistics will show the progress of the 
schools since their organization : 



Date. 



1867. 
1868. 
1869. 
1870. 
1871. 
1872. 
1873. 
1874. 
1875. 
1876. 
1877. 



Booms owned Teachers em- 
by District. ployed. 



Children enumerated 



4 
12 
29 
37 
52 
54 
55 
61 
61 
62 



16 
21 
35 
42 
50 
57 
56 
58 
60 
61 



2,150 

3,287 

3,780 

4,046 

5,850 

6,198 

6,636 

7,738 

8,144 

7,126* 

8,300 



Pupils enrolled. 



.we:?;,'srvsi&.?ss5t;i™iji^^ 



2,180 
4,084 
3,866 
4,042 
4,138 
4,164 
4,262 
4,267 
4,334 



the ages of six and 



KANSAS CITY. 757 

The Board of Education now, December, 1877, consists of J. V. C. 
Karns, president ; Henry Switzer, secretary ; James Craig, treasurer 
and financial agent; C. A. Chace, E. L. Martin and E. L. Hunt. The 
two last named have been mayors of Kansas City, and Messrs. Karns 
and Craig have been members since 1869, when they were first elected. 

The Course of Study extends over a period of thirteen years, com- 
mencing with the lowest grade in the Primary Department and terminat- 
ins: at o^raduation from the Central Hio;h School. Each year's work is 
complete in itself. The foundation for accurate and practical scholar- 
shijD is laid in the lower grades, and the work is so arranged that the 
last year's work of the course is proportionally no more difi3.cult than the 
first, or in the intermediate grades. 

Classification and Promotion. — From the time the pupil enters 
the lowest grade in the ward school, until he completes the course in the 
Central High School, he must pass over seven years' work. It does not 
follow that seven years will be required to complete this work. It is 
frequently done in much less time, and sometimes takes longer. 

The Teachers' Institute meets on the last Saturday of each month 
during the school term, in the Central High School, and is, besides 
being the source of much profit to the teachers from meeting each other, 
also the most effective agency at the superintendent's command through 
which to communicate his plans of instruction and discipline to the teach- 
ers, by which to simplify and harmonize the movement of the different 
departments . 

Superintendents. — Prof. J. E. Phillip was elected to this position 
in 1868 and held the office till he resigned in July, 1874. J. M. Green- 
wood, Professor of Mathematics, Astronomy and Philosophy in the 
North Missouri Normal School, was chosen his successor, and has ever 
since had, and now has, charge of the schools. Prof. Greenwood occu- 
pies the first rank as a thorough mathematician and general scholar ; he 
is a careful, industrious and progressive student; a practical, efficient 
and successful teacher, and an energetic and popular superintendent. 

The Public School Library, which is an excellent one for its di- 
mensions, has been established and maintained, and is having a healthy 
and rapid growth, through the efforts of the Board of Education and the 
efficient superintendent, Prof. Greenwood. 

THE BOARD OF TRADE. 

The great development of trade in the early part of 1876, rendered a 
change in the form of this organization and better accommodations 
necessary. The Board was reorganized and incorporated under the State 



758 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

laws in May, memberships were changed from annual to permanent and 
made transferable, the fee being $100, and about one hundred members 
received. 

The plan, of which this was but a part, embraced also the erection of 
a suitable exchange building. In June, ground on the corner of Fifth and 
Delaware streets was purchased, plans of building adopted, and in 
August the construction begun. The ground cost $15,700 and the build- 
ing about $45,000. The balance of funds, above the membership fees, 
required for this investment was secured partly by loans from members 
— $10,000 having been procured in that way — and partly from other 
parties. 

The building is a substantial brick structure, with sandstone ornamen- 
tation, sixty by one hundred and thirty-seven feet, three stories high, in- 
cluding the basement, which stands fidly seven feet out of the ground. 
The basement and tirst story is divided into offices, and contains twenty- 
eight offices, which will be occupied by members at an annual rental that 
will provide for all expenditures on account of the building and also for 
the loans. The exchange hall and offices for the officers of the Board will 
be in the upper story. 

In other respects the Board has been equally prosperous. A Call 
Board was organized in June, and has since been in successful operation, 
with rapidly increasing attendance and intere'st. So far, grain only has 
been sold on call, but it is proposed soon to add provisions, flour and 
produce. 

KANSAS CITY STOCK YARDS. 

In noticing the attractive and peculiar features about the Kansas City 
Stock Yards, the mind naturally reverts back to the past, and vainly en- 
deavors to draw a comparison in some way between the marvelous cattle 
trade of the " New West" and that of " ye olden times," when Smith- 
field and Spitalfields cattle markets fed all civilized Europe, and when 
New York and Philadelphia depended upon the small farm herds brows- 
ing upon the hills of Connecticut, New Jersey, and Eastern New York. 
It is vain to attempt to find a suitable comparison for the immensity ot 
the trade or the perfect system by which it is conducted. For instance, 
how v^ould it sound to hear it announced that 52,000 head of cattle had 
been sold in the Kansas City Stock Yards during a year? Yet this was 
a big year's trade in 1857, and one which the press was proud to record. 
Now, one month's sales more than exceed that number, and no one 
regards it as anything worthy of remark. A late statistical work of high 



KANSAS CITY. 759 

authority, gives the live stock trade in Kansas City during the year 
1857, which was one of the best seasons, in these figures : Horses, 
mules and oxen, 14,700; cattle, 52,000 head; total value, $2,201,200. 
Compare these figures with those of the year 1875, when the Kansas 
City Stock Yards alone handled in the neighborhood of two hundred 
thousand head of cattle, not to speak of the immense hog trade done 
through the same yards. Why Kansas City became the permanent head- 
quarters of the Western live stock trade, is a question which "Dame 
Nature " herself should be called upon to explain. It is true that capi- 
tal and enterprise have done much to concentrate this business at this 
point; but there was something besides those two requisites, which did 
far more than all other influences combined. It was Kansas City's 
geographical location. Here was the nearest and the best shipping point 
between the o-reat bufitilo-grazino; o-rounds of Texas and the Indian Nation ; 
and here the great herds from a 10,000 miles square of grazing grounds 
came together for assortation and sale. As early as 1865, when Texas 
was flooded with fat beeves which the war had cut ofi* from market, then, 
even at that early day, the eyes of expectant cattle-dealers turned north- 
ward towards the Missouri River, as the only natural market for their 
accumulated herds of five j^ears previous. 

The Natural Point for Stock Yards. — Prior to 1866 every effort had 
been made by the cattle men of Texas to find a market for their herds 
«;^a Galveston, New Orleans, Shreveport and other points in the South. 
The idea ©f finding a natural outlet north did not suggest itself until 
1866, when efforts were made by stock men to market their herds at 
Sedalia, Mo. They were repelled and driven back from Missouri, from 
Baxter Springs, Chetopa, and, in fact, from all the settled sections of 
Western Missouri and Kansas. Then efforts were made to establish 
shipping points for the marketable beef of Texas. Abilene, Baxter 
Springs, Chetopa, Ellsworth, and even Denver, each presented claims to 
being the natural shipping point. It is true every facility was offered 
them ; each possessed all the requisite " range" for the herds, but they 
lacked what Kansas City possessed, the all-requisite recommendation of 
geographical location. Each possessed railroad communication to Kansas 
City, some of them to Leavenworth and Atchison, but it was left to ex- 
perience to show to the stock men of the great Western grazing grounds, 
as well as the traders and commission men of the East, that the door- 
way between the immense grazing grounds and cattle fields of Texas, 
Colorado, Kansas and Wyoming, — that the beef market of the world 
was at the mouth of the Kansas River. This point was discovered by 



760 



GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 



the keen perception of the few who conceived the idea of building stock 
yards at Kansas City. It is true they were laughed at by the skeptical 
and incredulous Avhen they proposed to establish cattle yards at this 
point. It was considered so very remote from " range," so difficult of 
access, and in such an inaccessible location, bounded, as it was, by 
rivers upon two sides and a city upon another, that for a time it met 
with anything but encouragement. The events of the past few years 
have shown how well the judgment and foresight of the founders of the 
Kansas City Stock Yards have been verified. Commencing in 1871, when 




The Kansas City Live Stock Exchange. 

the cattle trade of the West was scattered all over a vast area of coun- 
try, the founders of the yards proceeded to lay the foundation of a system 
of stock yards from which half the world draws its supply of beef, and 
upon which the nations of Europe rely for the supply of their immense 
army and navy commissariats. The founding of these stock-yards drew 
together and concentrated all the scattered interests at one point. The 
new railroad bridge over the Missouri River — the first bridge built over 
that turbulent stream — off"ered this only direct outlet to Chicago and the 
Eastern markets. The success of this stock-yard venture has been more 
than even the most sanguine of its founders expected. Purchasing only 
thirty-five acres of land, upon the western verge of the State, and 






#*** *, 



.c^: 





-^1^ 



KANSAS CITY. 761 

encompassed on three sides by water, railroad or corporation limits, tliey 
expected that this would meet every demand for years to come. The 
first four years have not only given the Kansas City Stock Yards 
supremacy in the West as a cattle mart, but have made it one of the 
principal cattle markets of the United States. 

Five years ago, June 1st, the Kansas City Stock Yard Company threw 
open its gates for the first time, and that all may be enabled to glean some 
idea of the amazing progress Kansas City has made since then as a 
live stock market — its birth as such a market being coincident with 
the opening of the yards — the following statistics of the stock, as taken 
November 1st, 1877, from the official records, by the assistant secretary of 
the yards, are here given : Cattle, 1,118,621 head ; hogs, 723,971 head ; 
sheep, 89,388 head; horses, 18,782 head— a grand total of 1,950,762 
head. The range of territory from which Kansas City must certainly 
obtain a yearly increasing supply has, within a year or two, by the con- 
struction of interior railwa}^ lines, and the growth and development of 
the country traversed by them, been made to include Texas, Kansas, 
Colorado and Indian Territory. Practically, until within the last year, 
her almost entire dependence for cattle supply was on the Texas driver. 
Local afflicting causes, drouth, and the grasshopper ravage, joined to 
the generally existing commercial decline, have depressed the yield (and 
still do, though with much less operating effect) from her territory of 
natural supply, Kansas and Colorado. In the year quoted, 1875, the 
bulk of the cattle on the Texas trail were what is known as " contract" 
cattle — driven to Wyoming, Nebraska and Northern Colorado, for the 
filling of Indian contracts. 

It is due to these causes that the receipts of 1875 show a falling off 
from those of the three previous years, and under all the depressing cir- 
cumstances the vitality and extent of the trade are the most convincing 
assurance of the permanency and yearly increasing importance of Kansas 
City as a live stock market. The stock-yards and grounds of Kansas 
City have, during the present season, undergone marked improvements, 
now nearly completed ; the chief of which is the erection of a fine stock 
exchange building, having a frontage of 105 feet by 127 feet length east 
and west, three floors, with Mansard roof. Its cost of construction was 
$35,000. A cut of the building appears in connection with this article. 
Aside from its spacious exchange hall it contains the offices of the stock- 
yard company, those of the First National and Mastin's Branch 
Banks, and of twenty-four different live-stock commission firms, together 
with restaurant, saloon, barber-shop, bath-room, etc. The acreage of 



762 GEEAT CITIES AISTD TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

the grounds has been mcreased to one hundred acres, thirty of 
which are covered with cattle-pens and hog-houses. A race track has 
also been established. The Kansas City Stock Yards present a daily 
scene of life, animation and business activity, in kind if not in degree, 
not unlike the famous stock yards of Chicago, and a similar general com- 
parison of the prosperity of this interest at the two cities would not be 
inapt. 

The ground upon which the yards are located is as level as a well-laid 
floor, and has a subsoil beneath it sandy and porous, which never becomes 
very muddy. This piece of land, which nature herself seems to have de- 
signed and men laid ont for extensive stock yards, is divided into a 
series of square stock pens, laid ofi'into blocks, divided like a city into 
roads and lanes, through which the cattle are driven to and from the 
€ars. The division fences between these lots or "pens" are capped 
with a broad board, upon which the cattle dealers walk while buying 
and selling stock. They walk backward and forward upon this narrow 
piece of pine with the same ease and agility that the acrobat and trapeze; 
performer walks a tight rope. The hog and sheep sheds built this year 
will hold fifty-seven cars of stock, and are models of neatness. It is the 
intention of the management to increase the number of sheds as fast as 
the trade demands it. The water and feeding facilities of the Kansas 
City Stock Yards are as perfect as the judgment of experienced stock 
men can make them. Up to the summer of 1875, water was pumped by 
steam machinery and run through each of the stock pens ; but during the 
last year the National Waterworks system was introduced into the yards, 
and the cattle, hogs and sheep supplied at any and all times with an abun- 
dance of pure, fresh water. This is a great recommending feature to stock 
men. The facilities for handling stock possessed by these yards are un- 
surpassed, and it might be said unequalled by any in the world. The weigh- 
ing facilities are much improved by the addition of a new 80,000-pound: 
Fairbanks scale, put in this year. The scale house is a nice wood struct- 
ure, and contains the offices of the yard master, shipping master, weigh 
master and feed master. The old scales and scale house have been re- 
moved to the hog sheds, to be used for weighing hogs and sheep only. 
The yards are reached by the Missouri Eiver, Fort Scott & Gulf Rail- 
road, the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston, and the Atchison, To- 
peka & Santa Fe Railroad, from the south and southwest, by a track 
from the south running along the east and west sides of the stock-yards. 
On the north side, the Missouri Pacific, Kansas Pacific, Hannibal and 
St. Joseph, St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern, and the Kansas City, 



KANSAS CITY. 



763 



St. Joe & Council Bluffs railroads, load and unload their live freight. 
This loading and unloading is done with the same care, ease and dispatch, 
that a "bus" load of frail and fragile humanity can be unloaded at 
the Union Depot. 

The local officers of the Kansas City Stock Yard Company are : 
•Geo. H. Nettleton, general manager; L. Y. Morse, superintendent, and 
E. E. Eichardson, assistant treasurer and assistant secretary. 

We take pleasure in presenting brief biographical sketches of a few of 
the representative citizens of Kansas City and the neighboring town of 
Independence. 

JAMES W. L. SLAYENS 

was born in Putnam county, Indiana, August 3d, 1838. His grandparents were from 
Virginia and Kentuckj'-, his parents being uatives of the latter State. His early years 
were spent upon his father's farm, where he worked and attended the country 
school, the advantages of which he so well used that at the age of seventeen he en- 
tered the " Indiana Asbury University " at Green Castle, where he took a classical 
<;ourse, and from which he graduated in the first rank of scholarship in 1859. He 
was the same year married to Miss Mattie McNutt, of Douglas county, Illinois, to 
which locality he moved and commenced life as a farmer, by purchasing, upon time, 
a tract of Illinois Central Eailroad land on the " raging O'Kaw " near the county 
seat, where he settled, and where he spent two years of hard labor. His days were 
given to fencing, " breaking up," reaping, etc., while his evenings and spare hours 
were devoted to reading law. 

He placed his partiallj'-subdued farm in the hands of a tenant, and proceeded to 
the University Law School, from which he graduated in the class of 1861, and settled 
in the county seat and there commenced the practice of his profession. 

Ill 1862, Mr. Slavens entered the army with the Illinois troops and served three 
years, mainly in the subsistence department; the last year upon the staflf of General 
George H. Thomas, as staff and issuing commissary. At the close of the war, and 
upon his honorable discharge from his military service, he, in the fall of 1865, re- 
moved with his family to Kansas City, Missouri, where he engaged in the real estate 
business and where he has since resided. 

Mr. Slavens was, in 1867, elected to the responsible and honorable position of City 
Treasurer of Kansas City. 

About the same time, he entered the business of beef and pork packing, being a 
pioneer in that line, in which he has been uniformly successful, and in which he 
has done much to build up and maintain the enviable reputation of Kansas City as 
& live stock market and packing center. 

Mr. Slavens is known and recognized as a safe and sound as well as an energetic, 
enterprising, public-spirited business man, of unquestioned integrity and unimpeach- 
able character. He is blessed with a competency of this world's goods, surrounded 
by a housefuU of interesting children, among whom he spends his happiest hours. 
He is a member of the Masonic and Good Templars orders, a prominent member of 



764 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

the Methodist Episcopal Church, and, in 1872, he represented Missouri as a lay dele- 
gate in the General Conference Avhich met at Brooklyn, N. Y. 

In the spring of 1877, Mr. Slavens was elected Mayor of Kansas City, as the nom- 
inee of the Kepublican party, but with the support, largely, of the business men as well 
as the laboring class, regardless of party. 

Mr. Slavens is just entering the prime of life, with advantages such as few men 
have given them or could wisely use. With vigorous health, large and vai'ied expe- 
rience, intellectual and business capacity, a material competencj^, surrounded by a 
happy family, commanding the esteem and respect of his fellow citizens and the 
aflfection of those more closely connected, his opportunities and duties are great, 
and we predict he will wisely use the former and honestly perform the latter. 



SAMUEL LOCKE SAWYER. 

was born at Mount Vernon, Hillsborough county, N. H., November 27th, 1813. His 
father, Aaron F. Sawyer, was a prominent lawyer, who for several sessions repre- 
sented his town in the State Legislature. His mother, Hanna Locke, was a grand- 
daughter of ex-President Locke, of Harvard University. After receiving the ordi- 
nary common-school education, 5^oung Samuel fitted for college at Kimball Union 
Academy, at Meriden, N. H. ; entered Dartmouth College in 1829, and graduated 
with honor in 1833, He commenced reading law with his father, continued his 
studies in Massachusetts, and was admitted to the bar in his native county in 1836. 

Looking to the West as a promising field, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1837, 
where he remained one year, teaching school and continuing his law studies. He re- 
moved to Lexington, Missouri, in 1838, and was for eighteen months chief clerk for 
E. M. Eyland, Receiver of Public Moneys. In 1839 he formed a partnership with 
the then distinguished lawyer, Charles French, which continued harmonious until 
the latter retired from the pi'ofession in 1855, when Mr. Sawyer entered into a law 
partnership with the late P. C. Sharp, which was terminated two years later by Mr. 
Sharp's removal to St. Louis. In 1857 he formed a partnership with Lee J. Sharp, 
which was also closed by the latter's removal to St. Lou'is. 

On December 23d, 1841, Mr. Sawyer was married to Miss Mary M , daughter of 
Capt. Thomas Callaway, residing near Lexington, where he settled on his removal 
from Campbell county, Virginia, in 1836. This union was blessed with five children, 
three of whom are still living: Aaron P. Sawyer, now cashier of Chrisman, Sawyer 
& COj's Banking House, Independence; Fannie, wife of W. L. McCoy, Esq., and 
Thomas C. Sawyer, who is now associated in business with Mr. McCoy, at Mary- 
ville. Mo. 

Mr. Sawyer was, in 1848, the Whig candidate for and elected Circuit Attorney for 
the Sixth Judicial Circuit, comprizing six counties and usually giving 1,000 Demo- 
cratic majority. He gave such general satisfaction that he was re-elected in 1852 
without opposition. In February, 1861, Mr. Sawyer was chosen as a Conservative 
Unionist to the Constitutional Convention, in which he opposed secession, heartily en- 
dorsing the Crittenden compromise ; and failing to secure such a settlement he favored 
the South. In February, 1863, Mr. Sawyer formed a law partnership with Wm. 
Chrisman, of Independence, and in 1866 moved to the latter place, where he has since 
resided. He became a member of the banking house of Stone, Sawyer & Co. in 
1868, which was in 1869, on the death of Mr. Stone, changed to its present form of 
Chrisman, Sawyer & Co. 





I 



tl .' 



(^U(^. 



KANSAS CITY. 



765 



Mr. Sawyer was, in 1871, elected Judge of the 24th (Jackson county) Judicial 
Circuit, where he displayed such ability and gave such unqualified satisfaction, that 
he received the very unusual and most flattering endorsement of a nomination by 
both political parties, and was unanimously re elected in 1874. 

His arduous duties and consequent labor and confinement so impaired Judge 
Sawyer's health, that he felt compelled to resign his position, which he did March 
1st, 1876. 

The resolutions by the Jackson County Bar not only show the estimation in which 
Judge Sawyer is held by his professional associates, but also reflect the feeling of 
the entire community. After reciting the sympathy of the bar with Judge Sawyer 
in his failing health, with hopes for its speedy restoration by rest, they speak of 
him as — 

" One whose courtesy, urbanity and patience, and whose equal and impartial jus- 
tice to all, had never been excelled in their knowledge of professional or judicial 
experience. 

"That, after his restoration to health the bar and his country may for many years 
be beneficiaries of his richly-stored mind from a higher and more extended sphere. 

" That the patient industry, the untiring devotion and legal acumen exhibited by 
him in disposing of the unparalleled number of cases on his docket, involving the 
most complicated and intricate questions of law and of the greatest pecuniary im- 
portance, giving satisfaction to all parties concerned, command our unqualified ad- 
miration, of not only his conscientious discharge of his duties, but of his abilities as 
a lawyer and jurist." 

Upon resigning the judgeship, Mr Sawyer withdrew from the profession and de- 
voted his time and energies to business pursuits. 

Judge Sawyer has been particularly fortunate in all his partnerships, in that they 
have been prosperous in their continuance and pleasant in their termination. He 
now enjoys that easy independence which gives him abundant capital and credit to 
prosecute such business enterprises as he may choose and the leisure to pursue such 
lines of thought and study as his ripe scholarship and extended reading may sug- 
gest and render desirable. This, with the proud satisfaction of commanding the un- 
bounded and unqualified confidence and esteem of his former professional associates 
and his business correspondents, as well as of his neighbors and the entire commu- 
nity, gives him a position that may well be the ambition of any American citizen. 



WILLIAM HOLMES 

was born in Harrison county, Kentucky, March 2d, 1814. His grand-parents on 
both sides of the house were of that peculiarly strong race known as the Scotch- 
Irish, and at an early day emigrated to Virginia, where Thomas Holmes and Jane 
Vance, the father and mother of William Holmes, were born. Both families moved 
to Kentucky when William's parents were children. Thomas Holmes, who was one 
of a family of fifteen, married at the age of twenty, his wife, Jane Vance, being 
then twenty-one years old. They lived a long and peculiarly happy life, and died 
within a few days of each other, one aged eighty-two and the other eighty-three years. 
Young William spent his boyhood days upon his father's farm in Kentucky, where 
his facilities for education were exceedingly slender and precarious, consisting of 
three months' district- school in the log house in the winter season. He was passion- 
ately fond of reading, so that during the long winter evenings, by the aid of his 
" pine light," he devoured every book that fell into his hands. The habit of reading 



766 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

and study, thus early acquired, has been continued ever since, and has made ample 
amends for any lack of early training and advantages, for Judge Holmes is not only 
a well-read and finished scholar, but has a freedom of range in thinking, and a ver- 
satility and force of expression, often lacking in the college bred man who is ham- 
pered by the methods, forms and techniques of the schools. 

At the age of twentj'', William went into a wholesale and retail grocery store in 
Augusta, Kentucky ; but a few years' experience convinced him that merchandising 
was not his calling in life, and he returned to his father's farm. 

On January 22d, 1836, he was married to Miss Laura Ingraham, who is still liv- 
ing, in vigorous health. This union was blessed with seven children, of whom the 
two oldest, a sou and a daughter, survive ; the others having died in childhood. 

In the spring of 1836, Mr. Holmes emigrated to Missoui'i, settling upon a farm in 
Monroe county, five miles northwest of Palmyra. Finding that farming was neither 
congenial nor lucrative, he commenced to read law in the office of Samuel T, Glover, 
then of Palmyra, and now a leading lawyer of St. Louis; and in September^ 
1839, was licensed to practice by the Supreme Court, then composed of Judges 
McGirk, Tompkins and Napton. He moved to Shelbyville, Missouri, and soon 
secured an enviable rank in his profession, with the consequent share of practice. 

In September, 1840, Mr. Holmes united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
and, under a firm conviction of a call to preach the Gospel, he entered the Missouri 
Conference as a minister, and at the session of 1842, held at Jefferson City, he was 
appointed to the Waterloo Circuit, embracing Clark county, Missouri, where he 
labored two years. He was successively appointed to Monticello, St. Charles, Glas- 
gow and St. Joseph, at each of which places he gave such entire satisfaction that he 
changed localities only because the law of the Church forbade his remaining longer. 
From St. Joseph he went to Weston, where he remained one year, and then, on 
account of ill-health, and much to the regret of his parishioners, he resigned the 
pastorate, and in the fall of 1853, took a trip across the Indian country to Texas — 
returning to his family and friends at Hannibal in the spring of 1854. In the fall 
of the same year, the better to educate his childi-en, Mr. Holmes moved to Fayette,. 
Howard county, where his son entered Central College, and his daughter attended 
Howard Seminary. He removed to Shawnee, Johnson county, Kansas, in August,. 
1857, where he remained during the exciting contest between the Free-State and 
Pro-Slavery parties. Mr. Holmes was and has been a life-long Democrat, but in 
this contest he sympathized with the party of freedom, and was identified with the 
leading spirits of the then young and struggling territory. He was repeatedly 
urged to become a candidate for various offices, legislative and judicial, but steadily 
declined them all. Without his solicitation, consent or knowledge even. Governor 
Robinson commissioned him as Probate Judge of Johnson county, and at the 
earnest solicitation of leading citizens of the county, he held the office during the 
unexpired term for which the commission was issued. 

In November, 1863, he removed to Kansas City, and after the close of the war, 
engaged there in the practice of law. He was nominated (and those who ought to 
know claim " he was elected, but Eodmanized out of his rights") for Judge of the 
Common Pleas Court for Kaw township, including Kansas City. He is at present 
an active and influential member of the Kansas City Council. 

Judge Holmes has^ been identified more or less with every enterprise connected 
with the growth and welfare of Kansas City. He was one of the original incorpo- 
rators of the Kansas;.City, Fort Scott & Gulf Railroad, drafted the certificate of its 
incorporation, and was mainly instrumental in securing its completion. 






■^^/^ 



KANSAS CITY. 767 

Judge Holmes takes high rank among his brethren of the Bar, both as a lawyer 
and jurist, and has a lucrative practice that extends over Eastern Kansas and 
Northwestern Missouri. He is, as he has been since 1840, an exemplary member of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is an honored and able minister, and 
frequently preaches, although not assigned to any charge. 

Wherever known. Judge William Holmes, whether as a man, a minister or a law- 
yer, is admired for his ability, respected for his integrity, and holds a warm and 
sacred place in the hearts of those so fortunate as to count him a companion, adviser 
or friend. , 

WILLIAM CHRISMAN 

was born near the city of Lexington, Kentucky, November 23d, 1822. He was the 
eldest son of Joseph Chrismau, who was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, and 
at an early age moved with his parents to Fayette county, Kentucky. He was a 
farmer, in moderate, but comfortable circumstances, with three sons and one 
daughter, to all of whom he furnished the means of a thorough education. In 1850, 
he removed to Clay county, Missouri, where he died, in October, 1875. 

The subject of this sketch, except when absent at school, worked upon his father's 
farm until about his twentieth year. He was educated principally in a select private 
school, taught by Rev. Lyman W. Seeley, D. D., a thorough scholar and accom- 
plished teacher. He also attended college at Georgetown, Kentucky, and graduated 
at Centre College, Danville, Kentucky. In additiou to the regular classical course,, 
he also studied several modern languages, which he reads with facility. After leav- 
ing college, he taught school for a short time, studied law, and was admitted to the 
bar in his native State. 

On May 10th, 1848, he was married, near Danville, Kentucky, to Lucie A. Lee, 
and immediately thereafter removed to Missouri, locating at Independence, the 
county seat of Jackson county, where he has since resided. 

On his arrival there, he at once offered his professional services to the public, and, 
although without a single acquaintance in the county at first, was soon gratified in 
finding himself engaged in a paying practice, and enjoying the confidence of the 
people with whom he had cast his lot. He was associated as partner in the follow- 
ing legal firms, in the order named: Chrisman & Comingo ; Woodson, Chrisman 
&Comingo; Hicks, Chrisman & Comingo; and, lastly, Sawyer & Chrisman. He 
gave his unremitting attention to his profession until 1869, when he and his partner 
both retired from practice, their business at the time being moi'e extensive and 
lucrative than ever before. He was induced to this step mainly that he might give 
proper attention to his own private interests, which had then become so diversified 
as to demand most of his time. 

He never took an active part in politics, but was a Whig as long as that party 
existed. Since then he has been identified with the Democratic party. He has 
always been conservative, and not partisan. He never sought office; but, without 
solicitation on his part, was elected to the State Convention which formed the exist- 
ing Constitution. He was an influential member of that body, and wrote the able 
address of the Convention to the people, which contributed much to the adoption of 
their work. 

In April, 1857, he, with others, organized a bank in Independence, first known as 
the Independence Savings Association, which has continued, under different names 



768 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

and firms, until the present time. It is now the well-known bank of Chrisman, 
Sawyer & Co., of which, under all its changes, he has been a member, and of which 
he is now the President. 

He was also one of the incorporators of the First National Bank of Independence, 
which was organized in 1865, and has been a director and one of the largest stock- 
holders of the same until the present time. 

He has always manifested a lively interest in every public enterpi'ise having for 
its object the improvement of his town or county. He was the leader in founding 
and building up the Independence Female College, a well-known and flourishing 
institution, with tasteful and elegant buildings ; and furnished most of the money for 
the same. He also took a leading part, and contributed largely to the Independence 
Library, an institution in successful operation, and a credit to the town and com- 
munity. 

He has been a member of the Presbyterian Church for more than twenty years, 
and much of the time an elder. 

His wife was the youngest daughter of George Lee, who emigrated when quite 
young from Virginia to Kentucky, where he still (1878) lives, at the advanced age 
of eighty-six. He belongs to the well-known family of Virginia Lee. She is still 
living. They have two children living, both married — the former, George Lee 
Chrisman, and the latter Maggie, the wife of Logan O. Swope, formerly of Danville, 
Kentucky. A second son, James, a bright and promising youth, died at the age of 
nineteen, while at college at Fulton, Missouri. 

Having been successful in life, with' business sufl3.cient to keep him moderately 
employed, he is living quietly at his home, which is one of the most beautiful in the 
lovely town of Independence, being a handsome cottage, surrounded by ample 
grounds, beautifully located and elegantly ornamented. 

Here, with neighbors who honor and respect him, and business associates among 
whom he is a power, an example, and, when need be, a helper ; in congenial church 
relations, with a happy and beloved family in an elegant and substantial home, 
commanding an abundant competence, with employment enough to satisfy his busi- 
ness tastes, and with leisure for intellectual and moral growth, he is reaping the 
well-earned fruits of an honest, indu.strious, useful life. 



NATHA2^r SCAKRITT 

was born in Edwardsville, Madison county, Illinois, March lith, 1821. His father, 
Nathan Scarritt, was of Scotch descent, and a native of Connecticut. In 1812, being 
then a resident of Lyman, New Hampshire, he married Miss Latty AUds, a native of 
that town and of Irish extraction. After laborious efforts to gain a livelihood from 
a small farm on the hills of New Hampshire, they removed, in 1820, to Illinois, then 
an almost unbroken wilderness. They journeyed west in wagons, and after a three 
months' trip, located at Edwardsville, where the subject of this sketch, their seventh 
child in a family of twelve, was born. 

They lived five years in Edwardsville, and x-emoved to a small farm about four 
miles north of the present city of Alton, and the present site of Monticello. An 
Indian trail crossing the farm was the only evidence that man's foot had ever pressed 
the soil, and as Nathan Scarritt was the first permanent settler, the locality was long 
known as " Scarritt's Praii'ie." Here he and his wife brought up their family, 
enduring all the hardships of pioneer life, winning for themselves an honored place 
among those who first developed the resources of the fertile west. 



KANSAS CITY. 769 

Young Nathan worked upon Ms father's farm until he was sixteen years old. His 
school advantages had been so meager that he could scarcely read and write. He 
then went to McKendree College, at Lebanon, Illinois, entering the primary depart- 
ment. Owing to the large family and the limited means at home, he depended much 
on his own exertions, and during his first year there, took a contract to clear ofi" the 
brush and timber from the college campus. This work he did outside of study 
hours, on Saturdays, and working sometimes by moonlight, and so earned nearly 
enough to pay that year's expenses. It is needless to say that he practiced the most 
rigid economy. By a sort of co-operative housekeeping, clubbing with several other 
boys, doing their own work and raising their own vegetables, they lived at the rate 
of fifty cents a week. His father's illness called him home at the end of the Junior 
year, but, on his recovery,' the Faculty of the College made an urgent appeal that he 
should return, pfiering to credit his board and other expenses till he should complete 
his college course. 

He graduated, the valedictorian of his class, in 1842, and soon after began teaching 
in Waterloo, Illinois. Out of two years' teaching there, he paid his college expenses, 
$209 dues on a scholarship belonging to the family, assisted his father, and on April, 
1845, moved to Fayette, Missouri; having, when he arrived there, just ten dollars. 
This he subsequently loaned to a friend, who never repaid it; which circumstance, 
Mr. Scarritt says, " I do not regret, as it has enabled me, ever since, to say that when 
I entered upon life in my adopted State, I had exactly ' an even start with the 
world.' " 

Mr. Scarritt moved to Fayette to assist his brother-in-law. Dr. Lucky, who had 
preceded him by a few months, in the establishment of an academy. They built up 
a popular school, which prospered for years as the Howard High School, and was 
afterwards re-organized into Central College and Howard Female College. Three 
years and a half later, at the solicitation of Rev. Thomas Johnson, superintendent 
of the Methodist missions, Mr. Scarritt went west and took charge of the higher 
department in the Shawnee Indian Manual Mission. Good schools being rare, many 
young white men from the settlement availed themselves of these advantages. 

In 1851, Mr, Scarritt resigned his position, and began preaching; first to the 
Indians through an interpreter, and afterwards successively at Lexington, Westport 
and Kansas City. He was also principal of the Westport High School until it 
became firmly established. 

In January, 1855, he was assigned to the Kickapoo District in the then Territoiy 
of Kansas. For eight years, with the exception of one year, during which he was 
detailed to act as Provisional President of Central College, Mr. Scarritt traveled 
through Kansas, pi'eaching and organizing churches. The Indian tribes still occu- 
pied their reservations, and the white settlements were scattered. The labors of 
such a life were arduous, perplexing, and sometimes hazardous. lu 1861, Kansas 
had become so distracted by the civil war, that Dr. Scarritt temporarily abandoned 
his itinerant work, and, in the spring of 1862, purchased a forty-acre farm a few 
miles east of Kansas City, and built upon it, with his own hands, a rough log cabin, to 
which he moved his family. Mr. Scarritt was married to Miss M. M. Chick, daugh- 
ter of Col. Wm. Chick, April 29th,' 1850. They had nine children, six of whom arre 
still living. She died July 29th, 1874; and on the 6th of October, 1875, Dr. Scarritt 
married his pi'esent wife, then Mrs. Ruthie E. Scarritt, widow of his brother, Isaac 
Scari'itt, and daughter of Rev. Cyrus Barker, Baptist missionary to India, where 
Mrs. Scarritt was born. 
49 



770 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

Dr. Scarritt has never been actively engaged in politics, believing that a Christian 
minister should pursue his work undisturbed by the political distractions of the 
hour. AVhen a young man, he was identified with the Whig party, and after its dis- 
ruption his sympathies were with the Democratic party. 

The division of his Church left him connected with the Southern branch, where 
he has ever since remained, because, although opposed to slavery, he agreed with 
the Church South in her views of the relations of the Church to slavery as a civil 
institution. Dr. Scarritt made an able address in Shawnee, Kansas, in 1860, entitled 
" A Plea for the Federal Union." 

Dr. Scarritt has never sought political or ecclesiastical preferment, often refusing 
the former; and of the latter, accepting only those titles which have been bestowed 
upon him as a well-deserved recognition of his ability and his achievements. He 
received from his Alma Mater the degree of Bachelor of Arts ; from the State Uni- 
versity of Missouri, while teaching at Fayette, the honorary degree of A. M. ; and 
McKendree College complimented him with the honorary degree of Doctor of 
Divinity. Dr. Scarritt accepts these degrees simply as the gratifying evidence that 
his efibrts to lead a useful life are at least partially successful. 

Dr. Scarritt improved his farm, added one hundred and twenty acres to it, and 
made himself a comfortable home. In 1868, '' Order ISTo. 11 " depopulated his neigh- 
borhood; and, although he was not included in its terms, he thought it prudent to 
remove to Kansas City during its operation. He remained there during 1864 and 
1865, teaching, and part of the time serving in the " home guard.'" He then, with 
his family, returned to the farm, which is now one of the finest and best-equipped in 
the county. Here, in an elegant and roomy home, with every comfort that affection 
can suggest and money procure, sux'rounded by the dear ones. Dr. Scarritt is enjoy- 
ing the quiet, independent life which his early industry, ardent labors and trium- 
phant success so richly deserve. 



MRS. MARTHA A. LYKENS (nee Livingston) 

was born near Frankfort, Kentucky, in Januaiy, 1824. She is the youngest daugh- 
ter of Captain Stephen Livingston, a lineal descendant of Philip Livingston, of New 
York. She was left an orphan at four years of age, and was in the care of her 
excellent grandmother until her fourteenth year. She was then four years in the 
family of her elder mai'ried sister. She moved to Jefferson City, Missouri, to make 
her home with another sister, Mrs. Thomas J. Hughes, who in 1844 removed to 
Lexington, Missouri. Here she met Dr. J. Lykens, and they were married, Octo- 
ber 12th, 1851. After a few months spent in Washington City, Dr. Lykens located 
at Kansas City, then in its infancy. Mrs. Lykens organized a Sabbath-school and 
became its Superintendent, and was for many years an efficient worker among the 
children of her village. On August 17th, 1866, a few ladies in Kansas City organ- 
ized the Widows' and Orphans' Home Society, founding a home for the destitute 
widows and orphans of Confederate soldiers. Mi-s. Lykens was unanimously elec- 
ted President, a position she held until 1874, when the Legislature accepted a deed 
of the property, and agreed to "foi-ever maintain it as an Industrial Home for the 
Orphans and Indigent Children of Missouri." 

Mrs. Lykens is a woman of enlarged views, great pi'actical piety and untiring 
industry. She has devoted herself to the welfare of the orphan children of the 



KANSAS CITY. 771 

State, has been indeed a mother to the motherless, and has, by her devotion, indus- 
try and practiqal sympathy and work, earned a name that will ever be spoken with 
gratitude and admiration by all who know her. 



JOSEPH M. WOOD 

was born in Mercer county, Kentucky, March 27th, 1810. Having completed his 
medical education in 1832, he left Kentucky and settled that year in Clay county, 
Missouri, making it his home, with the exception of a few months, until 1857, when 
he removed to Kansas City, having achieved his professional reputation, however, 
in Clay county. Dr. Wood has, since his settlement in Missoui'i, always been in 
the front rank of his profession. The operation of lithotomy is one of his special- 
ties. In this he has probably had as extensive and successful an experience as any 
one living. He is a broad-minded man of general culture and genial disposition, 
and a leader in society. 

He stands at the very fi'ont rank of his profession, both as a physician and sur- 
geon, commanding the esteem and respect of all who know him, as a gentleman and 
a physician. 

THE KANSAS (JITY COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS 

was incorporated in September, 1869. The course comprises a full series of Didac- 
tic and Clinical Lectures on the usual branches of study, practical anatomy, and 
daily examinations on the subjects taught. The college building is situated at the 
junction of Main and Delaware streets, and the rooms are ample, well furnished and 
fitted with every necessary convenience. The college is in successful operation, 
with the following faculty : 

S. S. Todd, M. D., Professor of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women. 
T. B. Lester, M. D., Professor of the Principles and Practice of Medicine. Pres- 
ident of the Faculty. 
A. B. Taylor, M. D., Professor of Surgery. 

E. W. Schaulfler, M. D., Professor of Physiology. Secretary of the Faculty. 
T. J. Eaton, M. D., Professor of Chemistry. 
G. Halley, M. D., Professor of Anatomy. 

D. E. Porter, M. D., Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics. 
J. D. Griffith, M. D., Demonstrator of Anatomy. 



SIMEON SEYMOUE TODD, M.D., 

Professor of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women in the Kansas City College of Phys- 
icians and Surgeons, was born at the house ol his maternal grandfather, near Vevay, 
Indiana, March 10th, 1826. 

Dr. Todd, through his paternal ancestry, is of Scotch descent. John Todd, his 
great-grandfather, was of a noble Mid-Lothian family, formerly of great power and in- 
fluence^ but who suffered much because of their allegiance to the waning fortunes of 
their kinsfolk of the house of Stuarts. He and two brothers emigated to Virginia 
about the year 1740, where John married. He was for a time contented, but love of 
adventure led him to move, with his family of four sons and one daughter, about 



772 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

1780, to what is now the site of Lexington, Kentucky; where his remains lie in the 
" Old Cemeterj'- " near the heart of the city. His children shared the perils of all 
pioneers, and his oldest son, John, who was a colonel in the United States' service, 
was killed at the battle of Blue Lick, in which Boone, Trigg and himself, jointly 
commanded against the Indians, and in which desperate engagement Trigg also 
fell. The State of Kentucky has named a county in honor of each of these heroes. 
Owen, the youngest brother, and Dr. Todd's grandfather, was a civil engineer, and at 
an early day moved to Ohio, settling on a tributai-y of the Little Miami River 
which bears his name. It was here that David A. Todd was born, who had just 
attained his twentieth year when the family moved to Yevay, Indiana, where Owen 
Todd soon after died. David Todd married Maiy, daughter of Hiram Ogle, a sturdy 
old gentleman of Welsh descent. The subject of this sketch was the third son of 
ten children resulting from this marriage. Though born in Vevay, the family home 
was in Madison, Indiana. David Todd was a carpenter, but had abandoned plane 
and bench and engaged in a small mercantile business, which yielded rather an inade- 
quate support for his large family. Here young Simeon had only limited opportun- 
ities for school privileges, but at the age of nineteen, having acquired 
a fair English Education, with some knowledge of Greek, Latin and French, 
he became a student in the ofl3.ce of Dr. William Davidson a Scotch phy- 
sician of mere local repute in Madison. After four years of study and 
few months of practice in the army hospitals during the Mexican War, he entered the 
senior class in the Indiana Medical College, then located at La Porte, whei'e 
he graduated with the highest honors in a class of nineteen, February 22d, 1849. 
In June of the same year. Dr. Todd began the practice of his profession in Law- 
renceburg, Kentucky. In October, 1850, he was married to Judith Ann, daughter 
of Jeremiah Ridgway, of La Porte, Indiana, a most estimable young lady, a member 
of the Society of Friends, and a native of Camden, New Jersey, who bore him two 
sons. 

His health failing, a change of location became necessary, and in the spring of 
1864, he, with his family, went to California by the overland route, reaching . Sacra- 
mento in September. Like most of the early emigrants to California, Dr. Todd was 
lured to the gold fields and the novel excitement among the miners, where^ he 
built a house for his family. We will let the Doctor relate his mining experience in 
his own words : 

" It had always been the great dread of my life that I should some day be rich and 
become mean like other people. This fear beset me night and day after I went to 
the mines. 1 entered at once into a lucrative practice, and as I conducted mining 
operations also, and in a locality where miners by some lucky venture often got rich 
ill a daj'-, it will be seen that my fears were not "wholly imaginary — indeed, it was 
clear 'to me that I was in the greatest possible peril of going to bed some night a ruin- 
ously rich man. By running a tunnel into the solid rock a thousand feet, however, 
without finding any gold, and by other and similar investments, in all of which I had 
the counsel of friends, I managed to dodge prosperity at every threatened point and 
keei^ poor as a rat. Thus I was able, after two years of this kind of life, to leave the 
mines, fully imbued with the feeling (not shared by any one else) that I had succeeded 
in my mining venture beyond all reasonable expectation." 

Dr. Todd left the mines and located in the beautifullittle city of Santa Eosa. Here, 
in 1856, he met and formed a very agreeable co-partnership with his old 
classmate, Dr. J. F. Boyce. During his stay here. Dr. Todd's two sons were born. 
The outbreak of the civil war, in 1861, found Dr. Todd practicing his profession in 



KAI^rSAS CITY. 



773 



San Francisco. Espousing at once the cause of his government, he was appointed 
surgeon of the Second and af(erwards of the Fourth Regiment of California Volun- 
teers. He was first placed in charge of the hospitals at the Presidio at San Francisco. 
Afterwards in cliarge at Fort Humboldt, but for the greater part of the time he was 
in charge at Drum Barracks, in Los Angelos county, where he remained till the close 
of the war. At the solicitation of friends. Dr. Todd was induced to settle up his 
afiairs on the Pacific Coast and take a final leave of California. He returned to New 
York via the Isthmus of Panama; and in September, 1865, he settled at his present 
home— Kansas City. Having lost his wife while in California, Dr. Todd was on 
Januaiy 21st, 1867, married to Mrs. Thirza F. Dean, a native of Detroit, widow of 
Dr. William H. Dean and daughter of Thomas Scott, an English Friend, and a resi- 
dent of Ann Arbor. In September, 1867, he was instrumental, aided by others, in 
securing a charter for and establishing the Kansas City College of Physicians and 
Surgeons, and he has filled the chair of " Obstetrics and Diseases of Women," and 
has been Dean of the Faculty ever since its organization. 

In 1872, Dr. Todd was elected Vice-President of the Medical Association of the 
State of Missouri, and was the following year elected President of the same. Dr. 
Todd is an ardent worker in the cause of medical education, and has for many years 
been a constant contributor to the journalistic medical literature of the day, fm'uish- 
ing also many society papers relating principally to obstetrical and gynecological sub- 
jects. Of late years his special studies have been mainly directed in the above desig- 
nated channels of medicine and surgerj^, in which he is gaining celebrit}^ 

Dr. Todd is an lionary member of the State Medical Society of Kansas, honorary 
member of the Medical Association of the State of Missouri, corresponding member 
of the Boston Gynecological Society, and member of the American Medical Asso- 
ciation, and it is needless to add has a large and lucrative practice. 

Dr. Tood is five feet ten inches high, of slender, sinewy build, with dark, nearly 
black hair and eyes, and clear-cut features, indicating enthusiasm, industry, refine- 
ment and culture. He is a close observer, an original thinker, a brilliant con- 
versationalist, and a clear, concise and forcible writer and lecturer. 



THOMAS BRYAN LESTER, M.D., 

was born in Charlotte county, Virginia, June 24th, 1824. His parents, Bryan W. 
and Elizabeth Friend Lester, lived forty years on one farm, where their family of 
ten children were all born, all of whom lived to years of maturity. The family 
emigrated to Salem, Marion county, Illinois, in March, 1836. 

Thomas received a liberal education, beginning at the village school in Salem, 
then attending Mount Vernon Academy, and from there to Shurtliff College, Upper 
Alton, Illinois. He commenced the study of Medicine, in 1842, with Dr. M. W. 
Hall, now of Saline county, Missouri, and attended his first course of medical 
lectures at the session of 1845-6 at the Medical Department of Kemper College, St. 
Louis. He, for a short time, practiced medicine in Marion county, Illinois, and in 
1847 entered the United States Army as Acting Assistant Surgeon in the First 
Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which was mustered into service in May, 
1847, for five years, or " during the war " with Mexico. Dr. Lester was assigned to 
duty with Lieutenant Colonel H. P. Boyakin, in command of thi-ee companies, which 
crossed the plains from Fort Leavenworth to Santa Fe, where he remained on duty 
with the regiment until the arrival of General Sterling Price, early in the winter of 



774 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

1847. By General Price's order, Dr, Lester was placed in charge of the General 
Hospital at Santa Fe; and he filled this position with credit to himself and the 
satisfaction of the command until, in February, 1848, he was ordered, with Lieutenant 
Colonel Boyakin, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he remained until the com- 
mand was ordered home, at the close of the war. After his army experience, Dr. 
Lester attended his second course of lectures at the same institution, then known as 
the Medical Department of Missouri University, now the Missouri Medical College 
of St. Louis, and graduated therefrom in March, 1850, On June 4th of the same 
year, he was married to Miss Julia E. Horner, of Lebanon, Illinois, by whom he has 
three children, two daughters and one son, the latter, Charles H., now (1877) a 
student in the profession which his father so much adoi-ns. 

Dr. Lester i-emoved to Kansas City in July, 1854, when it was a village of about 
350 inhabitants, where he has resided ever since, and where his pi-actice, in extent, 
respectability and influence, has grown with the growth of the city. 

Dr. Lester was a member of the Kansas City Council in 1857-8, and has been a 
member of the Board of Education during three terms. He is a prominent and 
respected member of A. F. & A. M. and has been, for two terms, W. M. of 
Heroine Lodge, No. 104. In 1870, he was president of the Medical Association of 
Missouri. At the organization of the Kansas City College of Physicians and 
Surgeons, Dr. Lester was appointed Professor of the Principles and Practice of 
Medicine, and still fills that chair; and in 1877, he was elected President of the 
Faculty of that institution. He is a member of the American Medical Association, 
and of the local professional societies, and an honorary member of the Medical 
Association of Northwest Missouri, and of the Kansas State Medical Society. Dr. 
Lester is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and fills the honorable and 
responsible position of Eufiug Elder in that society. 

Dr. Lester's genial, unassuming manner, large charity, both in material ways and 
for those differing from himself in opinion and practice; his scholarly attainments 
and professional ability and success, place him as one of Kansas City's most respected 
and honorable citizens. 



DAVID E. POETER, M.D., 

was born of Irish ancestry, in Jefferson county, Ohio, November 23d, 1838. He 
received a good common-school education, and afterwards attended Eichmoud 
College, in his native county. He studied medicine, attended lectures at and gradu- 
ated from the Keokuk Medical College, Iowa, in 1855, and the same year commenced 
the practice of his profession in Kansas City, where he had a fine business, when he 
became Assistant Surgeon in the Fifth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry, during the late 
war. At the close of the war, he resumed his old place at Kansas City, and, 
being desirous of pursuing his professional studies under better auspices and expe- 
i-ieuced instructors, he attended Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, in 
1871 and 1872, from which he is also a graduate. 

Dr. Porter was married in 1870, to Miss Allie J. Smith, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, 
by whom he has one child — a son. 

He filled the position of Alderman for Kansas City in 1876, and is now Professor 
of Materia Medica in the Kansas City College of Physicians and Surgeons, which is 
an abundant indorsement of his ability by the profession ; and his extended practice 
is the most desirable proof of his popularity with the masses. 



KAKSAS CITY. 



EUGENE K. LEWIS, M.D. 



775 



was born near Huntsville, Randolph county, Missouri, June 7th, 1853. His father 
and mother both died before he was six years old, and he was received as one of 
the family of his uncle, J. F. Lewis, Esq., of Glasgow, Howard county, Missouri, 
by whom he was brought up and educated. He graduated in physical science at 
Central College, Fayette, at the age of eighteen. He read medicine, practised a 
short time at Mount Airy, Randolph county, and then attended lectures at Jefferson 
College, Philadelphia, from which he graduated in the class of 1873-4, at the age of 
twenty. He immediately opened an ofEice in Kansas City, and is rapidly winning a 
practice which is an honor to one of his age. Dr. Lewis is Coroner of Jackson 
county, and acting surgeon for the Western Division of the St. Louis, Kansas City 
& Northern Railway. 

HENRY FOOTE HEREFORD, M.D., 

was boi'u in Tuscumbia, Alabama, December 7th, 1827. He is the second son of 
Colonel Francis H. Hereford, his mother being a sister of Governor H. S. Foote, of 
Mississippi. His parents emigrated, when Henry was quite young, to Hillsboro, 
Illinois, where he received his academic education. He and his elder brother, Frank 
Hereford, now United States Senator from West Virginia, both attended McKendree 
College. His parents, with their family, moved to Boonville, Missouri, in 1844-5, 
and shortly after to Independence. 

Young Henry, during several years when he was studying medicine, taught school 
in Cooper, Cole and Jackson counties. Many of his former pupils are scattered 
over the West, some of them occupying prominent public positions, among them 
Attorney-General Ewing. Notwithstanding the difficulties surrounding him, he 
graduated from the medical department of St. Louis University in 1849, at the early 
age of twenty-one, having for class-mates Drs. Gregory and Boisliuiere, now so 
prominent in St. Louis. 

The strain of teaching days and studying nights had its legitimate results, and he 
found himself broken down in health and unable to practice his profession. He 
joined the merchants' train of McManus & Grove, across the plains to Mexico, 
reaching the city of Chihuahua in September. He landed in Chihuahua, knowing- 
only three persons in the city and having only $10 in his pocket, and found a law 
(which, on account of the feeling against the United States, was rigidly enforced) 
forbidding any one practising medicine who could not read and speak fluently the 
Spanish language. About a month after his arrival, however, the cholera broke out 
in the city Avith great violence, and such a panic seized the people that not for love 
or money could a native physician be induced to visit the afflicted. 

Mr. Grove, whilst at Independence, had been attacked with cholera, and, attended 
by Dr. Hereford, had speedily recovered. His wife was a Spanish lady, niece of 
Trias, then Governor of Chihuahua. She told her friends and relatives of her hus- 
band's attack, and cure by the now proscribed Dr. Hereford. The word spread 
rapidly, with all the exaggerations that an ignorant and excited populace would 
naturally add. The Doctor's door was besieged by applicants for help, which the 
law forbade his giving. The result was that Governor Trias sent for Dr. Hereford 
and issued a license to practice, and, at his request, did the same for the other 
foreign physicians in the city. The sanitary and medical control of the city was 



776 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUl 

placed in Di\ Hereford's hands, and the State authorities pledge ; is to pay 

a certain stipulated price for all services rendered the poor. Lil i)romises 

generally, these were made to be broken, for Dr. Hereford and iiia cv.Mimission 
received from the State for their self-sacrificing services only $i?'Hi. At tht. end of 
two years, with restored health, the Doctor made the trip fr • a VA Pas' to San 
Antonio, over what was then an almost untraveled route, and in M.-dii ii, 1851, settled 
in Westport. 

One year later he married Miss Martha A. Garth, by whom he has a son and 
daughter. He built up a lucrative practice and accumulated a handsome com- 
petency, which was all swept away by the ruthless border warfare during the late 
war. He left the scene of strife, and for a time practised at Virginia City, Nevada, 
and at the close of hostilities returned to his old home, there to once more commence 
life, poor in pocket, but rich in the confidence of his old neighbors, who knew his 
worth as citizen and physician. He soon secured a fine practice, rebuilt a home, 
reared and educated his children. Feeling that the struggles and exposure of a 
country practice were too severe for his impaired strength, he, in 1875, moved to 
Kansas City, where his well-known reputation as a physician gave him, from the 
start, a fair practice, which rapidly increased. 

While Dr. Hereford has devoted his strength of body and mind to his professional 
studies and practice, he is at the same time alive and active in all that concerns the 
city, State and Nation in other lines of thought and imijrovement. 



EDWARD WILLIAM SCHAUFFLER, A.M., M.D., 

was born in Vienna, Austria, September 11th, 1839. He is a son of Rev. W. Gr. 
Schautfier, D. D., for many years American Missionary in Turkey, translator of the 
Bible into Hebrew-Spanish and into the Turkish languages, author of a Hebrew and 
Chaldee Lexicon, etc., etc. 

Dr. SchauflBler's early education and preparation for college were obtained in 
Constantinople. He entered Williams College, Massachusetts, in 1867, but was, in 
1859, compelled, on account of ill-health, to abandon his studies. 

He was soon after appointed Secretary of the United States Legation at Constan- 
tinople, and filled that position until the inauguration of President Lincoln, in 1861, 
diiring the summer of which year he returned to this country, and commenced study 
at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City. In September, 1862, 
he entered the army as Lieutenant in the 127th Regiment, New York Volunteers, 
and served in various capacities until 1866. He graduated in medicine fi'om the 
above-named college in March, 1868, and in August of the same year commenced 
practice in Kansas City. On August 3d, 1869, Dr. Schauffler was married to Miss 
Martha A. Haines, of Camden county, New Jersey. 

Dr. SchaufBLer is Professor of Physiology in the Kansas City College of Physicians 
and Surgeons, and has been for four years editor of the Kansas City Medical Jour- 
nal. He is also one of the translators of " Ziemssen's Cyclopedia of the Practice 
of Medicine," and is recognized by the profession as a careful, reliable and enthusi- 
astic investigator in medical science and practice. 



KA]!^SAS CITY. ' 777 

JAMES POETER HENRY 

was born in Mercei- county, Kentucky. His parents were in moderate circum- 
stances, and his early education was limited. He studied medicine and graduated 
at Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky, in the spring of 1843, and imme- 
diately commenced practice at Cynthiana, Kentucky. He moved to Missouri in the 
fall of 1844, settling in Howard county, where he practiced his profession until 
March, 1849, when he moved to Independence. 

Dr. Henry was married near Winchester, Kentucky, in May, 1845, to Miss Ellen 
C. Smith. They have two children, a son and a daughter. The former is now 
(1878) a clerk in the Post-office department of the House of Representatives at 
Washington. 

Dr. Henry has devoted his life and best energies to his profession, which he has 
practiced at Independence continuously since the spring of 1849, except a short time 
during the war, when, from the fall of 1862 to the spring of 1865, he was in St. 
Louis, and did a fair practice. He has never entered political life, but has for five 
years held the position of physician in charge of the County Poor-house, and was 
for two years one of the Board of Curators for the Orphan Asylum at Kansas City. 

Dr. Henry is the oldest practitioner of medicine (not the oldest man) in Jackson 
county. He has held a leading position in his profession for many years ; and his 
recognized ability as a physician is beautifully complemented by his honor, probity 
and geniality as a gentleman. 



ALFRED HOMER TREGO, D.D.S., 

was born, December 31st, 1830, in Bucks county, Pennsylvania. He was educated 
at Wrightstown " Friends' School," and commenced the study of medicine and 
dentistiy with his father, W. P. Trego, M, D., in 1845. In 1848, he was solicited 
by *' The Fathers of Dentistry" to occupy the chair of Demonstrator of Mechanical 
Dentistry at the opening of the first Dental College in Philadelphia, which he de- 
clined on account of his minority. In 1852, he left the home office in charge of his 
two brothers, and commenced practice at Lambertville, New Jersey. In 1862, he 
received from Governor Olden the appointment as '* State Agent for New Jersey in 
the interest of sick and wounded soldiers in Field and Hospital," and in 1863, he 
was appointed by President Lincoln as surgeon and superintendent of transporta- 
tion of sick and wounded soldiers, with headquarters at Washington. 

May 1st, 1866, he resumed the practice of dentistry, in Philadelphia. In 1867, he 
was elected honorary member of the Odontographic Society of Philadelphia, and 
declined the chair of demonstrator of Opei-ative Dentistry in both "Philadelphia" 
and " Pennsylvania" Dental Colleges — preferring practice to teaching. 

While practising, he has been a frequent contributor to the dental journals, and 
has also contributed many rare specimens to the college museums, and has suggested 
numerous improved instruments and modes of treatment, which are adopted by the 
leading dentists of the East. 

In 1873, he relinqiaished a first-class practice to engage in manufacturing, which 
" the panic" rendered pecuniarily disastrous. In February, 1877, he resumed the 
practice of dentistry in Kansas City, where he has the most flattering prospects of 
success. 

49i 



778 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

THOMAS BROCKWAY BULLENE, 

youngest son of John and Susan Bullene, was born in Hannibal, Oswego county, 
New Yoi-k, August 10th, 1828. When six years old his parents moved to Albany, New 
York, and in 1837 to Wisconsin, locating on the present site of Salem, Kenosha 
county. 

John Bullene was vigorous in intellect, great in energy, self-reliant and uncom- 
promising. A man of great physical power and at that time in the full meridian of his 
manhood. He was the recognized leader of his sturdy pioneer associates, among 
whom he was known as "General." In 1839 he was commissioned Bi-igadier General 
for Wisconsin, and as such commanded the militia of that State, and was engaged in 
active business till his death at Kenosha. Susan Bullene, nee Brockway, was an 
aflfectionate, self-sacrificing mother, to whom her husband deferred in all matters 
affecting the welfare of the family. Her clear and vigorous understanding and ac- 
complishments gave to her children many of the advantages of an eastern home. 
She died at her daughter's home in Kansas City, May 10th, 1864, in her sixty-ninth 
year. 

Here, on the banks of Fox River, the General erected his log cabin and commenced 
developing his farm. The necessities of life that could be had at all were purchased 
by toil, hardship and danger, or at least the apprehension of danger from the sur- 
rounding Indians. 

Amid these toils, hardships and privations, Thomas developed those habits of in- 
dustry and self-reliance which, in after years, formed the basis of his commercial 
success. Up to 1839, he was instructed at the fireside during the long winter evenings. 
At that time he entered Bristol Seminary in the same county, which, for three or four 
years, he attended during the winter months. He then attended Bowman's Select 
School at Kenosha. 

At the age of twenty-one, he, with his brother Lathrop, opened a country store at 
Lyons, Walworth county, Wisconsin. Thomas became sole proprietor one year 
later, Lathrop going to New York. 

He was married to Miss Amarett, daughter of Harris Hickok, Esq., of Bridge- 
port, New York, December 29th, 1851. 

In ths fall of 1856, Mr. Bullene removed to Independence, Iowa, where he carried 
on merchandizing, with varying success, until 1860, when he resigned commercial 
pursuits to accept the position of Postmaster of that city. Having little taste for 
politics and office-holding, he resigned the place in 1863, and removed to Kansas 
City, where he has since resided. At Kansas City he formed a partnership with 
his brother Lathrop and Colonel K. Coates. The firm was Coates & Bullene, and 
was the nucleus of the present firm of Bullene, Moore & Emery. From this time on 
the history of Kansas City, of this firm and of Thomas B. Bullene are interwoven, 
so that a full history of one necessarily gives a history of the others. The Bullene 
brothers, after a few months, bought Colonel Coates' interest, and the firm became 
Bullene Brothers. Thomas took charge of the business as resident manager, while 
Lathrop did the buying in the East, and gave such other assistance as his residence 
in Lawrence would permit. 

The business was conducted in constant danger from the irregulars that infested 
the surrounding country, threatening destruction to both person and property. At 
the sacking of Lawrence, Kansas, the store and entire stock of goods belonging to 
Lathrop Bullene at that place, and valued at $20,000, were entirely destroyed. For- 



KAIS'SAS CITY. 779 

tunately he was in N'ew York, and so escaped the fate well understood to have been 
marked out for hira had he been at home. With the Prine Raid and the battle of 
Westport, these dangers passed away. In July, 1867, Mr. W. E. Emery, of New 
York, became a member of the firm, which was changed to Bullene Brothers & 
Emery. In 1870, Mr. L. T. Moore, of Lexington, Kentucky, bought an equal in- 
terest, and the firm became Bullene, Moore & Emery. During this year Mr. Bul- 
lene erected the elegant and commodious store, fronting on Main, Delaware and 
Eighth streets, and which the firm occupied in 1871 and since. The Delaware street 
front is used in the jobbing trade, and the Main street entrance for the retail depart- 
ment. In January, 1872, L. R. Moore, Esq., of Montgomery, Alabama, purchased 
Lathrop Bullene's interest in the business, and the firm became Bullene, Moores & 
Emery, which it has since remained. In 1873, the wonderful increase of business 
demanded more room, and the building was enlarged to nearly double its former size. 
The store-rooms thus enlarged are the most complete and commodious in the Mis- 
souri Valley. The five floors are connected by a steam elevator, and the building is 
heated by steam. The firm, upon occupying their enlarged building inaugurated an 
extensive system of advertising their retail department, which has made them 
known in every family in the entire Northwest. Their sales aggregate between one 
and two millions annually. The growth of this house is in keeping with the won- 
derful city of which it is the just pride. 

Mr. Bullene, as the head of this firm, is often styled the merchant prince of the Mis- 
souri Yalley. He has, at all times, been an active participant in every enterprise 
looking to the advancement of Kansas City. He has been a director in the first 
National Bank, since its organization; also a director and an active member in the 
Board of Trade. He was one of the founders of the Kansas City Exposition, and 
ever since one of its directors. In politics Mr, Bullene has been a Liberal Republi- 
can ever since that party came into existence, and is a supporter of President 
Hayes' southern policy. In the selection of municipal officers he thinks political con- 
siderations should no more control than in the selection of bank directors. 

Mr. Bullene has an interesting family of five — four sons and one daughter. He 
has been, all his life, active in business, but has at the same time been an attentive 
student of ancient and modern history, and finds time to keep up with the literature 
of the day and occasionally court the muses, who in pleasing numbers respond to his 
wooing-. 



780 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

ST. JOSEPH. 

The city of St. Joseph, the county seat of Buchanan county, and 
the third city in the State, is beautifully located on an undulating site 
in the bend of the Missouri River, 545 miles from its mouth and 310 
miles from St. Louis, by railroad. Joseph Robidoux, of French parent- 
age but born in St. Louis in 1774, was an early Indian trader who in 
1803 pitched his tent on the present site of St. Joseph, then known 
among the Indians as Black Snake Hills, and there opened a post for the 
exchange of arms, ammunition, trinkets and whiskey for the valuable and 
abundant furs and peltries supplied by the Indians. 

The beauty of the location, the rich bottoms and heavy timber, which 
furnished desirable hunting grounds, and the fact that here the Indians, 
from time immemorial, had a crossing point between the Missouri forests 
and the Kansas plains, were amon>: the reasons for his choice of location. 
Up to 1843, St. Joseph contained only two log houses and a small frame 
flouring mill, situated on Black Snake Creek. 

Joseph Robidoux allowed no settlers upon his claim till he obtained 
his title to 160 acres of land in May, 1843. He laid ofi'the town in the 
June following, and had a sale of lots in September. He then sold inside 
lots at the uniform price of $100 and corner lots at $150 each. 

During this year, Audubon visited and thus speaks of the place : 
"After grounding on sand-bars and contending against low winds and 
currents, we reached the 'Black Snake Hills Settlement', which is a 
delightful site for a populous city which will be here some fifty years 
hence. The hills are two hundred feet above the level of the river, and 
slope down gently on the opposite side to the beautiful prairies that 
extend over thousands of acres of the richest land imaginable." 

During this summer the first store, after Mr. Robidoux's, was opened in 
a log house, by Elias Perry and A. M. Saxton, with a stock of assorted 
merchandise worth $3,000; the first postmaster, Fred Smith, carried the 
mail in his hat — postage 25 cents ; the first frame dwelling and store 
house was built by Julius C. Robidoux. Samuel Hall was the first 
Justice of the Peace, and he carried his docket and kept his office, as Fred 
Smith did the post-office, in his hat. The first school for small children 
was kept by Mrs. Stone in 1844, at which time the village numbered 
about 500 inhabitants. 

St. Joseph was incorporated as a village February 26th, 1845, with 
Joseph Robidoux President of the Board of Trustees. A union church 
was erected the same year. 



ST. JOSEPH. 



781 



The principal citizens in and adjoining St. Joseph at this time were 
Joseph Robidoux, Wm. P. Eichardson, Fred Smith, Shneon Kemper, R. 
W. Domiell, Dr. D. Benton, John Corby, Jos. C. Hull, Elias Perry, A. 
M. Saxton, Rev. T. S. Reeves, Isadore Poulin, Dr. Dan'l Keedy, Israel 
Landis, Henry M. Vories, B. C. Powell, Jonathan Levy, I. and J. Curd, 
John D. Richardson, Wm. H. Edgar, Robt. I. Boyd, Ben. F. Loan, 
Jas. B. Gardenhire, J. M. Bassett, Lawrence Archer, Thos. Mills, Solo- 
mon L. Leonard, Wm. Ridenbaugh, Michael Miller, Elisha Gladdin, 
Elisha Sellers, Joseph Davis, J. G. Karns, Jas. Highly, C. Carbry, and 
W. P. Hall. 

The California gold excitement of 1849 was of immense advantage to 
St. Joseph, as it was the point of departure for the adventurous gold- 
seekers. The profits accruing to St. Joseph from this source were the 
foundations of the wealth and prosperity of many of her citizens. A 
city charter was obtained in 1851 , and Thomas Mills was the first Mayor. 
The location is favorable for trade, having superior fticiiities for the 
transportation of goods both by water and rail, and surrounded by a 
fertile country settled by an intelligent and industrious people. The 
Missouri River and the extended system of railways reach the whole 
northwest, including large portions of Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. 
Even the merchants of Idaho, Colorado and Montana seek this city for 
supplies, thus making the mineral wealth of these Territories tributary to 
St. Joseph. St. Joseph has all the advantages of a central location. It 
is midway between the Atlantic and the Pacific, British America and the 
Gulf. An air line from Chicago to Santa Fe passes through this city. 
On a direct line from the mouth of Columbia River to Charleston, S. C, 
St. Joseph is half the way. A straight line drawn on the map from 
Agusta in Maine to San Diego in Lower California, passes through 
Detroit, Chicago and St. Joseph, and the latter city is an equal distance 
from either extreme. The North and the South, the East and the West 
must and will, in all future time, exchange products ; which will natur- 
ally seek the shortest lines of transit ; and a glance at a good map will 
show that the short lines of communication pass through St. Joseph. 

The Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, which has played so important a 
part in the development of St. Joseph, and the completion of which, on 
July, 22d, 1859, was an event in the city's history, extends east across 
the State. The St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern Railway gives direct 
communication with St. Louis. The Atchison branch of the Hannibal 
&St. Joseph Railroad leads to Atchison, Kansas. The Kansas City, St. 
Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad extends south to Kansas City, north 



782 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

to Council Bluffs, and via Hopkins, on the Iowa State line, opens a 
direct route to Chicago. The St. Joseph & Denver City Railroad extends 
west into Kansas and Nebraska, connecting with the Union Pacific at 
Fort Kearney. The Atchison & Nebraska Railroad, at Troy, with the 
Missouri Pacific ; the Atchison & Topeka and the Central Branch of the 
Union Pacific at Atchison, have also direct communication with the city, 
over the great iron bridge at St. Joseph. These make St. Joseph the 
center of a railway system which will grow to be more and more impor- 
tant. 

The Missouri River Bridge was built by the St. Joseph Bridge Building 
Company, which was organized in January, 1871. The preliminary 
survey was made, and Colonel E. D. Mason, on March 15th, reported 
the result, recommending the present site, where the bed rock was forty 
to fortj^-eight feet below low-water mark, and estimating the cost of the 
bridge at $715,000. The contract for its building was let June 10th, to 
the Detroit Bridge Company, for $710,000. The bridge is a quadrangular 
Pratt Truss, with six piers 300 feet apart, a draw span of 363 feet, and a 
shore span of 80 feet. The first pier (No. 6) was completed Jan- 
uary 2d, 1872, and the last one (No. 1) February, 1863, an unusually 
long period of high water delaying the work during the summer of 1872. 
The total cost of the bridge was about $1,200,000 for which the city 
of St. Joseph subscribed $500,000, twenty year ten percent, bonds. 

The railroads are fully noticed in the chapter bearing that caption. 

St. Joseph has had a rapid and substantial growth. In 1843 it con- 
tained three log houses, erected by its founder as trading houses. At the 
close of 1845 it contained six hundred people, with property assessed at 
$40,000. In 1846, the county seat having been removed from Sparta, 
it gained a large accession of population. In 1850 it numbered 3,460 
people, and taxable property to the amount of $583,016 ; and in 1860, 
8,932 people, and taxable property $5,134,249. During the vvar it suffered 
greatly and lost a large portion of its people, who withdrew from the 
troubles of which the city was for a time the scene ; so that at the close 
of the conflict in 1865 the city contained but 7,500 people. It needed but 
a cessation of hostilities to regain all it had lost, and to keep up its former 
steady growth. In 1870 the census showed 19,565 people, and at this 
date (1877) it numbers not less than 25,000. Its future is so promising 
that in less than the half century predicted by the great naturalist, it will 
have grown far beyond the utmost vision of his prophecy. 

Manufacturing Interests. — The industrial advantages of St. Joseph 
are steadily on the increase, and the active efforts being made to invite 



ST. JOSEPH. 



783 



hither manufacturing skill and enterprise, together with the natural growth 
of institutions already established, bid fair to make the city a prominent 
point for productive industries. The facilities for shipment by means of 
the various railroads, the cheapness of material, with the demand for 
certain products from the various wholesale houses, gives an unrivaled 
position to this city for the disposal of articles of productive skill and 
industry. Being the center of a cluster of cities which have sprung up 
in the Valley of the Missouri, all of which are within easy railroad 
distance, it can supply their wants with facility and promptness, and 
command a trade wide-reachino; in its influence and results. 

There are in the city over forty establishments using steam power, and 
a large number where no steam is employed. Some of the most impor- 
tant of these are noticed more fully on another page. 

St. Joseph contains several elegant and costly church edifices, is strong 
in pulpit talent, and the various religious denominations are well repre- 
sented and in a flourishing condition. 

The city is well supplied with newspapers. The two leading ones being 
The Gazette and The Herald. 

The Northwestern State Lunatic Asylum, just east of the city 
limits, is a large, substantial and beautiful building, finished in 1874 at a 
cost of $250,000, and is now under the management of its able and effi- 
cient director, George Galmers Catlett- 

The Court House is the largest and finest in the State outside of St. 
Louis, and was built at a cost of over $200,000. Col. John Doniphan, 
in his address at the laying of the corner-stone, August 19th, 1873, said : 

"From the progress we have made in thirty-five years and the evi- 
dences of permanency around us, with such an active and enterprising 
population, we may be permitted to anticipate a magnificent future for 
our county and city. This building will doubtless stand to serve as a 
seat of justice for a quarter of a million of population. Churches, col- 
leges and palaces will be scattered over miles of the adjacent country, our 
court house and iron bridge still standing as monuments of the giant 
energy of the men of 1873." 

The City Hall, an imposing building, the best of its kind in the 
northwest, is 70x170 feet, and the dome is 112 feet high. It cost about 
$50,000. 



784 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOtlRl. 

tootle's opera house. 

This magnificent building was erected in 1872, by Mr. Milton Tootle, of 
St. Joseph, and was first opened to the public December 9th, 1872, with 
Maggie Mitchell, in her popular play of "Fanchon." It is located on 
the corner of Fifth and Francis streets, fronting north. The Opera House 
proper is four stories high with Mansard roof, though portions of the 
whole building, as seen in the cut, are used for theatrical purposes. The 
cost of the whole building was nearly $200,000. The ground floor is occu- 
pied by elegant stores in leading lines of business. 

The auditorium, on the second floor, is 66x120 feet; the stage 66x45 
feet. The drop curtain, a beautiful artistic work, is 35 feet wide and 34 
feet high. The main entrance is from Francis street, and admission to 
the building is gained by a wide hail and an easy flight of stairs. The 
stage entrance is from Fifth street. The seating capacity is 1,500, divided 
into parquette, dress circle, balcony and gallery. Four elegant prosce- 
nium boxes are so arranged as to give a view of the stage and the 
audience. The room is lighted with a handsome chandelier with 160 
jets, and numerous ornamental brackets in all parts of the house. The 
seats are patent orchestra chairs, with plush upholstering. The walls and 
ceiling are beautifully frescoed with artistic designs and allegorical rep- 
resentations. The exterior of the building is profusely ornamented with 
fine cut stone in front, and embellished with ornamental cornices. In 
every way and in all of the appointments the ideal finds a counterpart in 
the reality. 

The stage is furnished with all the modern appliances — 12 working 
traps, 17 pairs of flats, with wings, borders and a great variety of set 
scenery ; also, carpets, properties and furniture. Nothing is wanting for 
the presentation of any play in the whole range of the drama. The 
green-room and five dressing-rooms are convenient to the stage, and they 
are most elegantly and expensively furnished. 

ST. JOSEPH PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

A stranger visiting St. Joseph and asking her citizens to which of 
her institutions they could point with most satisfaction and pride, 
would, in nine cases out of ten, be answered *' Our Public Schools." 

The St. Joseph Board of Public Schools was incorporated by act of the 
Legislature, January 4th, 1860, vesting its powers in a President, elected 
by the city at large for a term of three years, and a Board of two direct 



ST. JOSEPH. 785 

tors from each ward, elected for a term of two years — one-half retinng 
annually. 

The first meeting of the first Board, J. H. Crane, M. D., President, 
was held February 7th, 1860, and among its earliest acts contracted for the 
erection of three small school-houses — one in each ward. These were 
plain, two-story Brick buildings, with a school-room on each floor, with 
no attempt at architectural beauty or artistic adornment, and with few or 
none of the modern school-building conveniences. 

An examination of teachers was held April 10th, and Messrs. J. W. 
H. Griffin, Sidney P. Cunningham and N. H. Marmion were appointed 
principals at a salary of $50 per month, and the Misses Lizzie Brand, 
Annie Y. Barns and E. C. Webster, assistants, with a compensation of 
$25 per month. 

The schools opened April 23d, 1860, with a fair attendance, and at the 
close of the first term, July 15th, the same teachers were re-appointed for 
the new year to commence in September. The branches taught were, 
orthography, reading, penmanship, arithmetic, geography and grammar. 
Near the close of the second term, in February, 1861, some twenty or 
twenty-five pupils were prepared to enter upon a more advanced course 
of study. The School Board proposed to Mr. Edward B. Neeley, who 
had for six years been successfully conducting a classical school in the 
city, that he receive these pupils and convert his academy into a public 
high-school under the charge of the St. Joseph Board of Public Schools. 
Mr. Neeley, notwithstanding the prosperous condition and brilliant pros- 
pects of his own institution, accepted the proposition, and, on the first 
Monday in March, 1861, became the principal of the first high-school in 
St. Joseph, which continued in successful oj)eration until the close of the 
term in June following. In consequence of the unsettled condition of 
aflfairs on account of the then threatened civil war, the other schools were 
summarily closed in May. 

From 1861 to 1864, the Board kept up its organization and held its 
meetings, with more or less regularity, but no public schools were main- 
tained, and during a portion of the time the school-houses were occupied 
by the military. 

At a meeting of the School Board, August 12th, 1864, it was decided 
to re-open the public schools, and Mr. Neeley was, by an unanimous 
vote, appointed SuiDerintendent of Schools, a position which he has €ver 
since held. 

In speaking of his appointment, the St. Joseph Gazette, in its issue of 
January 1st, 1877, said : 
50 



786 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWE^S OF MISSOUKI. 

"Mr. Neelej^ had established his reputation as a successful teacher so firmly with the 
parents of St. Joseph, whose children he had been educating for nine j-ears, that his ap- 
pointment gave universal satisfaction, and was regarded as a guarantee of the success of 
the schools. His appointment for twelve successive years, by a Board composed of 
eleven members, in which, at different times, different political parties held the ascend- 
ency, is the best evidence of his peculiar qualifications for the position." 

The Board, at this time composed of eleven members, were progress- 
ive men, deeply interested in the successful establishment, of a perma- 
nent and liberal public school system. The prospect before them was 
far from encouraging. The civil war was not yet ended. A large pro- 
portion of the community were opposed to the modern system of public 
schools. The city contained 2,800 children of school age, and the Board 
had only three small school-houses, that would accommodate less than 
500 pupils ; and, most discouraging of all, the treasury was nearly empty, 
and the Board, by its charter, was restricted to an annual tax levy of 
one-fifth of one per cent, on the State and county valuation. 

The three school-houses were repaired, re-furnished and used for 
primary and grammar schools, and the building which Mr. Neeley had 
^cted and used for his private school was rented and used for the high- 
school. 

The limited income from taxation being entirely inadequate to meet 
the expense of the schools, it was necessary to charge a tuition fee of 
$1.50 per year in the primary and grammar schools and $3.00 per year in 
the hio;h-school. 

On the opening of the schools in the fall of 1864 the accommodations 
were at once filled to overflowing, many being denied admission from lack 
of room. The Board, on November 13th, 1865, proposed an amend- 
ment to their charter, allowing them to increase the rate of taxation for 
school purposes to one-half of one per cent, on the assessed valuation, 
but the Legislature refused to make the change. Mr. Neeley, however, 
mider the instructions of the Board, proceeded to Jefi'ersou City in March, 
1866, and by efibrts such as only an enthusiastic and practical educator 
can make, secured the desired and much needed amendment. This 
amendment, and the sale of one of the school-houses — which on account 
of the city's growth had become undesirable as a school site, and for the 
same reason valuable for business purposes — enabled the Board to erect 
two large and commodious school buildings. 

At the time of re-organizing the schools, in October, 1864, the Board 
owned three small, inconvenient houses — worth $16,000 — with seats for 
360 pupils. The Board now own nine buildings, most of them large, 
well-planned and finished in the most improved modern style — worth 



ST. JOSEPH. 



787 



$120,000 — and with a seating capacity for 2,300 pupils. At that time the 
teachers numbered seven ; now the Board employ fifty-three, including a 
teacher of drawing and penmanship. 

The course of study is liberal and comprehensive, comparing favorably 
with that in any public schools of the country. 

In the district schools an average year's work is assigned to each of 
the seven grades. The schedule of studies is such as to give the average 
pupil full employment to thoroughly master the work laid out, but the 
classes are so arranged, and the system of promotion so simple, that no 
dull scholar need be discouraged and no bright one is held back by reason 
of the grading. 

The teachers are selected with great care, and the fact that so many 
of them have retained their positions for so many years, speaks well both 
for them and for the Board by whom they are employed. 

The records show that the principals of the schools date their appoint- 
ments as follows : 



Principal of 

Miss India Cowan Everett School 

Miss H. M. Morris Sixth Street School 

Miss J. Whiting Webster School 

Mr. John S. Crosby High School 

Mrs. Carrie E. Noyes Tenth Street School 

Miss Helen Stroud Neeley School 

Miss Annie E. Oakes Third Street School 

Miss E. J. Wrigley Madison School 

Eev. C. F. A. Kaessmann German-English School . 

Miss Laura A. Marean Washington School 

Mr. WiUiam D. Eusk High School 



Appointed 

1864 

1865 

1866 

1866 

1866 

1869 

1869 

1869 

1873 

1874 

1877 



The German-English School, which has an attendance of over 400 
pupils, differs from others in that the pupils are required to study both 
the German and English languages. 

The following table shows the condition and growth of the St. Joseph 
Public Schools for the past twelve years : 



Tear. 



1864-65 
1865-66 
1866-67 
1867-68 
1868-69 
1869-70 
1870-71 
1871-72 
1872-73 
1873-74 
1874-75 
1875-76 



Whole Number 
Enrolled. 



630 
719 
1511 
1766 
2160 
2082 
2415 
2574 
2858 
3362 
3485 
3510 



Average Number 
Belonging. 



410 
470 
772 
1098 
1293 
1333 
1623 
1767 
2032 
2391 
2516 
2620 



Average Daily 
Attendance. 



369 
430 
716 
1018 
1186 
1224 
1477 
1597 
1827 
2159 
2239 
2385 



Per cent, of 
Attendance. 



90 
92 
93 
93 
92 
92 
91 
90 
90 
90 
89 
91 



788 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

The St. Joseph High-School has been under the management of Pro- 
fessor John S. Crosby, from his appointment in 1866, until his resigna- 
tion at the close of the school year in the summer of 1877. Professor 
Crosby was a model teacher, and he made the St. Joseph High School a 
model school. He was ably seconded by four assistants all of whom 
graced their several apartments. The school faculty is now constituted 
as follows : William D. Rusk, Principal, Mental Science, Latin and 
English Literature; Fred. A. Biiddenberg, Ph. D., Greek and Modern 
Languages ; George Lyon, Mathematics ; Mrs. John S. Crosby, History 
and Physical Sciences ; Charles E. Miller, Assistant Teacher of Lan- 

There are two courses of study in the high-school — the general and the 
classical. The latter is designed more especially for young men and 
women preparing for college,. 

The school has graduated one hundred and ten students, and among 
its alumni are some of the best young men and W(jmen of the city. Pro- 
fessor Crosby need desire no stronger testimonial of his worth and ability 
as a teacher than is afforded by the high character and ability of his grad- 
uates. 

We conclude our notice of the St. Joseph Public Schools with the 
followino- extract from a recent annual report of Superintendent Neeley : 

" Occasionally we hear the criticism that the course of study in our public schools is 
not of a sufficiently practical nature. It is always fair to judge a system by its results; 
and applying this test we think the criticism not sustained. For wliile the graduates of 
our high-school who have entered Harvard, Yale and other colleges and universities 
have, without exception, taken rank among the first in those institutions, the large ma- 
jority of the graduates of the high-school and grammar schools are filling with ability 
positions of responsibility and profit in the counting-rooms, warehouses, banks and work- 
shops of our city. Tliere is no branch of industry in the community in which the ex- 
pupils of our public schools are not represented. Our scholars are taught that honest 
labor is respectable, that industry is a virtue and idleness a crime. 

It is a noticeable fact— the result, we think, of the discipline and course of study and 
training in our schools— that our graduates, whether of the high-school or grammar 
schools, all seek and obtain employment, and scorn the life of the genteel loafer. The 
large proportion of young lady graduates occupying positions as teachers in our schools, 
indicates that they too are animated by the same honorable ambition. In one of the 
best-conducted schools in the city, all the teachers, principal as well as assistants, are 
graduates of the high-school. Such facts as these attest the value and practical utility 
of our system of public instruction." 

Araons: the men and institutions that have thus far aided in " making 
the history " of St. Joseph, we are able to give sketches of the following ; 



ST. JOSEPH. 789 

GEORGE CALMERS CATLETT 

was born in Virginia, June 20th, 1830. His grandfathers, Henry and George Cat- 
lett, were brothers, both born in Virginia, of Scotch and English ancestors, who 
were among the earliest settlers in that region, where they purchased land of Lord 
Halifax, part of which still remains the property and homes of some of their de- 
scendants— Dr. Catlett's relatives. Dr. Catlett's paternal grandfather, Henry Cat- 
lett, was a soldier in the revolutionary war; and his son. Dr. Catlett's father, Cap- 
tain Calmers Catlett, served with distinction in the war of 1812. 

Dr. Catlett was educated at the Kentucky Academy, and studied medicine in the 
University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, where he graduated; and, in 1861, 
located at St. Joseph, Missouri, in the pi-actice of his profession, devoting especial 
attention to the department of surgery. 

In 1854, Dr. Catlett was married to Miss Melia, only daughter of Dr. Culver, of 
Maryland, and they have an interesting family of three children, one daughter and 
two sons. 

The St. Joseph Medical Society, in 1858, commenced the publication of the St. 
Joseph Medical and Surgical Journal, and Dr. Catlett was appointed one of its 
editors. The Journal was conducted under the auspices of the society one year, 
when it became a private enterprise under the joint conduct of Doctors Catlett and 
Snelson, and was continued as such until, in consequence of the war, it suspended 
publication, in 1861. 

At this time. Dr. Catlett entered the Confederate service, in the medical depart- 
ment. He was appointed surgeon of hospitals, and inspector and medical purveyor. 
He .was in many of the most trying campaigns of that desperate struggle, in all of 
which his services were alike beneficial to sick and wounded, and honorable to 
himself. 

"When the State Lunatic Asylum Number Two, located at St. Joseph, was com- 
pleted in 1874, Dr. Catlett was appointed Physician and Superintendent, and it was 
opened for patients under his direction, and has ever since been conducted under hie 
management. He still fills that responsible and trying position, anci is adding to 
his reputation for ability, progress and success. The St. Joseph Hospital Medical 
College was chartered in September, 1877, and Dr. Catlett was, by the trustees, 
elected Professor of Physiology and of Mental and Nervous Diseases. 

Dr. Catlett has always given his hearty aid, co-operation and support to all worthy 
enterprises having for their object the welfare and improvement of the people of the 
city and State, and has a personal and professional reputation of which he may 
well be proud. 

EDWARD BAYLEY NEELEY 

was born in Accomac county, Virginia, December 25th, 1828. He enjoyed the ben- 
efits of early and classical training under his father. Professor John Neeley, a gen- 
tleman of fine attainments as a linguist and great ability as a teacher. Edward, in 
his seventeenth year, entered the junior class of Washington College, Pennsylvania, 
and soon after was appointed tuto; of ancient languages. He graduated with honor 
in 1847, and commenced his life-work of teaching, accepting the position of assist- 
ant in an academy near Baltimore. A year later he went to his native county, and 
conducted a select school, and upon the death of his father succeeded him as 



790 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

principal of Marg'ai-efc Academy, in East Virginia. He was from the first an enthu- 
siastic and successful teacher. 

He was married, May 5th, 1852, to Miss Charlotte Slagle, daughter of Hon. Jacob 
Slagle, of "Washington, Pennsylvania. 

He moved to St. Joseph in 1854, and, in connection with a fellow- student, estab- 
lished an academy, infusing into the management and teaching his individuality and 
enthusiasm. His associate soon turned his attention to commercial pursuits, leaving 
Mr.JSTeeleyinsole charge of the academy, and he soon won for himself and his school 
the confidence and support of the people. 

Upon the organization of the St, Joseph Public School system, in 1860, he con- 
sented to become Principal of the High School. The public schools were suspended 
during the late civil war, and Mr. JSTeeley again opened his private school. The 
public schools were re opened in 1864, and Mr. Neeley was unanimously appointed 
superintendent. 

So ably and wisely has he filled this position, that he has held it ever since. 
From this point on, the history of St. Joseph Public Schools, and that of Mr. Neeley, 
are synonymous. 

In 1866, Mr. Neeley was President of the Llissouri State Teachers' Association, 
and was the same year, also, County Superintendent of public schools, receiving for 
that position a vote far in excess of any party strength. 

Mr. Neeley was, in 1870, appointed a member of the Board of Kegents of the 
State Normal Schools, and by that Board elected its President. 

The best evidence of Mr. Neeley's ability, enthusiasm and success as a teacher, is 
shown in the facts that he has been for thirteen consecutive terms (ten times unan- 
imously) elected Superintendent of the St. Joseph Public Schools; four times 
County Superintendent of Schools, each time with an increased majority ; and the 
Board of Public Schools have honored themselves and complimented him, by 
naming their last and one of their finest buildings, the " Neeley School." 

Mr. Neeley's professional standing is well attested in the above outline of his 
career. He is a genial, studious, hard-working, pains-taking gentleman, of great 
administi'ative ability, who infuses into his teachers much of his own individuality, 
and makes his home as pleasant and charming, as his public life is unblemished, 
honorable and successful. 



THE ST. JOSEPH FEMALE COLLEGE 

occupies the spacious and elegant building erected iu 1860, at a cost exceeding $100,- 
000, and heretofore known as the Patee House. The site is elevated and conspicu- 
ous, the building is all that could be desired, and is unsurpassed by any college build- 
ing in the United States. From its verandas the view extends for miles upon a varied, 
undulating and beautiful country. Everything is pure and pre-eminently healthy. 
The building contains two hundred large, airy, elegant rooms and spacious halls. 
The students' private rooms, the large parlors, well-arranged class and music rooms, 
commodious chapel and dining rooms, are all furnished with every modern improve- 
ment and convenience calculated to promote the comfort and advance the interests of 
the students. Being near the railway depot, convenient to the stre'et cars which 
lead to the principal churches and to the business part of the city, and within walk- 
ing distance of several prominent churches, its social and religious advantages can 
not be surpassed. 



ST. JOSEPH. 791 

The course of instruction is extensive and thorough, inckiding the branches both 
of culture and accomplishments. The president, Eev. E. S. Dulin, D.D., LL. D., 
brings to bear upon the entire management and course of instruction the benetits 
derived from his experience of manj^ years in similar institutions, while building up 
some of the largest, most successful and popular female colleges in the State. Mr. 
Dulin is ably assisted by a large and efficient corps of teachers, "who heartily second 
him in securing a well-rounded culture — moral, mental and physical. 

The fact, too, that Mrs. Dulin herself, the mother of a model family, a lady of cul- 
ture, large experience and generous motherly character, resides in the institution 
and superintends the home-life of the resident pupils, is a feature adding an unpur- 
chasable character to the training here received. 

The Pi'esident has also the y aluable co-operation of a Board of Trustees, composed of 
leading citizens of St. Joseph, other parts of Missouri, and of Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, 
Colorado and New York. These gentlemen represent all shades of religious thought, 
thus securing a wholesome liberality of training and a liberal patronage. The pupils 
attending represent many parts of Missouri and the neighboring States. 

The College Chaplet is a neat and sprightly paper, edited and published by the 
students. Occasional literary and musical entertainments are given by the students, 
and enjoyed by the participants and the many invited guests. 

The people of St. Joseph are justly proud of this noble and useful institution, and 
are, by cordial support, giving substantial proof of their faith in its founder and the 
following efficient faculty : 

Eev. E. S. Dulin, President, and Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy and 
Greek; Mrs. F. E. Everett, Collegiate Department ; Mrs. E. G. Garnett, Collegiate 
Department; Miss M. S. Lemon, Collegiate Department, Latin and Ger- 
man; Miss C. M. To wles, Collegiate Department; Miss M. E. Vickars, Collegiate 
Department and Calisthenics; Miss S. F. Thatcher, Preparatory Department; 
Prof. Geo. Lyon, Elocution ; Eev. F. Gerstmann, Hebrew; Miss Albertine Eckel, 
French; iss M. J. Morrison, Drawing and Painting ; Miss F. M. Marshall, Tapestry, 
Shell, Wax, Hair and Bead Work; Prof. William Siebert, Piano, Organ and 
Guitar; Miss Eva Kellogg, Vocalization and Piano. 



EEV. E. S. DULIN, D.D., LL.D., 

was born near the banks of the Potomac, about five miles from Mount Vernon, in 
Fairfax county, Virginia, January 18th, 1821. On his father's side he is descended 
from the Huguenot family, Dulon, which, in the latter part of the seventeenth 
century, settled in Maryland. His mother belonged to the English Quaker family, 
Shelton, which settled in Loudon county, Virginia. His father, in 1823, moved to 
Washington, D. C, where he died when the subject of our sketch was nine years old, 
leaving his family entirely without support or income, as his property was all swept 
away through his indorsements for others. Thus early the battle of life began. 
Hard work during the day ; diligent study far into the night and at all leisure 
hours, was the i-ule and practice of his early days. He enjoyed the blessing of a 
Christian mother, and, largely through her, was brought to Christ, and in 1839 
united with the Calvert Street Baptist Church, Baltimore, and soon after determined 
to go as a missionary to Burmah. He entered Eichmoud College in the spring of 
1841, where he remained four years, seeing his mother but once during this time, 



792 GEEAT CITIES A?TO TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

earning each vacation the money to pay his expenses of the following term. Upon 
his graduation, he was recommended by Dr. Ryland, and elected Principal of St. 
Bride's Academy. Here, from over^vork amid the malaria from the adjacent Dismal 
Swamp, his health gave way, and he accepted the Professorship of Ancient Lan- 
guages in Hollins' Institute. A year in this beautiful monntain region greatly 
improved his health, but the hope of strength enough to go as missionary to Burmah 
was abandoned. He spent the next year perfecting himself as a teacher, by taking 
a special course at the University of Virginia. He was ordained as a minister at 
Baltimore, in August, 1848, and came to Missouri the following October, settling as 
pastor of the Baptist Church at Lexington, in March, 1849. 

He was married August 28th, 1849, to Miss Sarah R. Gilkey, his present most 
estimable wife. He was a member of the Convention at Boonville which, in 1849, 
located William Jewell College at Liberty. He was elected its President the follow- 
ing October, and January 1st, 1850, he organized the college. 

In the spring of 1856, he was recalled to the pastorate of the Lexington church. 
Two months later, the Baptists of Lexington bought the Female College property, 
and in the following September he became its President. The previous session had 
closed with about thirty pupils. At the expiration of Dr. DuUn's second year the 
number was 286; but the labor of securing this result had broken him down, and 
he resigned the position. He became pastor of the Baptist Church in Kansas City in 
1858, and thence was called to the pastorate of the First Baptist Church in St. 
Joseph, in 1859, where he remained about six years, when his services were again 
sought, and he was induced, in 1865, to again accept the management of the Female 
College at Lexington. The college buildings had been destroyed during the war, 
and the school closed. His energy and untiring industry soon restored the college 
to its former prosperity. During all this time, Dr. Dulin's sympathies were with 
"William Jewell College, of which he was the iirst President and constant friend, 
and while at Lexington he conceived, developed and submitted to the General 
Association the plan now on record on their minutes, which brought into existence 
the Board of Ministerial Education connected with that institution. A wider field 
of usefulness now seemed open, and in 1870 he founded Stephens College, at 
Columbia, which flourished with increasing patronage during his six years' manage- 
ment. 

Dr. Dulin removed to St. Joseph in the summer of 1876, and became the founder 
of St. Joseph Female College, intending to make this the crowning efibrt of his life- 
work in the mental and moral training of western young women. 

As his past services and wide popularity evince, Dr. Dulin possesses rare talent 
and fitness for this great work. Sound in judgment and scholarship, elevated and 
large-ininded in his plans and conceptions, with intense enthusiasm, energy and 
perseverance, he makes the best provision for the culture of his pupils, and inspires 
them with a high appreciation of life and its uses, and with a laudable ambition to 
excel. His administrative firmness and authority, coupled with uniform kindness 
and cordiality, give him an almost unbounded influence in forming the habits and 
controlling the conduct of his pupils. Dr. Dulin ranks among the ablest preachers 
in the State. His sermons are carefully prepared, with sufficient rhetorical oi-nament 
to interest and please, and delivered with impassioned earnestness ; he makes every- 
thing subserve in enforcing the sweet truths of the Gospel, as they affect the hearts 
and lives of men. These truths he enforces with keenest logic, and a fervid and 
fearless eloquence that makes no compromise with error. His literary and theologi- 



ST. JOSEPH. 



793 



cal abilities have been fittingly acknowledged by the proper scholastic institutions 
conferring upon him the derees of A.M., D.D., LL.D. 

Dr. Dulin is a social, cordial, honest, outspoken gentleman. With a strong spice 
of the facetious in his nature and conversation, and a good, true heart, he makes 
many friends, and retains them. He is, in the best sense of the word, a self-made 
man, having, by his own ability, energy, perseverance, integrity and usefulness, 
earned his present enviable position and good name. 



YOUNG LADIES' INSTITUTE, 

Kev. Charles Martin, M. D., Principal. The Principal of the Young Ladies' Institute 
of St. Joseph, Missouri, after successfully conducting a large boarding and day 
school in Hagerstown, Maryland, for several years, removed to this city in 1869, 
and opened the present school, at first with only a moderate share of patronage. 
But, by devotion to the work of Christian education until the present (1878) , the 
institution has steadily worked its wa,j into the confidence of the more intelligent 
and respectable portion of the people. Its course of instruction is sufiicieutly 
comprehensive in both its literary and ornamental features. Its teachers are 
thoroughly qualified and devoted to their sevei'al departments. Parents can feel 
assui'ed that their children, in this school, will have every care that a conscientious 
regard for their physical, intellectual and moral culture can secure to them. The 
patronage of the Institute, for the last four years, has numbered from sixty to 
seventy pupils. 

ST. JOSEPH COLLEGE, 

This building was erected in 1858, was opened as an educational institution in 
1867, and empowered to confer degrees in 1872. The college is under the direction 
of the Christian Brothers, an order solely and exclusively devoted to teaching. The 
object of the faculty is to confer a thorough classical and commercial education. 
The Institution is at present under the charge of Bro. Agatho, president; an able 
and popular educator. 



THE SEMINAKY OF THE SACRED HEART, 

occupying a commanding situation, overlooking the Missouri River, and half hid by 
shrubbery, is one of the prominent and first-noticed buildings of the city. 

The school was organized, under the care of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, in 
1853. The community then consisted of five sisters, with Mother Anna Shannon, 
Supei'ior. The institution has had a prosperous career. The number of pupils has 
steadily increased. The standard of graduation has been raised, and the material 
wealth multiplied. 

The community now consists of a large number of Sisters. Mother Shannon is 
still Superior, although she was absent in the South from 1856 to 1873. She is an 
able, industrious and useful woman, who has given fifty years of her life to the 
education and training of her sex. 



794 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

ST. JOSEPH FEMALE SCHOOL, 

under the direction of the Sisters of Charity, was founded in 1870. There are now 
about one hundred to one hundred and fifty pupils in attendance, with hopeful 
prospects of enlargement. It is nominally a pay-school, though none are denied 
admission on account of inability to pay for tuition. 



THE ST. JOSEPH GAZETTE 

was established in 1845, as a Democratic newspaper, and has always maintained that 
character. Like nearly all "Western papers, it commenced as a weekly of small size. 
It grew up with the city, and issued its first daily edition in 1867. The present 
Gazette Publishing Company was organized in 1875. The large circulation of the 
Gazette, and its extensive advertising patronage, bear ample testimony to the able 
business management under F- M. Tufts, President of the company, while its leading 
position as an enterprising newspaper is due to the wisdom and ability of Major S. 
A. Gilbert, the managing editor. 



SAMUEL A. GILBEKT 

was born at Joliet, Illinois, May 19th, 1836. He graduated at Masonic College, 
Lexington, Missouri, 1855. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1859, 
and practiced his profession in Platte county, Missouri, and in Atchison, Kansas, 
until November, 1875, when he removed to St. Joseph, to take the editorial man- 
agement of the St. Joseph Gazette. 

In 1859, he was married to Miss Martha McConnell, of "Weston. 

Mr. Gilbert, in 1865, established the Landmark, at Weston, and conducted it until 
1870. He was for eleven years Probate Judge of Platte county, and was a member 
of the Constitutional Convention in 1865. 

As a writer, Mr. Gilbert is clear, vigorous and incisive, and while a strong poli- 
tician, is not confined by mere party trammels. As a speaker, he is fluent, logical, 
cumulative and convincing — displaying great powers of description, with well- 
turned compliments, and stinging, though chaste and dignified invective. 



WILLAED PREBLE HALL 

was boi*n at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, on May 9th, 1820. His parents were of that 
New England type who consider that their first business in life is to educate their 
family. Young Willard so well appreciated this, and so industriously employed 
his opportunities, that he entered Yale College, took his place in the Phi-Beta-Kappa 
Society, and graduated with honor ia a class which contained such men as Senator 
H. L. Dawes, Chas. A. Bristed, and Professor Whitney, now of Harvard. 

Immediately upon his graduation, at the age of nineteen, he entered the law office 
of his older brother. Judge William A. Hall, at Harper's Ferry. The next year he 
moved west, locating on a fai'm near Hantsville, Missouri, where he continued his 
law studies, and was admitted to the bar in 1841. He moved to Sparta, then the 
county seat of Buchanan County, in 1842, and there opened a law office, and gave 
such evidence of his ability and integrity that, though only twenty-three years 



ST. JOSEPH. 795 

old, Governor Reynolds appointed him to the responsible position of Circuit Attor- 
ney. In 1844, he was one of the Presidential electors on the Polk and Dallas 
ticket, thus casting his maiden presidential vote for the electors, and as one of them, 
for the president of his choice, and carrying the electoral vote to Washington. In 
the practice of his profession, he moved to St. Joseph, in 1846. In 1846, he 
enlisted as a private in General A. W. Doniphan's celebrated regiment, known 
as the " First Missouri Mounted Volunteers", for service in the Mexican War. 
During this expedition he was detailed by General Kearney, to draft a code of 
laws for New Mexico, and did the work so thoroughly and wisely, that it was 
adopted entire, and known as the Kearney Code, and has remained, and is now, 
substantially the code of that territory. During his absence in Mexico, Mr. Hall 
was elected, in August, 1846, as a member of the XXXth Congress, from the then 
Fourth District. As the Congress did not meet until December 1st, 1847, Mr. Hall 
remained in the service, and was shortly after appointed Lieutenant, on account 
of eflicient and gallant service, and his company detailed to accompany Generals 
(then Lieutenant Colonel) Cook and Emery to California. On account of the non- 
payment of the men, they wei'e unable to procure horses and so could not go as 
detailed; but Lieutenant Hall, ignoring his commission, and procuring ahorse, 
accompanied the expedition as a private, acting most of the time as scout. He did 
valuable service in California, where he frequently met Generals Sherm.an and 
Halleck, then lieutenants in the regular army, remaining there until his retui-n to 
Missouri with General Kearney, in June, 1847. 

In Congress, he gave such evidence of ability, and gave his constituents such 
satisfaction, that they returned him to the XXXlst and XXXIId Congresses, 
While there, he was better known as a worker and useful member, than as an 
orator and wire-puller. He occupied the position of chairman of the Committee 
on Public Lands. He drafted, urged and secured the passage of the bills 
giving the land grants to the State of Missouri, thus securing the building of the 
Hannibal &} St. Joseph, and the southwest branch of the Missouri Pacific Eailroad 
(now St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad), which, more than any other single 
enterprise, developed northern, northwestern and southwestern Missouri. 

Mr. Hall was, in the fall of 1847, married to Miss Annie E. Richardson, by whom 
he had four children, three of whom are living: William R, Hall, now Assistant 
Surgeon in the United States army, stationed at Fort Wrangle, Alaska ; Willard P. 
Hall, Jr., present City Attorney of St. Joseph; and J. N. Hall, a successful farmer 
near this city. Mrs. Hall was a most exemplary and estimable lady, who, upon her 
death, in 1862, left a sorrowing host of friends. 

Mr. Hall was, in June, 1864, married to Miss Ollie L. Oliver, his present wife, 
by whom he has three children, two sons and one daughter, who give promise of a 
useful and brilliant futui'e. 

Upon completing his third consecutive term in Congress, Mr. Hall resume^ the 
practice of his profession, at the same time managing his farm near St. Joseph, until 
he was elected a member of the " Convention of 1861," where he successfully 
opposed the secession of Missouri. This convention deposed the State oflicers, and 
elected Hamilton R. Gamble, Governor, and Willard P. Hall, Lieutenant Governor. 
Governor Gamble dying, January 31st, 1864, Mr. Hall, became Governor of Missouri, 
and so continued until Governor Fletcher's inauguration. 

Willard P. Hall is one of the few men who, in a community, has the unqualified 
respect and esteem of his neighbors, fellow-citizens and professional and political 



796 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

associates and contestants. He is acknowledged as the leading lawyer of the north- 
west, the peer of the leading legal minds of the State, and occupies a place in the 
Supreme Court, which many older, and, perhaps, better known men, have striven 
in vain to attain. While he is an excellent jury lawyer, he particularly excels in 
that department which requires extended reading, clear judgment and logical deduc- 
tion. As a statesman, he is broad and deep ; and while a strong political worker, 
rises above local or shallow partizanship. 



SILAS WOODSON 

was born in Knox county, Kentucky, May 18th, 1819. He worked on his father's 
farm, attended the " log-cabin" school-house of the neighborhood, and occupied his 
leisure time in reading and study. His stout heart, resolute will and untiring indus- 
try, without college training, have given him that boasted position among Ameri- 
cans : a self-made man. 

At the age of eighteen, he left the farm and engaged for a short time in selling 
goods. This occupation was not congenial to his taste, and he commenced reading- 
law, and was licensed to practice in 1839. His energy, industry, talent and the 
happy faculty of making himself popular, secured success. In 1842, when only 
twenty-three years of age, he made an able, ardent and successful canvass against 
the then popular incumbent for his district, as a member of the General Assembly. 
In the Legislatui-e, he proved himself an active and zealous member, but at the expi- 
ration of the term devoted himself to his profession. Judge Owsley soon recog- 
nized his ability by appointing him Circnit Attorney for the 12th Judicial District. 
At the expiration of the term of four years, he was re-appointed, but soon resigned 
the position, in order to give his whole attention to his growing and lucrative 
practice. 

In 1849, he was elected to, and was an active and popular memb3r of, the Consti- 
tutional Convention of Kentucky. In 18-53, he was again elected to the Legislature, 
and with the expiration of his term closed his official career in Kentucky. 

In August, 1854, he moved to Missouri, and settled in St. Joseph, his present 
home. He successfully practiced his profession until 1860, when he was elected 
Judge of the 12th Judicial Circuit, in Avhich position he gave universal satisfaction, 
and at the expiration of his term, with a most enviable I'eputation, again resumed 
the practice of law. As a practitioner, he takes his rank among the leading lawyers 
of the State, and his professional associates cheerfully concede his eminent ability 
in criminal cases. The vital interests of the largest corporations, the equally impor- 
tant rights of the humblest citizen, alike command his services, and whether the fee 
is a fortune or a farthing, he devotes his best abilities and his constant attention to 
the success of his client. 

In August, 1872, quite unexpectedly to himself, he was nominated by the State 
Democratic Convention as candidate for Governor of Missouri, his name when pre- 
sented during the progress of the fourth ballot, being received with such enthusiasm 
that the nomination was carried substantially by acclamation. He was elected by a 
majority of 35,442 over his competitor, Hon. J. B. Henderson, and for two years 
served the people of Missouri in the highest office in their gift. 

No blemish mars the purity of his private life. He is one of the few men who, 
through a long public career, have never once neglected or betrayed any trust reposed 



ST. JOSEPH. 797 

in them. His motto is, and his action has always been, to do what right and justice 
demand, leaving consequences to take care of themselves. 

The qualities which have earned him his present honorable position, and insure 
his future advancement and usefulness, are an earnest nature, great energy and 
firmness, a clear judgment, with comprehensive and analytical mind, and a heart 
full of true charity and noble impulses. 



JOHN DONIPHAN 

was born in Brown county, Ohio, July 12th, 1826. His father, Thomas S. Doniphan, 
was surgeon in Pogue's regiment, Kentucky Volunteers, in the war of 1812. His 
grandfather, Joseph Doniphan, taught the first school in Kentucky, at the fort in 
Boonesboro, in 1778. He is a nephew of General A. W. Doniphan, whom we 
all know as the commander of the Missouri Volunteers in Mexico. He spent his 
early life in Kentucky, and in 1846 he moved to Missouri, and settled in Liberty. 
He graduated at the Louisville Law University, in 1848, and settled at Weston, 
Platte county, in February, 1849. He was in the Legislature in 1854-55, as a Whig, 
and in the State Senate from 1862 to 1866, and returned to the House in 1868. He 
■was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Platte county, in 1871. 

Mr. Doniphan was in command of Platte county several times, as Colonel of the 
39th regiment of Missouri State Militia, during the war. 

He was married, in 1852, to Miss Fannie Thornton, daughter of Colonel John 
Thornton, of Clay county. 

Mr. Doniphan is well known as an active Odd-Fellow, having joined Phoenix 
Lodge No. 30, in March, 1849. He has been Grand-Master of Missouri, and Grand- 
Representative four years to the Grand Lodge of the United States. 

He moved to St. Joseph, in 1872, and has a large and lucrative practice, besides 
being attorney for the Receivers of the St. Joseph and Denver Railroad. He is an 
able, eloquent and successful lawyer, and a genial, whole-souled gentleman. 



WILLIAM H. SHERMAN 

was born at Homer, Michigan, in 1843. Several generations of his ancestors lived 
in Connecticut and Vermont. He received a classical education, and graduated 
from the Law Department of Michigan University, in 1863. He removed to Mis- 
souri in 1865, and for eighteen months was an editor of the Herald and of the 
Union newspapers in St. Joseph, and was at the same time deputy and acting clerk 
of the Supreme Court. 

Mr. Sherman was, in 1867, elected City Attorney for St. Joseph, and for some 
years subsequently served as City Counselor. He has been a zealous and diligent 
student in his profession, aiming to deserve a respectable standing among his pro- 
fessional brethren, and his excellent and remunerative practice and bright prospects 
show that he has labored successfully. Mr. Sherman devotes his time and energies 
to his profession, and ranks among the best lawyers in northwest Missouri. 



BENJAMIN ROBERT VINEYARD 

was born in Platte county, Missouri, July 31st, 1842. He studied at Pleasant Ridge 
College, in his native county, and graduated at William Jewell College, Liberty. 



798 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

In 1864, he commenced his law studies in the office of Judge H. M. Vories, St. 
Joseph, and was admitted to the bar in 1866. He was married May 19th, 1868, to 
Miss Emma Hoagland, daughter of George T. Hoagland, President of Buchanan 
Bank. He has established a good practice, and is retained in many important cases. 
He was appointed City Counselor in April, 1876. 



THE ST. JOSEPH MEDICAL SOCIETY 

was organized several years since, for the purpose of bringing together its members, 
some of the leading physicians of the city, that they might become better acquainted 
with each other, personally and professionally. 

It has not only been the means of social and fraternal intercourse between cultured 
gentlemen, but has done much to elevate the tone of practice, and give to its mem- 
bership the benefit of the combined experience of the profession. 

Among the honored members who have finished their labors and gone to meet the 
Great Physician, we mention DrS. O. B. Knode, J. H. Chambers, J. B. Snelson, J. 
H. Crane and F. S. Davis. 



THE ST. JOSEPH SURGICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL SOCIETY 

was organized for the purpose of advancing the general character, interests and 
efficiency of the profession. The gentlemen forming its membership — some of the 
leading physicians — have found it the means of much improvement in the tone of 
practice, as it has promoted professional and personal acquaintance, co-operation 
and good will. The Presidents of the society have been Joseph Malin, C. F. Knight, 
and J. D. Smith. The latter now occupies that position. 



WILLIAM IRVING HEDDENS, M.D., 

President of the St. Joseph Medical Society, was born in Preble county, Ohio, on 
February 14th, 1828. He graduated at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, in 
1854, and practiced his profession four years in southern Kentucky, where he was 
married to Miss Kate Adams, of Barboursville, in 1855. His estimable wife bore 
him six children — two daughters and four sons — and died, loved by all, in 1874. 
He moved to St. Joseph in 1858, and soon became a favorite in the city. 

Dr. Heddens, in his general pi'actice of medicine and surgery, has, by his personal 
worth, professional ability and continued study, built up and long maintained a very 
large and lucrative practice. 

CHARLES FITZGERALD KNIGHT, M.D., 

was born in Clark (then Frederick) county, Virginia, November 14th, 1829. He 
was educated at Winchester, Virginia, graduated at Winchester Medical College in 
1852, and practiced at White Post three years, when he moved to St. Joseph in 1855. 
Dr. Knight was, on April 11th, 1861, married to Miss Mattie Keyes, who died on 
August 23d following. He was again married February 9th, 1864, to Miss Annie 
M. Keyes, by whom he has six children — four sons and two daughters. Dr. Knight 
has a large and lucrative general practice in medicine, surgeiy and obstetrics. 



ST. JOSEPH. 799 

JOHN M. RICHMOND 

was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, September 17th, 1837. He graduated with 
honor at the University of North Carolina, in 1858, and received the honorary 
degree of A.M. three years later. He spent several years in the New York hospi- 
tals, and graduated in medicine at the University of New York, in 1860, taking the 
first honors in surgery and anatomy. He spent two years in the hospitals of France 
and Germany. He entered the Confederate army as assistant surgeon, and was 
speedily promoted to surgeon, where he remained nearly four years, and then prac- 
ticed at Abbeyville, South Carolina, until 1872, when he moved to St. Joseph, where 
he commenced a general practice of medicine and surgery, but with special attention 
to the latter, in which he is fast gaining an enviable reputation. 



JACOB GIEGER, M.D., 

was born in "Wurtemberg, Germany, July 25th, 1848, and emigrated, with his mother, 
to America, in 1858. He studied at Home Seminary, Illinois, and gradua- 
ted at Bryant's Commercial College, St. Joseph. He then studied medicine and 
began to practice in 1868. He graduated at the University of Louisville, in 1872, and 
immediately resumed the practice of medicine in St. Joseph, where he is rapidly 
building up a respectable and paying practice, showing special ability in his favorite 
department of surgery. 



WILLIAM BEDFORD CRAIG, M.D., 

was born in De Kalb, Buchanan county, Missouri, on September 17th, 1854. He grad- 
uated at the St. Joseph High School in 1873, at the St. Louis Medical College in 1875 
and at the Bellevue Medical College, New York, in 1876. He has made a creditable 
record, and is steadily working into the practice to which his worth and ability 
entitles him. 

HOMEOPATHY. 

The homeopathic physicians of St. Joseph are not numerous, but they have a firm 
hold in the city, and the doctrine of Hahnemann is accepted by some of the leading 
families of the city, who are either old adhei'ents or new converts to the practice. 



HENRY WILCOX WESTOVER, M.D., 

was born near Cleveland, Ohio, on July 1st, 1851. He graduated at the Chicago 
Medical College, in the spring of 1871. He practiced a short time in Chicago, and 
afterwards took a special course on the eye and ear at the New York Ophthalmic 
Hospital, and was assistant surgeon at that institution, and was, at the same time, 
surgeon of the Northeastern Homeopathic Dispensary, Fifty-fifth street. New York. 
He came to St. Joseph in July, 1874, and has built up a select and paying practice, 
which is having a healthy and satisfactory growth. 



800 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF IVnSSOUEI. 

JOHN CORBY 

was born in the city of Limerick, Ireland, June 24th, 1808. He was, in a family of 
ten, the second child and oldest son of John Corby and Bridget Sheehan, who, in 
1820, with their family, emigrated to America, and settled upon a farm in Beaver 
county, Pennsylvania, where the subject of this sketch remained onlj^ a few years, 
when he started out in the world to find honest and paying employment. 

As the Hebrews of old dedicated their first fruits to Jehovah, so young John 
Corby, like many of his countrymen, dedicated his first earnings to his parents, 
sending the money to his mother, whose blessing followed him ever afterwai'ds. 

His industrious and frugal habits soon enabled him to become an employer, and 
in a few years we find him a contractor on the Baltimore and Washington Eailway, 
one of the first railroads built in the country. He afterwards took and fulfilled 
large contracts on the Pittsburg and Erie Canal, on the Grand Slackwater Naviga- 
tion Project for Licking River, Kentucky, on the Madison and Indianapolis Rail- 
road ; followed by railroad, pike and levee contracts, in Ohio, Kentucky, Mississippi, 
Arkansas and Louisiana. 

In a trip West, Mr. Corby arrived at St. Joseph in October, 1843, and was so much 
pleased with the place, then a mere trading post, that he purchased from Joseph 
Robidoux a number of lots. In the following spring he brought out a large stock 
of goods, commenced merchandising, and built the first bi'ick house in the town. 

For a number of years he carried on the largest retail business in that vicinity, 
investing his profits in real estate, with that rare foresight which proved ever remu- 
nerative. 

On May 30th, 1852, he was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Musick, youngest 
daughter of the late Hon. Joel L. Musick, of Florissant, St. Louis county. 

No children blessed this otherwise happy union, and upon Mr. Corby's death, his 
wife, by his will, became the sole and unconditional heir to his vast estates. 

Mr. Corby, in 1857, retired from the dry-goods trade, and opened a banking- 
house, and continued in that line of business till his death. 

He was foremost in every enterprise which benefitted the city of his home. 

He was one of the originators of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, — active 
and efficient in securing its charter and franchises, and made several carriage and 
horseback trips across the State, to determine the best route for the road. He was 
one of the first directors, which position he resigned to become a contractor, and 
constructed twenty-five miles of the road. 

The Roseport and Marysville, or Palmetto Railroad Company was organized in 
1857, with General Jefi". Thompson as President, and John Corby as Vice-President. 
Mr. Corby became president of this company, and under his administration it was 
consolidated with the Northern Railroad of Kansas, under the name of the St. 
Joseph and Denver City Railroad Company. By this consolidation the company 
secured 125,000 acres of land granted by the State of Kansas to the Wathena, Kan- 
sas, Railroad Company, thus insuring the success of the enterprise. 

Mr. Corby was at this time also a director in the St. Joseph and'Topeka Railroad 
Company. 

In 1858, Mr. Corby was one of the incorporators of, and a director in, the St. 
Joseph Branch of the Bank of the State of Missouri, and when this bank was, in 1864, 
merged into the State National Bank, he became a director, and so continued until a 
short time before his death. 



ST. JOSEPH. 801 

He was also an incorporator and director of the St. Joseph Fire and Marine In- 
surance Compa,ny. 

Mr. Corby was elected Mayor of St. Joseph in 1856, and was many times a mem- 
ber of the City Council ; in all of which positions he not only gave entire satisfac- 
tion to his constituents, but at the same time advanced the best interests of the 
entire city. In short, he brought to bear in his official positions the same wisdom, 
sagacity and honesty, which in private life made him respected, honored and successful. 

Mr. Corby was President of the Hibernian Benevolent Society from its organiza- 
tion in 1867, until the time of his death. 

After a life of constant activity, Mr. Corby was, in 1867, attacked with heart dis- 
ease. He consulted with some of the best physicians in the United States, with but 
little benefit. In 1869, he visited Florida, where he spent part of the winter,— 
returning to St. Joseph on February 2d, 1870, where he died May 9th following. 

John Corby was in many respects a remarkable man. Joined to a vigorous con- 
stitution was a nature ardently given to the accumulation of wealth, a strict integ- 
rity, a practical piety, and a warm, wise chax-ity . 

He made liberal donations to St. Joseph Seminary of the Sacred Heart, and other 
institutions, in earlier years. During one year he gave to St. Joseph Hospital 
between $4,000 and $5,000; to a Female Seminarj^, to be located on St. Joseph 
avenue and Albemarle street, $5,000; lots to aid in building the St. Joseph Cathe- 
dral, $10,000; the land, 160 acres, for a Catholic cemetery near St. Joseph, $8,000 
to $10,000; thus making a total of about $30,000 given in one year for religious, 
educational, and charitable purposes. 

On the one hundred and sixty acres of land, about three miles from St. Joseph, 
donated for a Catholic cemetery, ten acres were reserved in the centex for a church 
site. Upon this tract, which is covered with a beautifixl growth of forest trees, Mrs, 
Corby has erected a memorial chapel, which, in point of architectural beauty and 
chasteness of adornment, excels anything in the West, This affectionate memento 
tells, by its solid walls, its artistic designs, its emblematic frescoes, axxd by its sacred 
pux'pose, that the love of a trixe woman never dies. 

This chapel is built in the Gothic style of the thirteenth century, irregular cruci- 
form, a pentagonal sanctuary forming the shorter limb. It is forty-two feet ten 
inches front, flftj'-five feet five inches through the transepts, and has a total length 
of eighty-four feet three inches. The xnassive walls, with numerous buttresses, are 
entirely of limestone, laid in rough ashlar style, and are richly ornamented with cut 
and carved Carroll-county sandstone dressings. They are of massive strencrth and 
dxirability, and the sublimity of the exterior is in perfect accord with the artistic and 
elegant interior. The frescoing, beautiful in design and elaborate in execution, is 
the admiration of those whose culture enables thein fully to appreciate its merits. 
On the left of the altar and facixig the auditorium is a beautiful fresco of the Madonna 
and infant Jesus, On the right is the vault in which are deposited the mortal remains 
of John Corby, This is an open space with highlj^-ox-namented arched entrance 
looking toward the altar. Upon a deeply-recessed tablet on the outside of the north 
wall of the vault, which is ornamented with two beautiful columns, carved and 
chased to symbolize moux-ning, is inscribed in raised letters : " Erected to the mem- 
ory of John Corby." On the west wall of the interior of the vaixlt is a fine painting 
of -'■ The Holy Sepulcher," axid on the canopy above " Our Savior." On the outer 
or north wall of the interior of the vault is repx^esexited "The Ascension" and 
between the windows are the fourteen '' Stations of the Cross," representing Christ 
51 



802 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

going from the Judgment Hall in Jerusalem, to Mount Calvary, without the gates. 
Upon the walls of the nave above, in basso 7'eUevo, life-size, are the twelve apostles. 
These various scenes are of superior artistic merit, and are beautifully set in appro- 
priate mouldings, and the spaces about them highly ornamented with gothic tracery. 
The chapel, which will seat about three hundred people, is indeed a gem of beauty. 
Its massive durability, and artistic elegance are a fitting and lovely expression 
of the genuine piety and wifely affection of her who so tenderly and practically 
pays loving tribute to him whom it is built to commemorate. 



DUDLEY MITCHUM STEELE 

was born in Jessamine county, Kentucky, February 18th, 1821. His mother died 
when he was quite young, and when he was sixteen he buried his father. By this 
time he had a good English, and a fair classical, education, and commenced clerking 
in the wholesale and retail dry-goods house of his cousin, Dudley M. Craig, in 
Lexington, Kentucky. His health becoming impaired by his close confinement, and 
having heard glowing accounts of Missouri, especially of the rich" Platte Purchase," 
and against the remonstrances of friends, who derided the idea of an " inexperi- 
enced boy " contending with the " western wilds ", he, in the spring of 1842, started 
on horse-back for the West. At Louisville he took passage for St. Louis. Forming 
the acquaintance and friendship of several gentlemen on the boat, they traveled 
too-ether to Columbia, Missouri, where they spent several days with his hospitable 
relative, David S. Lamb, and proceeded to what w^s then Robidoux Landing, now 
St. Joseph. Captivated by the richness and exuberance of the soil, he purchased 
land five miles east of Savannah, and became a farmer. While here, he was appointed 
justice of the peace, and afterwards re-elected to the same position. 

In August, 1848, he was married to Miss Mary E., third daughter of JohnMitchum, 
formerly of Woodford county, Kentucky, Mrs. Steele died in 1849, shortly after 
giving birth to a daughter, who survivod her mother. Years of unremitting indus- 
try and toil upon his farm, which, together with his bereavements, told heavily upon 
his health and physical strength, compelling him to give up his agricultural pur- 
suits, he, in the fall of 1849, resumed merchandizing in St. Joseph. Finding 
but little, if any, relief from this change, he determined to visit California, and in 
the spring of 1850, he started, with an ox team and a small herd of cattle, to cross 
the plains to the western Ul Dorado. The Indians were numerous, and frequently 
troublesome in those days, and emigrants, therefore, traveled in companies suffi- 
ciently strong for self-protection. A company of twenty men and ten wagons, 
principally from Andrew county, was formed, and Mr, Steele was selected as the 
manager. They traveled, with but few adventures, via South Pass, after passing 
which the wagons continued on the " Old Fort Hall Eoute," leaving Salt Lake to 
the South. Mr. Steele, desirous of visiting Salt Lake, arranged a series of signals 
by which he could join the train west of that point, and, in company with Mr. 
McClain, started on horseback for the Great Salt Lake Valley, where they spent two 
weeks. They joined their comrades as arranged, having successfully traversed that 
wild Indian country, a distance of five hundred miles. They arrived at their desti- 
nation after a four months' journey, and Mr. Steele immediately engaged in the 
stock business, forming a partnership with James McCord, of the present firm of 
Nave, McCord & Co., whom he shortly afterwards bought out. In the spring of 



ST. JOSEPH. 803 

1852, Mr. Steele formed a co-partnership with Messrs. McCorcl, ISTave and Clark, 
under the firm name of Steele, McCord & Co. This firm afterwards became one of 
the most prominent as dealers in and raisers of American stock, in Upper California. 

In 1856, Mr. Steele was elected by the counties of Colusa and Tehoma to represent 
them in the California State Legislature, receiving the largest democratic vote ever 
cast in that District. 

He continued in the California cattle trade until 1867, during which time he 
crossed the plains three times in a "prairie schooner," and made nine trips across 
the Isthmus, sometimes by the Panama, and at others by the Nicaragua route. In 
1857, Mr. Steele returned to St. Joseph, where the members of the firm of Steele, 
McCord & Co. entered the wholesale grocery trade under the flnn name of Nave, 
McCord & Co. 

In May, 1858, Mr. Steele was married to Miss Eliza May, of Washington county, 
Kentucky, by whom he had two children, who were left motherless by the death of 
Mrs. Steele in the spring of 1861. 

In consequence of the troubles then i aging on account of the civil war. Nave, 
McCord & Co. deemed it advisable to move part of their goods to Omaha, then a 
small village. Mr. Steele took the management of this consignment, and of the 
branch house shortly afterwards established there. 

In the spring of 1862, Mr. Steele again visited California to close up the unsettled 
business of Steele, McCord & Co., and remained there over a year, leaving the 
Golden State for the last time in August, and arriving in St. Joseph in September, 
1863, and again resumed his active interest in the grocery trade, which he continued 
until failing health compelled him to retire in 1867. In March, 1868, Mr. Steele was 
married to Miss Minnie, oldest daughter of Mr. Abijah Withers, of Clay county, 
Missouri. In June, of the same year, he was elected president of the St. Joseph 
iFire & Marine Insurance Company, to which position he was re-elected in 1869-70. 
During the same time he was the vice-president and manager of the Merchants' In- 
surance Company of St. Joseph, and conducted the business of both companies 
in the same office. In the fall of 1868, Mr. Steele formed a partnership with Samuel 
R. Johnson, of Council Bluflfs, under the firm of Steele & Johnson, and conducted 
the wholesale grocery business. In 1870, he was elected president of the St. Joseph 
.& Denver City Railroad, and re-elected in 1871. The pressure of business was so 
great that he, on September 18th, 1870, resigned the presidency of the St. Joseph 
Fire & Marine Insurance Company, and in November, 1872, after one hundred and 
fifty miles of road had been built under his management, resigned his position as 
president of the St. Joseph & Denver City Railroad. In 1872, he was elected presi- 
dent of the Merchants' Insurance Company, of St. Joseph, which office he now holds, 
iaving been annually re-elected. In 1873, Mr. Steele, W. B. Kemper and others, 
entered the wholesale grocery tx'ade under the firm name of D. M. Steele and Co., 
and the house is doing a fine business. 

Mr. Steele was, in 1876, elected President of St. Joseph Board of Trade, which 
office he still holds. The same year he was elected a director of the St. Joseph 
Bridge Company, and re-elected in 1877. 

Mr. Steele was born and brought up in the Presbyterian Church, and has been a 
constant supporter of, and general attendant upon the services of that denomination. 
In the winter of 1875, he made formal profession of his faith, uniting with the 
First Presbyterian Church of St. Joseph, in which he fills the responsible position 
of President of the Board of Deacons. 



804 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

Few men have had the esteem and confidence of so lai-ge and varied a circle of 
intelligent and sxtccessfnl bnsiness men as Mr. Steele, as evidenced by the many- 
positions of trust and responsibility with which they have honored him. He has, 
by his uniform integrity and honor, genial disposition, and courteous and unassum- 
ing mannei*, established himself in the affections of his associates and the confidence 
of all with whom he deals; and commands the respect and esteem of all who know 
him. 

JOSEPH C. HULL 

was born at Steubenville, Ohio, September 10th, 1812, He received the common- 
school education of the times, and, at the age of sixteen, commenced clerking for 
his uncle in Wheeling, Virginia. He afterwards spent some time at The Lancaster, 
an academy there, becoming more thorough in the English branches, and giving some 
attention to French and Latin. 

Horace Greeley had not then said, " Go West, young man," but Joseph needed not 
the Tribune philosopher's advice, but without it moved to St. Louis, in 1836, where 
he entered a wholesale grocery house, soon becoming a general favorite. The west- 
ward fever was not abated ; so, in 1843, he came to St. Joseph and established a 
country store, which proved a success. In October, 1844, he was married to Miss 
Martha E. Kercheval. They have been blessed with six children, four sons and two 
daughters, and all the happiness that a faithful and loving couple are allowed in this 
world. 

Mr. Hull, in 1852, organized the St. Joseph Fire and Marine Insurance Company. 
He was its first president, and so continued until he successfully wound up its af- 
fairs in 1862. In 1855, he organized the Farmers' and Mechanics' Saving Institution,, 
and was secretary and treasurer of the company until it was successfully closed by 
merging it into the First National Bank, in 1865. 

Mr. Hull has served four years in the City Council, and has been for over twenty 
years a vestryman in the Episcopal Church, with which denomination he united in 
1868. 

Mr. Hull's business career has been successful in that most desirable way, that he 
can feel that, while accumulating property, he has, at the same time, by his judicious 
advice and intelligent management, made others rich at the same time with himself^ 



GEOKGE WARREN SAMUEL, 

whose grandparents were all from Virginia, was born at New Castle, Kentucky,. 
June 4th, 1810. He attended school and academy in his native town, and, at the 
age of eighteen he removed to Fayette, Howard county, Missouri, and soon after es- 
tablished himself in business atHuntsville. In 1834, he removed to, and commenced 
business in Columbia, where, on March 2d, 1838, he was married to Miss Rebecca T. 
Todd, daughter of Judge David Todd. They have three children, now married 
ladies, living— Mrs. Henry W. Yates, of Omaha, Mrs. John S. Lemon, and Mrs. 
John T. Johnson, of St. Joseph. Their only son, David Todd Samuel, a major, and 
one of the youngest officers in the Confederate army, was killed at Atlanta. 

Shortly after this time Mr. Samuel made a trip west, and visited Black Snake Hills, 
and contracted with Robidoux, who then owned the only house in what is now St. 
Joseph, for the title to his pre-emption claim, but the latter took advantage of a flaw 
in the contract to defeat the transfer. 



ST. JOSEPH. 



805 



Mr. Samuel put up the first weather-boarded, shingle-roofed house built on what 
is now known as the " Platte Purchase." This house was afterwards occupied by 
Hon. David E. Atchison, Senator from Missouri, and was his residence during the 
time, when, as President of the Senate, he was, for one day, Sunday noon, March 
4th, until Monday noon March 5th, 18— , President of the United States. Mr. Sam- 
uel closed his business in Columbia, and in connection with Michael Ather and his 
brother, E. M. Samuel, afterwards a banker in St. Louis, conducted an extensive 
merchandizing business at Platte City, Liberty, Richmond, Far West, Camden and 
Napoleon, This scattered business was wound up, and Mr. Samuel, in 18i3, went to 
Savannah, where he continued merchandizing until 1858, when he became president 
of the Southern Bank of Savannah. 

In 1867, he moved to St. Joseph, where he took an active part in the oi'ganization 
of the St. Joseph Fire and Marine Insurance Company, of which he has been from 
the first a director, and during a part of the time its president. Mr. Samuel has done 
a very large, varied and scattered business, muoh. of it on the credit system, which 
was universal in the pioneer days ; and while he is a close collector, he has settled 
with the multitudes who owed him with very little coercion. He now owns stock 
in various Missouri banks, including two in St. Louis. 

Mr. Samuel, while taking an active part in politics, has declined all oifers of office- 
holding, preferring to give his entire time and attention to his business. He refused 
offers of the nomination for State Treasurer when that nomination almost insured 
election. He has been a frequent and acceptable contributor to the press, usually 
writing upon old-time reminiscences or upon home industries and internal improve- 
ments as affecting Northeast Missouri. 

Mr. Samuel is one of the best known among the noble and enterprising pioneers, 
who, at an early day, settled in Northwest Missouri. His relatives, fi'iends and ac- 
quaintances are the leading men in nearly every county in that part of the State. 



JOHN BORING HUNDLEY 

was boi'u in "Washington county, Tennessee, December 19th, 1819. He had the 
advantage of only the common schools of his day, and, at the age of thirteen, com- 
menced clerking in a covmtry store, where he remained until he was twenty-one. 
He moved to Missouri in 1841, and for two years taught school in Ray county. In 
1843, he went to Clinton (now Gentry) county, and opened a country store. He 
was in Gentry county when it was organized, and was for over twelve continuous 
years its Treasurer. 

He was married, in 1848, to Miss Tabitha A. Witten, who, with their ten children 
—five of each sex— all reside in St. Joseph. The oldest son, John E. Hundley, is 
a partner with his father. 

Mr. Hundley was, at the organization of the First National Bank, one of its largest 
stockholders; has been, during its existence, a director; has been President, and is 
now Vice-President of the institution. 

Mr. Hundley is one of the old-timers in Northern Missouri ; a genial, honored, 
honest, respected gentleman. 

THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK 

was organized in 1865; capital, $100,000. The first President was William Zook; 
Thomas E. Tortle now occupying that position. Joseph C. Hull was elected cashier 



806 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

at the organization of the bank, and has held that responsible position ever since. 
The bank has done a uniformly prosperous business, and, even in the general sus- 
pension in 1874, this institution allowed its customers to duplicate their $200 checks, 
so that the suspension was nominal, and only done in friendly assistance to less 
fortunate institutions. Surplus, about $40,000. 



A. BEATTIE'S BANKING-HOUSE 

was established January 1st, 1853 . This was the first bank in St. Joseph, and, 
indeed, in Northwest Missouri, the nearest other banks being at Lexington and 
Glasgow. Mr. Beattie and one clerk conducted the business. Mr. James M. Wilson 
was admitted as a partner in the house in 1854, remaining until 1861. Mr. T. B. 
Weakley became a partner in 1863, and so continued until 1870. Since then Mr. 
Beattie has been, and now is, sole proprietor and manager of the bank. The begin- 
ning of this, like most early Western institutions, was humble; and, while the 
business has always been done in a modest way, it has steadily increased in volume, 
and has been conducted in a manner alike honorable and profitable to its founder 
and present manager. Among its depositors are the leading business and profes- 
sional men of St. Joseph and vicinity. The house has always had its full share of 
patronage, and the unqualified confidence of its patrons and the entire community. 



THE BANK OF ST. JOSEPH 

was organized January 1st, 1874, with a capital of $300,000. C. F. Burns was 
elected its President, and has retained that responsible position ever since. E. P. 
Richardson was the first, and George C. Hull is its present cashier. It is doing a 
healthy, profitable and increasing business. 



THE MECHANICS' INSURANCE COMPANY, 

of St. Joseph, Missouri, the o-ldest company in Northwest Missouri, was incorporated 
and organized in 1866. Capital, $200,000. 

The company does a general fire and marine business, having agencies in the 
principal cities of the Western States. Its stockholders and directors are made up 
of the solid men of St. Joseph, and its course has been honorable, liberal and profit- 
able. 

The present surplus, above all liabilities, is $34,608.32, which, with the capital, 
gives the policy-holders a net security of $234,608.32. 

The present officers are D. M, Steele, President; R. L. McDonald, Vice-President ; 
A. Kirkpatrick, Secretary; W. A. P. McDonald, General Agent. 



THE ST. JOSEPH FIRE & MARINE INSURANCE CO. 

was incorporated December 27th, 1867 — capital, $400,000 — and organized with the 
following officers : J. W. Bailey, President ; George W. Samuel, Vice-President ; 
A. P. Goff, Secretary. The company has had a vigorous, healthy growth, and 
attained a position honorable to its managers as its career has been profitable to its 




-•»V' 






c^\ 



ST. JOSEPH. 



807 



stockholders and patrons. At the close of the last business year, the surplus was 
$106,780.13, which, with the capital, gives policy-holders a total cash security of 
$506,780.13. This is a Western company, managed and controlled by Western men, 
and possessing in an eminent degree those staunch and solid attributes conceded to 
the city whose name it bears. The present officers are : A. P. Goff, President and 
Treasux-er; J. W. Bailey, Vice-President; J. H. Rice, Secretary. 



Dr. GALEN E. BISHOP 

was born at Somerset, Pulasld county, Kentucky, and is about fifty years old. His 
paternal ancestors were of English descent, and, in colonial times, were residents 
of New Hampshire. Members of the Bishop family fought in the Revolutionary 
War, and after the independence of the colonies was secured, removed to Virginia. 
Dr. Bishop's grandfather emigrated from Virginia to Kentucky about the year 1800, 
settling in Nelson county. His father was born in Virginia, and was a small boy 
when he came to Kentucky. Dr. Bishop's mother, whose maiden name was 
Elizabeth Elliott, was a sister of Galen Elliott, one of the earliest, and at the time 
the most prominent physician of Pulaski county, who practiced for many years at 
Somerset, and after whom the subject of this sketch was named. In 1843, Dr. 
Bishop's father, with his family, removed to Platte county, Missoui-i, where he died 
in 1851. 

The association between young Galen and his uncle. Dr. Elliott, was very intimate. 
He seems not only to have taken from him his name, but. with it a strong predilection 
for the study of medicine, for which he seems to have had a great natural inclination, 
and from his earliest years he looked forward with enthusiastic expectation to a 
successful career as a physician. As soon as an opportunity offered, he began his 
medical studies, pursued them with diligence, and commenced practice at New 
Market, Platte county, Missouri, in the spring of 1846. He practiced in Platte 
county nineteen years, during which time he was continually employed in medical 
studies or in practising all branches of the profession, and perfecting, by experience, 
observation and study, his medical knowledge and surgical ability. 

On account of threatening lung disease, induced by the exposure incident to a 
rough country and a large practice, he determined to select a more favorable loca- 
tion, where he could better pursue special lines of study in which he had become in- 
terested. He wished a central location, where patients from the country, atti*acted by 
his rapidly-growing reputation, might easily reach him. Accordingly, in the spring 
of 1865, he removed to St. Joseph, and established himself in an office and general 
pi'actice, giving, however, surgery and chronic diseases his special attention. 

To accommodate his increasing practice, he built his infirmary, on Third street, 
St. Joseph, a capacious building, specially adapted for the accommodation of 
patients, where they may be treated with every facility of modern ingenuity, and 
with every device for the alleviation of the sufierings of the diseased and their 
restoration to health, and which affords ail the comforts of home. 

His success in the thousands of cases which have come under his care — some of 
them the most difficult and complicated known to surgical science — may, to the 
ordinary obseiwer, seem remarkable ; but to those who know Dr. Bishop, who know 
his intense love for his profession, his close and persevering application, his cool 
head and steadv hand, his most brilliant success only realizes their expectations. A 



808 GEEAT CITIES AKD TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

life-long and thorough student of medicine, his leisure time is still devoted to the 
earnest prosecution of medical research, especially in his favorite depai'tments. 

He has gathered one of the finest medical libraries in the "Western countrj', which 
includes the best works of the most celebrated authors. 

He began practice as an Allopathic physician, but his study has not been confined 
to the writings or practice of that school. 

On the shelves of his library stand, side by side, the choicest works of leading 
writers of all schools and systems. Naturally liberal in his tendencies, his practice 
is not hampered by the restrictive dogmas of any particular system of medicine ; 
but he believes that some good and some foundation of truth exists in all systems, 
the best fruits of which should be carefully culled by every physician who holds 
himself up to the requirements of this advanced age. 

His practice has steadily increased, and, besides being very lai-ge in Missouri and 
parts of Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas, he has patients in more distant parts of the 
country. 



SEDALIA. 



SEDALIA. 



809 



Seclalia, the count}' seat of Pettis county, and well known as the 
"Queen City of the Prairies," is beautifully situated in one of the 
richest and best settled portions of Missouri. It is on the Missouri 
Pacific Railroad, 189 miles west of St. Louis, 96 miles southeast of 
Kansas City; at the junction of the Lexington Branch, and the Missouri, 
Kansas and Texas Railway. 

It was laid out in 1859 by Gen. Geo. R. Smith, and the same year 
the first house was erected by James Skinner. The place was originally 
named Sedville, by General Smith, for his daughter Sarah, familiarly 
called Sed, but the name was afterwards changed by him to Sedalia. In 
January, 1860, the Missouri Pacific Railroad was opened from St. Louis 
to the town. General Smith having been one of the most active workers 
in raising fnnds to locate it on what was known as the Inland Route, to 
distinguish it from the River Route. This, for more than two years, 
was the terminus of the road, work on it being stopped by the civil 
war. In the early part of the war, this place was made a depot for 
military supplies, and remained a military post until the surrender. 
During this time no substantial improvements were made, owing to the 
numerous raids of the Confederate troops, which kept the surrounding 
country in a state of excitement. The town was captured twice during 
the war, first by Captain Staples, in 1861, and afterwards by General 
Jeif. Thompson, with a part of General Sterling Price's command, 
October 15th, 1864. In 1862, for greater security, the county records 
were removed from Georgetown to Sedalia, which has since remained 
the county seat. At the close of the war, the population was about 
1,000, and its buildings were so temporary that scarcely any of them are 
now standing. 

A charter was granted to the town, February 15th, 1864, with 
General Smith as the first mayor, and from that time the growth has been 
more substantial and permanent. For some years it was the principal 
shipping point for the Southwest, and now takes rank among the most 
important railway centers of the State, being on the line of the Missouri, 
Kansas & Texas Railroad (the general offices of which company are 
located here) ; also on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and the south- 
western terminus of the Lexington Branch of the latter road. All 
these roads have round-houses and machine-shops at this place, employ- 
ing many workmen, and paying out $50,000 per month. 



SEDALIA. 811 

The city donated to the Missouri Pacific Eailroad twenty acres of 
land and $40,000 in bonds, to remove their shops from Jeiferson City, 
Holden and State Line, and concentrate tliem at this point. 

In 1868, a gas company was organized, and on January 23d, 1869, the 
town was first lighted with gas. A boulevard called Broadway, 120 feet 
wide, having four rows of shade trees dividing the road into four drives, 
has been laid out ; and on this have been erected some very fine 
residences, costing from six thousand to thirty thousand dollars. 

The Library Association, organized in 1871, has fine library and 
reading rooms. The Central Missouri Agricultural and Mechanical 
Association, and the Central Missouri Horse Fair Association have 
extensive grounds and hold annual fairs. 

The High School building and grounds on Broadway are worth $40,000. 
There are three other school buildings, one of which is for colored 
children. 

The city is well supplied with water from Flat Creek, three miles 
distant, by the Holly Water Works, erected in 1872, at a cost of |125- 
000. From the works to the highest point of the town is an elevation 
of 153 feet, and with the engines nearly three miles distant, they have 
force enough to throw three streams of water 135 feet high. 

There are four newspapers published in Sedalia. The Times, weekly, 
published by Cephas A. Leach, The Sedalia Bazoo, daily and weekly, 
by J. West Goodwin, The Opinion, weekly, by J. G. Magan, and The 
Democrat, daily and weekly, by the Democratic Press Co. The city 
contains ten churches — Catholic, Baptist, M. E. Church, M. E. Church 
South, German Methodist, Presbyterian, O. S. Presbyterian, Congre- 
gational, Christian and Episcopal, with au aggregate value of $73,000. 
The location of Sedalia, near the center of the State, its railroad 
communication in five directions, its waterworks, giving an abundant 
supply of that most necessary article, and the unsurpassed agricultural 
country surrounding the city, insure its prosperity as a mercantile center, 
and give it splendid prospects of becoming a successful manufacturing 
point. There are a number of manufacturing establishments in success- 
ful operation, including two flouring mills, with a capacity of three 
hundred barrels per day ; about three hundred firms, whose trade 
amounts to over $5,000,000 per annum, and several wholesale houses 
haviuo; an extensive trade throu2:h the Southwest. 



812 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

WILLIAM GENTEY 

was born near the town of Old Franklin, in Howard county, Missouri, April 1411i 
1818. His father, Renkin E. Gentry, came from Kentucky to Missouri in 1809. He 
settled at Boone's Lick in 1811, and assisted in the erection of Forts Henstead and 
Kincaide, in which he took refuge during- the war of 1812. Major Gentry was the 
youngest of a family of five children, and received only a limited education, the 
schools of Missouri at that time being of a low grade. In 1824, his pai-ents removed 
from Howard county to a place in what was then known as Saline county, about 
five miles north of where Sedalia now stands. 

Here, on the home farm, he spent his youth and early manhood, and, in 1840, was 
married to Miss Ann R., daughter ol Lewis R. Major, Esq., of Pettis county. They 
have a family of eight children, all of whom are now (1878) living. 

In August, 1873, his wife died, and he was married a second time, to Mrs. Evelyn 
Witcher, a sister of his former wife. In 1846, Major Gentry settled on his present 
homestead, about two miles northwest of Sedalia. 

Having already, by economy and good management, accumulated a fair property, 
he began to lay the foundation for his present extensive landed interests. He 
devoted himself industiiously and exclusively to ihe improvement of his farm, and, 
in 1860, began to purchase land in Pettis county, and has now an aggregate of 6,000 
acres, nearly all of which is in a high state of cultivation. 

His home place consists of 2,500 acres, and is a marvel of beauty and convenience. 
In the year 1876, he raised not less than 32,000 bushels of corn, and other grains in 
proportion. 

He has also for a long time been much interested in stock-raising, and keeps con- 
stantly on hand the best breeds of cattle, horses, sheep and hogs, taking annually to 
market not less than 300 head of fat cattle. 

He was, in 1855, elected Judge of the County Court of Pettis county, which 
position he filled, to the entire satisfaction of his constituents, for eight years. At 
the end of that time he resigned, to administer on the estate of his brother, Richard 
Gentry, which business, with his own, required his constant and untiring attention. 

In 1862, he was commissioned by Governor Gamble as Major of the Fortieth 
Regiment of Missouri Enrolled Militia, and served in that capacity till the dissolu- 
tion of the organization. He was then detailed to serve as Major in the Fifth 
Regiment of Provisional Militia, in which capacity he acted till the close of the war. 

Major Gentry took no active part in politics till 1874, when he was nominated for 
Govei'nor of Missouri by the Independent, or People's party, an organization mainly 
supported by the farmers, and he, in company with the Hon. Carl Schurz, made the 
canvass of the State ; but, having the opposition of both regular parties, he was 
defeated by the Hon. Charles H. Hardin, as worthy an opponent as the Democratic 
party could furnish. After this canvass, he returned to his farm, where he has ever 
since been occupied with his favorite pursuits, but little mindful of the distractions 
of the political world, wishing only to see the whole nation return to peace and 
prosperity. 

In 1870, Major Gentry was elected director of the Lexington & St. Louis Railroad. 
He filled this position for two years, and was then elected President of the same 
company, in which capacity he served two years, during which time, in the face of 
great difficulties, he, in connection with others, succeeded in having the road built. 
In the spring of 1876, Major Gentry was elected director of the Missouri, Kansas & 
Texas Railway, which position he now holds. He has also been for a number of 



SEDALIA. S13 

years, and is now, agent for the county of Pettis in representing and attending to all 
matters of business between the county and the above-mentioned railroad. 

Major Gentry is a representative farmer, and, in a State whose agricultural interest 
outweighs all others, he stands the peer of the foremost. As a man and a citizen 
he is above reproach, most honored, trusted and beloved among those who know 
him best. 

For the last twenty years he has been an active member of the leading Fair Asso- 
ciations in his portion of the State, giving his aid and support to the cause of agri- 
culture, and is at present the President of the Central Missouri Agricultural and 
Mechanical Fair Association, held at Sedalia. 



COLONEL A. D. JAYNES 

was born in Lawrence county, Ohio, November 26th, 1829. His educational advan- 
tages were limited to the imperfect common schools of that day and locality. 
Indeed, owing to his own disposition and the circumstances by which he was sur- 
rounded, he attended school but little, early showing that liking for active business 
pursuits which has been a life-long characteristic. 

When only fifteen years old he was employed in the iron furnaces of what is 
known as the Hanging Rock iron region of Ohio, and remained there until he was 
eighteen. During that period he was trained to habits of the strictest carefulness 
and industry, laying the foundation for the capability to successfully manage the 
many extensive business enterprises in which he has since been engaged. The men 
with whom he was associated, and who were his examples and advisors, were 
among the most extensive operators of that day, and they did not fail to observe 
and cultivate the fine qualities of the young men under their charge. 

In 1853, young Jaynes left Lawrence county, and became connected with the 
management of the Vinton Iron Furnace, Vinton county, Ohio, from which place 
came afterwards the best iron ever produced in the State. Colonel Jaynes had 
assisted in the organization of the Vinton Company, and did not sever, his connec- 
tion with it till its business was closed out in 1864. 

In 1858, he was married to Miss Mary Jane Brown, daughter of John Brown, Esq., 
of Athens county, Ohio. Iminediately afterwards he became associated with his 
father-in-law in the banking and mercantile business, at which he continued until 
1866. 

In 1863, during a very dark period of the war, he was requested by Governor 
Brough to raise and equip an independent regiment for the State service. He rap- 
idly organized a splendid regiment, which was armed and equipped by private 
means. By request of the Governor, in 1865, he mustered his regiment into the 
United States service as the 141st Regiment of Ohio Volunteers. He was ordered 
to Charleston, West Virginia, where he reported to Gen. George Crook, who imme- 
diate assigned him to the comand of that department, where he remained until the 
close of the war. 

Colonel Jaynes then determined to come to the great undeveloped West, and, in 
company with Cyrus Newkirk, came to Missouri. After a thorough examination of 
the most desirable portions of the State, they selected the village of Sedalia as one of 
bright promise and altogether suitable for the enterprise which they had in contem- 
plation. Bringing their families there, they immediately proceeded to organize the 
First National Bank of Sedalia, with a capital stock of $100,000, and with Colonel 



814 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

Jaynes as cashier. This institution has since exercised a wide influence over the 
material growth of Central Missouri. 

Colonel Jajaies took a prominent part in the organization of the Lexington & St. 
Louis Eailroad, and acted as the agent of the county in subscribing to the stock. 

He also became connected with the Tebo & Neosho Eailroad, which afterwards 
became the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Eailroad. He was a member of the Board 
of Directors, and was appointed financial agent of the road, which position he has 
since held c(ntinuously. He negotiated the sale of the Tebo & Neosho Eailroad to 
the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Company of New York, and to his energy and sound 
financial ability the country is largely indebted for the successful completion of that 
great southwestern highway. In 1874, when the road passed into the hands of a 
receiver. Colonel Jaynes was appointed treasurer and agent of the receiver and gen- 
eral manager, Mr. Bond,' who resides in New York. 

Colonel Jaynes has been interested in a number of financial institutions outside 
of Sedalia. He assisted in the organizatian of the First National Bank of Fort 
Scott, being one of its incorporators and a member of the first Board of Directors. 
In 1869, lie organized the First National Bank of Parsons, Kansas, and was its pres- 
ident and largest stockholder for three years. He organized the First National Bank 
of Denison, Texas, in 1872, and was, for some time, its president. 

Some years ago he became one of the incorporators, and vice-pi'esident, of the 
Yalley National Bank of St. Louis. He was one of the original incorporators and 
directors of tlie Life Association of America, and also one of the incorporators of the 
Missouri Stock and Bond Board of St. Louis. 

Nearly all of these enterprises laave been eminently successful. Colonel Jaynes 
has taken a deep and lively interest in everything pertaining to the prosperity and 
advancement of Sedalia. He suggested and advocated the introduction of the Hollj^ 
Waterworks, now in use there. He was inti-usted with the negotiation of the bonds 
voted for building works, and it was he who turned over the works complete to the 
city at a cost of $110,000, being, by $50,000, cheaper than any system of like capacity 
in the country. 

Colonel Jaynes has an elegant residence, of which some idea may be obtained from 
an illustration accompanying the sketch of Sedalia, in this work. The interior ar- 
rangements are admirable, affording comfort and luxur}'. It is connected with the 
outside world by telegraph, a battery located in one of the rooms being operated by 
members of the household. 

Colonel Jaynes has arrived at the point where many men retire from active busi- 
ness life, but he is still the same energetic and successful business man, woi'king, not 
more to increase his own ample fortune than to aid in developing the great State of 
which he is a citizen. 

As a private citizen he is universally esteemed. Honorable in his intercourse with 
all men, conservative in his nature, an ardent advocate of education, and warmly in 
favor of the improvement of our system of public schools, and a fi-iend of the poor 
and the oppressed, — he is one of the men who give moral tone to the business com- 
munity. 

Although often solicited to accept official positions, both State and National, he has 
always declined, believing that his career lay in another direction. His great ambi- 
tion is to make the country rich in material improvements, and to do those things 
which most contribute to the peace, the prosperity, and the happiness of the com- 
munity. 



SEDALIA. 815 

COLONEL JOHN F. PHILIPS 

was born December 31st, 1834, in Booue county, Missouri, on the old homestead 
established by Ms father, John G. PhiUps, in 1817. He was raised upon his father's 
farm, doing the ordinary work incident to the times and his situation in life, and 
attended district school until, at the age of seventeen, he commenced his collegiate 
course at the Univei-sity of Missouri, from which he went to Centre College, Ken- 
tucky, and there graduated, in April, 1855. He then read law under General John B. 
Clark, Sr., at Fayette, Howard county, Missouri. In 1857, he located at and opened 
an office in Georgetown, then the county-seat of Pettis county, where, by close 
attention to business and his great success as a jury lawyer, he rapidly built up a 
good practice. 

Mr. Philips was married, May 14th, 1857, to Miss Fleecie Butterton, of Danville, 
Kentucky. They have two children — Emmet, a young man of unusual promise, 
who in June, 1877, graduated with honor at Centre College, Kentucky, and Hor- 
tense, a beautiful and sprightly girl. 

Mr. Philips was nominated in 1860, as Assistant Presidential Elector on the Bell 
and Everett ticket, and during that canvass made his maiden stump speech. His 
youthful appearance, dignified manner, earnest and impassioned delivery, attracted 
unusual attention, and stamped him at once a favorite. At the solicitation of nu- 
merous friends, Mr. Philips, in 1861, became the Unionists' candidate for Represent- 
ative from his district in the '' Convention of 1861, to consider the relations of the 
State to the Federal Union," and after a spirited canvass was elected by an over- 
whelming majority. He was among the youngest in that venerable body, which 
held sessions for two years, and took an active part in all that was done, making 
many attractive speeches and standing firmly by the Union, ' 'believing Secession was 
a remedy for no evil, and that in the Union, and under the Constitution, was the 
place to stand for all rights." 

In 1861-62, Mr. Phillips raised a regiment of cavalry for the Federal service, of 
which he was Colonel. T. T. Crittenden, now a member of Congress, was Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel, and Emery S. Foster, of the St. Louis Journal , was the first Major. 
This regiment, which did hard fighting iu Ai-kansas and Missouri, for which they 
received orders of congratulation from the Division Generals, was, through the war, 
commanded by Colonel Philips, except when he was in command of a brigade. 
For gallant conduct in the field during the Price Eaid of 1864, Colonel Philips was 
placed, by General Rosecranz, in command of the Central District of Missouri, and 
was, by Governor Willard P. Hall, appointed Brigadier-General, but not being a 
radical in politics, the State Senate refused to confirm the appointment. 

At the close of the war, Colonel Philips resumed the practice of law in Sedalia, — 
Judge Russel Hicks coming in as partner in 1866, and shortly afterwards George G. 
Vest. The association with the latter gentleman still continues. 

In 1868, Colonel Philips led the forlorn hope of the Democracy in his Congres- 
sional District, running to confront the proscriptive spirit of the Radicals, then so 
prominent, and to encourage the disfranchised people, then so disheartened. The 
canvass was a memorable one, Colonel Philips making Democratic speeches where 
none but Radicals had for years been allowed to occupy the stump or the rostrum. 
He was not elected, but many of his speeches during this exciting contest are still 
remembered for their touching appeals and stinging invective. 

Colonel Philips was the same year a delegate to the Democratic National Conven- 
tion in New York, which nominated Seymour and Blair. 



816 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

In 1874, after the most remarkable contest in the history of political conventions 
he was nominated for Congress, and after an energetic canvass, in which he added 
new lanrels to his reputation as an orator, he was elected by a splendid majority, 
and served through the XLIVth Congress, — the most remarkable, in many respects, 
of any in the history of the nation. In Congress, he served upon the committee on 
Claims and committee on the Pacific Railroads. Although commendably modest, 
he was a busy member, drawing and introducing numerous bills, many of which 
passed the House. His first discussion on the floor established his reputation as a 
lawyer well posted and strong in debate. His first set speech was against Blaine's 
proposed Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution, touching Church and State, and 
attract^ed much attention thi'oughout the South and West. His eulogy upon Michael 
C. Kerr, late Speaker of the House of Representatives, is his most finished effort; 
in matter, rhgtoric and artistic finish, it is worthy of a place with the best examples 
of this class of forensic oratory. He was one of the committee sent to South Caro- 
lina to investigate presidential election matters, and was chairman of tlie sub-com- 
mittee, on which his energy and legal ability were as conspicuous as the conciseness 
and force of his report ; and his speech thereon in the House is one of his most 
trenchant efforts. His speech in the Electoral College against Hoar, of Massachu- 
setts, one of the Electoral Commissioners, called forth the congratulations of his 
fellow-members, and is a rare combination of ridicule and invective. 

Colonel Philips has been for many years an active and honored member of the 
Presbyterian Church, and represented Missouri in the Pan Convention which met at 
Edinburg, July 3d, 1877, after which he made the tour of Europe. 

As a lawyer, he occupies a leading position. Patient and thorough in investiga- 
tion, ever vigilant, earnest and persuasive before court and jury, he is generally suc- 
cessful in his causes. 

Standing as he does, in the prime of life, in vigorous health, commanding the 
respect of all who know him, his ability as a lawyer and power as an orator estab- 
lished, with a lucrative practice which has already yielded him an ample life-com- 
petence, we predict for Colonel Philips an honorable, useful and brilliant future. 



JOHN W. TRADER, M.D., 

was born in Xenia, Ohio, March 6th, 1837. He employed his early days so well that 
in 1859, at the age of twenty-two, he graduated with honor from the Missouri Med- 
ical College, St. Louis. He served with distinction as a surgeon duiing the war, and 
settled in the practice of his profession at Sedalia in 1866. During 1867 he made a 
visit to Europe, studying there some specialties of his profession in which superior 
advantages are offered. He has been twice married, first to Miss L. A. W. Wyatt, 
who died without issue, next to Miss T. B. Batterton, who has borne him four 
children. 

Dr. Ti-ader has given his best attention to his professional studies and practice^ 
and has attained an enviable position, not only among those who call for him in their 
afliiction, but the profession have acknowledged his ability and endorsed his worth 
by conferring upon him their highest honor — elected him President of the Missouri 
State Medical Association, which position he occupied during the year 1876-7. 



SEDALIA. 817 

EDWIN C. EVANS, M.D., 

was boi-n in Washington, District of Columbia, October 29th, 1828, His father, 
Thomas Evans, was a physician, also born in Washington, who came to Missouri in 
1832, and located in the Cold Neck neighborhood, in the eastern' part of Pettis 
county, where he was actively engaged in his profession until 1874, when he died, 
at the advanced age of seventy. 

Edwin received a fair education, and, at the age of twenty, commenced the study 
of medicine. He graduated from the St. Louis Medical College in the spring of 
1854, and, on June 6th of that year, was married to Miss Elizabeth Joplin, and 
commenced the practice of his profession at Otterville, Cooper county. Duri^ig the 
winter of 1857-8, he took a course of lectures in Jefferson Medical College, Phila- 
delphia, embracing a special course of study on diseases of the eye and ear, and 
received the ad eimdeni degree. Dr. Evans, in order that he might improve his 
opportunities as an oculist, removed to Boonville in 1862, 

In 1865, he graduated at the Ophthalmic College, New Nork, taking a wide course 
of study and having some valuable experience in the hospitals. His years of patient 
study— part of the, time under the best instructors— soon bore the fruit of successful 
and increased practice, and his ability as an oculist began to be known over a wider 
field. His success in many cases involving some of the most delicate operations 
known in ophthalmic surgery gave him the indorsement and respect of the profes- 
sion, and made him popular with the public. 

In 1873, he formed a partnership with his brother, William H. Evans, M.D., and 
removed to Sedalia, which, on account of its excellent railroad facilities, affords a 
wider field for his special line of practice, which has been steadily increasing, 
patients coriiing in from all parts of western Missouri and bordering States. 

Dr. Evans holds an honorable position in the Missouri Medical Association, his 
brother physicians recommending their patients and members of their families to 
his treatment. Besides liis enthusiasm in his profession as an oculist. Dr. Evans 
takes great interest in general surgery, in which he is bold, delicate and successful. 

Dr. Evans is an earnest worker, caring for little outside of liis own duties, devot- 
ing all his energies to his profession ; and, having spent twenty-five years in study 
and successful practice, has just reached the vigor of manhood, with the promise of 
another quarter of a century in which to assist the blind, the deaf and the ajOlicted. 



WILLIS P. KING, M.D., 

was born in Macon county, Missouri, December 81st, 1839. His great-gi-andparents 
came from Virginia to Kentucky at an early day, and were among the hardy pio- 
neers when Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton wei-e the people's idols. 

They came to Missouri in 1816 or 1817, his parents both being children at the time. 
The families being related, both named King, came together and settled in Howard 
county, near where the town of Old Franklin once stood. When the country became 
more thickly settled and the Indians were driven out, they I'emoved to a farm 
between Eoanoke and Glasgow. 

Here his parents grew up, and were married in 1835. They afterwards moved to 
Macon county, and located about twelve miles west of Macon City, near the Chari- 
ton river, where Willis was born, the third in a family of ten children. 

52 



818 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

Dr. King says: "My parents were poor — in fact, almost everybody was poor in 
that countiy in those days. There were no school-houses, no churches, nothing 
whatever to educate the minds or elevate the morals of the youth of the country. 
My first recollections are of horse-races, wrestling matches, foot-races and ' rough 
and tumble ' fights. The first schooling that I got was in a 'scalped' log school- 
house, with a wooden chimney, the roof made of clapboards and held on with jioles, 
and a portion of one log sawed and blocked out to admit light to the 'writing- 
bench.' The girls pasted greased paper over this opening, to keep out the air and 
still admit the light. 

"At the first session only half the floor was laid. The gii'ls occupied some benches 
made of ' slabs ' on the part where the floor was laid, and the boys sat on the sleep- 
ers or sills in the part where the floor was not laid. School-books were not so 
plentiful then as now. Each pupil brought such books as she or he had. 

"I remember using the New Testament for one whole session, as a reader, and 
Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress during another session. I attended four or five ses- 
sions at this school. After attaining the age of twelve or thirteen years, I worked 
about the neighborhood, often at ten cents a day, and bought such books as I needed 
at school, and others that suited my taste to read at home. 

"Thirsting for better opportunities for an education, I ran away from home when 
fourteen years of age, and cast my little boat upon the stormy sea of life, with none 
but myself to guide. 

" I worked and went to school alternately, until the line of the Hannibal and St. 
Joseph Kailroad was run out, when I went to work on that and helped to cut away 
the timber and brushwood for the track. When real work commenced on the road- 
bed, I drove the horses to carts in the ' pit ' for one year. During all this time the 
one thought that was ever uppermost in my mind was, that I would at all hazards 
obtain an education, and be something and somebody in the world. I have been 
sick and near unto death, but I never dropped that one grand idea for a single 
moment." 

Having saved some money, he went to an academy in Howard county, for two 
sessions of ten months each, and this was the extent of his regular school education. 

Dr. King speaks in glowing terms of the noble and whole-souled people of How- 
ard county, saying: " They, without exception, encouraged me and cheered me on. 
The Dennys, the Woods, the Greens, Coopers, Maupins, Cunninghams and others, 
were of my best friends." 

He kept up his studies for several years, teaching in Howai'd, Macon, Saline and 
Pettis counties. He was married to Miss Albina Hoss, June 13th, 1861. Four sons 
and two daughters were born to them. 

Soon after marrying, he began the study of medicine, without any preceptor ; and 
afterwards attended the St. Louis Medical College, where he graduated in the spring 
of 1866, and immediately commenced practice in Vernon county. 

He was successful in his chosen profession, and remained until the fall of 1868, 
when he removed to Nevada, the county seat. 

He was six years a member of the school board of Nevada, and was public 
administrator of Vernon county for four years. 

He attended Bellevue Medical College, received the degree ad eundem in the 
spring of 1871, and, desiring a broader field for professional work, in 1874 removed 
to Sedalia, where he has a large and successful practice. 



SEDALIA. 819 

Dr. King says : "I have not succeeded in accumulating much property; indeed, 
such a thing would not be expected of me by those who know me. I have but two 
mottoes with regard to money-making and saving, and they are : 'What a man gets 
out of this world, he gets as he goes along,' and ' Shrouds have no pockets.' I do a 
great deal of work and make plenty of money, and— spend it or give it away to 
those who need it more than I do." 

Dr. King says: '' Any words concerning myself would be incomplete without a 
proper tribute to the two persons who have influenced my life more than all others, 
and always for good— my w'fe and my mother. My mother was a woman of rare 
intelligence for her chances and her time. She read and devoured everything that 
came in her way, and she had a wonderful gift of imparting her knowledge to 
others. She loved her children, and greatly desired to see me attain the object of 
my ambition. She lived to see me a man grown and respected, and I had ample 
opportunity to atone, in some degree, for the sorrow I gave her in leaving home so 
young. 

''My wife was only sixteen years old when we married, and was utterly inexpe- 
rienced in domestic duties. But she has always stood by me, in fortune and misfor- 
tune, and encouraged me with words of cheer and hope. 

"I have spent three winters away from her since our marriage , when she has 
taken upon herself the direction of all my affairs, in addition to her own. She haS 
done this without a murmur, always acquiescing in whatever was necessary to pro- 
mote the well-being of ourselves and those dependent on us, no matter what the 
sacrifice might be." 

GEORGE R. SMITH. 

In the life of General George R. Smith merges in an important degree the history 
of the community in which he lives. To trace his career is like depicting the growth 
and development of Central Missouri. To General Smith, in a pre-eminent degree, 
belongs the honor of fashioning for its future, that section of the State which 
stretches from the Missouri River to the Indian Territory— from the capital of the 
State to the Kansas border. Over what was (within the memory of the present 
generation) an unbroken prairie, he has largely directed the iron avenues of trade, 
and along their pathway. Art and Industry have shed peace and plenty from their 
luminous wings. 

It is certainly ascribing to one man a great deal, to say that to him belongs the 
distinction of such achievements. But in the instance of the " founder of Sedalia,'' 
it is simply the recognition of eminent public services which none will dispute. 

George Rappen Smith was born in Powhatan county, Virginia, in 1804. His 
father, George Smith, was a Baptist clergyman, strong in intellect and rugged in vir- 
tue; qualities which he transmitted to his descendants, and which have exercised a 
remarkable influence upon a remarkable career. 

While the subject of this sketch was yet an infant, his father removed to Fi-anklin 
county, Kentucky, and died there, in 1820. He left his son the example of an up- 
right life, and the heritage of a stainless name. They were incentives, however, 
sufficiently controlling to shape his career to laudable ends. At that time, educa- 
tional advantages were few and limited in Kentucky. But of these, young Smith 
obtained the best. While yet a youth, he became a pupil of Elder Barton W. Stone? 
of Georgetown, at that time among the most eminent educators in the State; and, 
under his able direction, made rapid progress in his studies. Upon arriving at xnan 



820 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

hood, he was comp|elled to enter upon the more active duties of life, and shortly- 
after reaching the age of twenty-one, he was appointed Deputy Sheriff of his county. 
It was a responsible office for one so young, but he discharged its duties faithfully. 
It was the beginning of his business career, and he rose steadily. Close attention to 
whatever he had in hand, strict integrity and indomitable perseverance, marked him 
as a man to whom belonged a future. 

In 1827, he married Mileta Ann, the accomplished daughter of General David 
Thomson. This lady is long since dead, but the memory of her virtues and tender 
graces survive in many a treasured recollection. 

Shortly after his marriage. General Smith removed, with his father-in-law, to 
Pettis county, Missouri. Before this, he had studied law, and he now begun the 
practice of his profession in his new home. But the country was thinly settled — 
law was at a discount — and the ardent young Kentuckian soon wearied of the dull 
routine and passive monotony of his slender practice. He gave it up for more active 
pursuits, and in 1842 established a stage line between Jefferson City and Springfield. 
The following year (1843), he was appointed Receiver of Public Moneys for the Land 
Office at Springfield, but lost his office upon the accession of a Democratic adminis- 
tration. Continuing his trading enterprises from 1848 to 1852, he engaged extensively 
in government freighting from Fort Leavenworth to Santa Fe. His undertakings 
in this pursuit were upon a large scale, and at times exceedingly profitable. But 
nevertheless, these were uneventful years, as compared to those which followed. 
Although recognized from his advent in Missouri as among the most prominent men 
in his party in the State — he was an Old Line Whig — the controlling ascendancy of 
Democratic sentiment made him comparatively a lay figure in politics. Under re- 
versed conditions, he would unquestionably have attained high political distinction. 

"When, in 1849, the Legislature chartered the Pacific Eailroad, General Smith lent 
to that great enterprise all the wealth of his influence, time and devotion. He be- 
came the leading spirit and foremost worker in the effort to secure its location on 
what was then known as the Inland Rovite, as contra-distinguished from that up the 
river, in which direction the managers and projectors of the enterprise earnestly 
wished it to go. It was no easy undertaking. Discouragements assailed him on 
every side. The people were uneducated in railroad advantages ; they were apa- 
thetic, indifferent and tacitly hostile to the great work which was destined to usher 
in a new civilization, not only for the State, but for the Nation. But the energies of 
the man measured up to the crisis. Day and night he labored in the cause. It was 
necessary for the people to be aroused to a full comprehension of the magnitude of 
the issue. This task he assumed. At first his efforts were derided — men laughed at 
the idea of benefits accruing from railroad enterprise — they called him a dreamer, 
an enthusiast. But instead of dampening, it only stimulated his ardor. The whole 
nature of the man was aflame with the intensity and magnitude of his purpose. He 
called public meetings — beset the farmers individually and collectively — until the 
fever of his passion begun to innoculate the multitude. The people of Pettis county 
were at length induced to subscribe $100,000 to the stock of the road; and this sum 
was subsequently increased to $170,000. The tier of counties extending from Moni- 
teau to Jackson increased it to $400,000. The legislature demanded as a condition 
for the location of the road upon the Inland Route, that the inland counties should 
raise an additional subscription of $400,000. To accomplish this, each of the coun- 
ties were assessed so much, Pettis being set down for $70,000, and the others in pro- 
portion. This enormous demand fell like a wet blanket upon the hopes of the best 



SEDALIA. 821 

railroad men in Central Missouri. But General Smith believed that it could be 
raised, and went to work with a will. He called a railroad meeting at Georgetown. 
There was only a half-dozen men present ; but tliey passed resolutions, and these 
looked big on paper. An address was issued at this meeting to the people of the cen- 
tral counties, inviting them to send delegates to a general railroad convention to meet 
in Georgetown. They came— only a few— but still enough. It accredited the under- 
taking with a popular endorsement, and this was all that was desired. At the 
previous election the counties all failed to make the subscription, but Pettis. She 
had voted her $70,000, and now the whole thing was to be tried over again. At the 
convention in Georgetown, a number of prominent railroad men were present, and 
a resolution was passed, in which each pledged himself to go home and carry his 
county. But General Smith determined to help them. He commenced at Versailles, 
and canvassed every county from Morgan to Jackson, and when the polls were 
closed, the subscriptions of the counties and individual subscriptions amounted to 
$412,000. The day was carried. Still the railroad board hesitated. The members 
were all inclined to the river route. But General Smith gave them to understand 
that unless they would permit him to make the subscription, he would mandamus 
the Board. They yielded. It was a reluctant consent, but it sufficed. 

The result is shown to-day, in the marvelous development of Pettis county, and 
indeed, the entire western part of the State. 

Comprehending that the advent of this new commercial factor would revolution- 
ize the conditions of trade in Central Missouri, with the success of his railroad enter- 
prise was bora his dream of Sedalia. On his vision alone arose the future of the 
beautiful city. If men thought him a dreamer before, they thought him a madman 
now. But, full of his great purpose, he went steadily to work to lay out a city ; 
and, as if answering his wish, from the strength of his purpose grew its fulfillment. 
Houses sprung up, population flowed in, industries augmented, trade increased, and 
the desolate prairie became a mart of commerce. In fifteen years the site of a corn- 
field nas become a city of ten thousand inhabitants. 

In 1854, during the railroad agitation, General Smith was elected a member of 
the Lower House of the Missouri Legislature. It was at a critical period of our 
railroad history, and the services he rendered were conspicuous and great. An 
earnest and eloquent debater, a clear and forcible reasoner, to his influence is largely 
to be ascribed the beneficial legislation of this particular juncture. 

Four years later, in 1858, he ran for Congress against S. H. Woodson and John A. 
Eeid, and was defeated by the former by a small majority. He came out late in the 
contest, and did not even take the ti'ouble to canvass the district. The result was, 
perhaps, as much ascribable to this cause as any other. 

In 1861, when the war broke out, General Smith necessarily took sides with the 
Union. His feelings, character and political sentiments left him no other alternative. 
Although a slave-holder, he had never been a friend of the institution, and for thirty 
years had stood ready to sacrifice that element of his wealth for what he conscien- 
tiously believed would be the good of his country. He was conservative in politics 
upon absti'act questions of political economy, but a radical in the antipathies engen- 
dered by the anti-slavery agitation. If he was what men call extreme, it was 
because he thought deeply and felt profoundly. A patriot by instinct and education, 
those whom he most bitterly contemned knew him to be honest and sincere. 

In the fierce struggle which succeeded. General Smith stood firmly and fearlessly 
for the Union. When the terrible convulsion was over, none was more ready than 
he to extend the olive branch of peace. 



S22 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

During the first year of the war, General Smith was appointed by Governor Gam- 
ble Adjutant-General of the State, but he held the position only a short time, resign- 
ing it because he utterly disapproved the temporizing policy pursued by the 
executive. Subsequently, at the personal solicitation of Governor Gamble, he 
accepted the office of Paymaster-General, but this, too, he resigned, from motives 
identical with those which induced him to surrender the Adjutant-Generalship. 
He could not, in honor, form part of an administration with which he was in con- 
stant dissension. He believed that the war was an eai-nest thing and had to be 
treated earnestly. He knew the people who were making war on the government, 
and he knew that they were not to be won from their purpose by persuasion or futile 
expedients. It was a conflict which he justly conceived would tax all the resources 
of courage and endurance on both sides, and he was in favor of commencing in the 
first place, with what ultimately had to be appealed to. It is not improbable, if these 
views of General Smith had been adopted, the war would, in this State, have been 
robbed of many of the repeliant features which subsequently characterized it. 

At the State Republican Convention in 18G3, General Smith was elected presiding 
officer. But the chief incident of note in which he was concerned upon that occasion 
was a resolution calling upon President Lincoln to reverse the conciliatory policy 
he had begun to develop towards the Souih. When something in the nature of dis- 
sent from this policy was suggested. General Smith addressed the convention at 
length, and elaborated the view which the resolution was meant to express. So 
earnest and eloquent was this appeal, that a resolution expressive of the sense of the 
convention was passed unanimously, and it was decided that it should be taken to 
Washington by a delegation representing every county in the State, and composed 
of nearly a hundred gentlemen, with General Smith at their head, to urge upon the 
President the views of the Missouri Republicans. This was done ; but the result 
was not as favorable as the friends of the policy desired. President Lincoln was 
inclined to clemency, and refused to adopt the suggestions of the committee. Never- 
theless, General Smith returned home and entered upon the canvass for his re- 
election with spirit and vigor. He was an elector in the succeeding canvass of 1864, 
and made a brilliant and efiective campaign. 

In 1864, General Smith was elected to the State Senate, in which body he at once 
became a leading member. It was at a time peculiar and critical in the history of 
Missouri. The State was thi'illing with the agitations incident to war. The long 
and desolating struggle was drawing to a close, but the air still vibrated with the 
crash of revolted States, and wide and far upon every hand were the evidences of 
the desolation they had wrought. How much General Smith's services in the Senate 
contributed to bring order out of chaos, and give back the State to the dominion 
of law, is familiar to the public. 

Following these exciting times in Missouri came the memorable tragedy which 
gave to Andrew Johnson the Presidency of the Republic. Among his first appoint- 
ments in Missouri was that of General Smith to the Assessorship of Internal Revenue 
in the fourth and fifth districts of the State. But it soon became apparent that, 
instead of leading the Radical party to a consolidation of its hard-won victories in 
the field, and moulding the civil administration in harmony with this purpose, the 
President had become an obstacle to reconstruction on the Radical plan ; and his 
course drew from General Smith expressions in nowise complimentary to the Presi- 
dent. He had never let the love of office interfere with a candid expression of his 
sentiments. Nor did he then. To use aa expressive vulgarism, "he talked i-ight 



SEDAIIA. 823 

out in meeting," and the President straightway proceeded to cut off his official head. 
But this summary conduct in nowise abashed the stout old patriot. He would have 
had his say in spite of all the Presidents in the universe. 

In the fall of 1870, General Smith for the second time became a candidate for 
Congress, his opponent being S. S. Burdett. He was put on the ticket only two 
weeks before the election, and had no time to make a canvass of the district. Under 
such conditions, it is not surprising that he failed of success. 

It is not possible, therefore, to speak of General Smith as a politician who has 
impressed his views upon the legislation of the country. In intellect and integrity 
he is the peer of the ablest men we have had in public life, but his sphere of useful- 
ness has not been in politics. He is more of a social than a political economist. 
Nor is it too much to say thaf, however radically the people of Missouri may differ 
wilh him upon the abstractions of political ethics, there are none who will fail to 
concede to him honesty of purpose and sincerity of conviction; and his life of 
remarkable achievements, wrought under circumstances where most men would 
have remained unnoted, wins for him a distinction honorable to himself and credit- 
able to the community ; which, while withholding political preferment, yet yields 
an honest ti'ibute to his noble manhood, his generous life and Christian virtues. 

General Smith has two children living, both daughters — Mrs. M. E. Smith and 
Mrs. S. E. Cotton— after the latter of whom the beautiful city of Sedalia is named. 

In these brief limits have been compressed the salient features of a life which, 
with entire propriety, might fill a much larger space. "What is here written will, 
however, suffice to acquaint the reader with a character whose life will show to the 
world a career of eminent public service without fear and without reproach. 

THE SEDALIA SAVINGS BANK 

was organized under the Missouri State laws, in 1868, with a capital of $50,000. 
Mr. Mentor Thomson has, ever since its organization, been president. T. W. 
Cloney is the efficient cashier, ably assisted by E. T. Gentry. 



824 GEE AT CITIES AKD TOWNS OF MISSOUKl. 

CAPE GIRARDEAU 

— the chief city of south-eastern Missouri, 150 miles below St. Louis, 
on the west bank of the Mississippi, was settled in 1794, and incorpora- 
ted as a city in 1843. It is beautifully located, and is built upon a solid 
bed of marble, so abundant and so easily procured, that it is used for 
paving. It has a large number of manufacturing establishments, includ- 
ing a woolen manufactory and three flouring mills, which, with the local 
trade of an extensive section of county, support a population of about 
5000 inhabitants. Its educational advantages are of an exceptionally 
hio;h oder, its graded school beino; one of the finest in the State, and the 
common-school system being supplemented by several denominational 
and private colleges and schools. The city also supports eight churches 
and six newspapers. 

ST. CHARLES. 

This ancient town, located on the north bank of the Missouri river, 20 
miles above its confluence with the Mississippi, and 22 miles north-west 
of St. Louis, is the site of one of the earliest settlements in Missouri, 
dating back to 1762. Its population is now about 6000, and its assessed 
valuation is about $2,500,000. Its manuf^icturies are quite extensive. 
There are five large flouring mills, two woolen mills, two tobacco facto- 
ries, and numerous other manufactories, including one establishment 
where silk-worms, cocoons and eggs have been successfully raised for a 
number of years, and the silk, which is of the finest quality, manufac- 
tured into gloves and stockings. There are three banks and six newspa- 
pers. There are twelve churches of various denominations, some of them, 
handsome structures. The public schools are ample, well organized and 
graded, and, together with the high school connected with them, are an 
honor to the city. In addition to the public schools, Sti Charles College, 
under the patronage of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, is now 
conducted as a high school. The convent of the Sacret Heart has charge 
of a female school in the city, and Lindenwood Female College occupies 
one of the beautiful sites found in such abundance near St. Charles. 
Besides these, there are in the city several private female schools and 
parochial or church schools. 

The surrounding country is peculiarly adapted to the growth of all 
kinds of fruit known to this region. During late years much attention 
has been given to orchards, and fruit-growers have been well repaid for 
their investments, apples especially being fine. . 




JI®SE[p[H] ©. 



HILoE). 



COLUMBIA. '825 



COLUMBIA. 



Columbia, the county seat of Boone county, is on the Columbia Branch 
-of the St. Louis Kansas City & Northern Eailway, 22 miles south of 
Centralia (junction) : is located in a rich and healthy region of timber, 
iiear the center of the county. It is one of the most delightful places 
in the State, its streets being regularly laid out, many of them nicely 
paved and shaded with beautiful trees. The business houses are generally 
-substantial brick buildings, some of them elegant and imposing. Its 
•outskirts are bordered with fine lawns, in which stand elegant residences. 

The enterprise, culture and intelligence of the people of Columbia 
;have won for it the honored and classic title of " The Athens of 
Missouri." It is the acknowledged seat of learning of the State, and 
bases its prospects and its hopes chietiy on its educational interests. For 
such reason it will necessarily continue to be the abode of much refine- 
ment and wealth. 

The State University, located at this place, is the most prominent 
'educational institution in Missouri. It was established by an act of the 
Legislature, in 1839, upon an endowment made in 1820, by Congress, in 
the form of two townships of land, known as the "Seminary Lands." 
This endowment had grown by accumulation to the value of $100,000, 
when the institution was founded. The present endowment is about 
$223,000. The citizens of Boone county contributed the generous sum 
•of $117,500 as a bonus for the location of the University at Columbia. 
The first president was J. H, Lathrop, LL.D., elected in 1840. Daniel 
Eead was elected in 1866, and the present incumbent, Samuel Spahr 
Laws, A.M., M.D., LL.D., in 1876. 

The supervision of the University is vested in a Board of Curators, 
who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate ; and 
upon this Board devolves the duty of selecting the president, professors 
and tutors. The University contains a library of 7,000 volumes, a 
cabinet with 120,000 specimens, and an edifice erected by private 
;subscription at a cost of $85,000. The University embraces at present 
in its group of schools, besides the regular academic course, a j^repara- 
tory school, an agricultural college, a college of normal instruction, a 
school of mines and a law and medical school. All these schools are 
located at Columbia, except the school of mines, which is at Rolla, 
Phelps county. The advantages of the University are extended to women 
<)n equal terms with men. All resident youth in the State, upon the 



53 



826 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

payment of an entrance fee of ten clolhirs, are entitled to the benefits of 
the University, except in the strictly professional schools. 

Christian College, for young h^dies, under the patronage of the 
Christian denomination, is a flourishing institution, justly celebrated for 
its able management, as well as for the culture and proficiency of its- 
pupils. Annual attendance about 200. President, Elder J. K. Kogers. 

Stephens College, for young ladies, under the patronage of the 
Baptist denomination, was located here in 1870, and named in honor of 
Hon. James L. Stephens, who gave it a munificent endowment. 

CuMMiNGS Academy is the outgrowth of a school organized for 
colored children, in 1867. The building was paid for by subscriptions 
among the people of Columbia, and a donation of $800 from the 
Freedmen's Bureau. The attendance is about 180, and Mr. Charles E. 
Cummings, who founded the school, is still its Principal, ably assisted 
by Misses Matilda Hurd and Ellen Richardson. 

There are also numerous other schools, well conducted and in a pros- 
perous condition. 

There are 7 churches — Baptist, Christian, Presbyterian, M. E. Church, 
Episcopal, and colored Baptist and colored Methodist. 

Tl:ie|;e are two newspapers. The Statesman, published by Wm. F. 
Switzler, was established in 1843, and except the Missouri Republican, 
is the oldest newspaper in the State ; and The Herald, published by E. 
W. Stephens, is one of the leading papers in central Missouri; also 
the University Missourian, published by the students of the State 
University. 

The Masonic fraternity is represented by large lodges of the various 
branches of their order, and the Odd Fellows have a lodge of about 100 
members, which is increasing rapidl}^ 

The ground on which Columbia now stands, was purchased at the 
Government land sale, November 14th, 1818, by the Smithton compau}^, 
who, in 1819 laid out Smithton, one mile west of the present Columbia 
court house, but failing to find water in that locality, the town was 
transferred to the present site of Columbia, in 1821, and it was incorpor- 
ated the next year. 

The Columbia Flouring Mills were put into operation in 1862, 
and are equipped with every modern improvement, including an eighty- 
horse-power engine and four runs of stone, with a capacity of one hund- 
red barrels of flour per day. They are conducted by W. T. Anderson^ 
Paul Hubbard and R. H. Smith, the latter of whom commenced milling 
in Boone county in 1844, using, of course, a water wheel for power. 



COLUMBIA. 827 

Columbia is the residence of a number of men who have tittained 
distinguished reputations, not only in their immediate vicinage but 
throughout the State and Nation. Space permits us to present sketches 
of but few. 



JAMES S. ROLLINS, LL.D., 

was born at Richmond, Madison county, Kentuckj^, April 19th, 1812. His paternal 
ancestors were of Irish origin, his grandfather having been born in the Couutj- of 
Tyrone, Ireland. His father, Dr. Anthony Wayne Rollins, was a distinguished 
physician in Kentucky, and his mother, whose maiden name was Rodes, came 
from good Albermarle county, Virginia, stock. There were seven children in his 
father's family, two of whom only are now (1878) living— Mr. Rollins and his 
youngest sister, the wife of Hon. Curtis F. Burnam, former Assistant-Secretary 
of the Treasury of the United States. 

^ Young Rollins commenced an academic course at Richmond Academy, and con- 
tinued until fifteen years of age, when he went to Washington College, Pennsyl- 
vania, entering the Sophomore class. At the close of the Junior year, the distin- 
guished president. Reverend Dr. Wylie, was called to take charge of the State Uni- 
versity of Indiana, at Bloomington, and several of his more advanced students went 
with him to the new institution. Among them was Mr. Rollins, who entered the 
Senior class, and graduated in September, 1830, at the age of eighteen years. 
After graduating he moved to Missouri, where his parents had previously em-'g:rated, 
and took up his residence in the county of Boone which has ever since been his 
home. 

He spent a year with his father, assisting in the management of his fine farm. He 
then read law two years in the oflace of Abiel Leonard, afterwards of the Supreme 
Bench. He also spent two years at the Transjdvania Law School, at Lexington, 
Kentucky, graduating in the spring of 1834. He returned to Missouri, and com- 
menced to practice his profession at Columbia, in Boone county ; but owing to bad 
health, could not devote his entire time to its severe and exacting duties. He pur- 
chased a farm in the suburbs of Columbia, and gave a portion of his time to its im- 
provement and cultivation. 

At the breaking out of the Black-Hawk war, Mr. Rollins volunteered as a soldier, 
and served six months, being assigned to duty as an aid-de-camp on the staff of Major- 
General Richard Gentry. The command was sent to the Des Moines River to guard 
the northeastern frontier of the State. There was but little opportunity given the Mis- 
souri troops to distinguish themselves, yet they faithfully performed their duty until 
the Indian tx-oubles were ended. On returning home Mr. Rollins engaged actively 
in his profession. 

In 1836, Mr. Rollins and his law partner, Mr. Thomas Miller, became the editors 
of the only paper published in Columbia, and conducted it for a number of j^ears as 
a Whig journal under the title of the Columbia Patriot. 

Mr. Rollins was a leading and active member of the first railroad convention in 
Missouri, which met at St. Louis, April 20th, 1836. He was chairman of the com- 
mittee (Hon. Edward Bates and Governor Hamilton R. Gamble were the other 
membei-s) and drafted the first memorial to Congress asking a grant of land to aid 
in commencing the system of internal improvements proposed by the convention. 



828 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

On June 6th, 1837, Mr, Rollins was married to a charming and accomplished lady, 
Miss Mary E. Hickman, a native of Howard county. By this happy union have 
been born eleven children, eight of whom are now living, the eldest being Captain 
James H. Rollins, of the Ordnance Corps, United States Army. 

Mr. Rollins was an earnest and ardent Whig, devoted to the principles aud poli- 
cies as presented by Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. He entered public life at the 
age of twenty-six as a member of the Legislature from Boone county, to which he 
was elected by a large majority. Although perhaps the youngest member, he took 
a prominent part in the debates of the session, and was r^gai'ded with respect by all 
his associates. He pai'ticularly distinguished himself during the session of 1838-9 as 
the fi'iend of popular education. The first bill he ever wrote, was one providing 
for the location and establishment of the University of Missouri ; and the first speech 
he ever made in a legislative body, was in support of this bill. The bill was passed, 
and the University was established, to his great delight and to the satisfaction of his 
constituents in the county of Boone. 

When Mr. Rollins thus led the cause of education west of the Mississippi River, his 
benificent views and labors were far in advance of his fellows. Horace Mann had 
just organized a comprehensive system of culture in Massachusetts, and the elemen- 
tary spelling book had just begun to find its way over the land. Yet, far away from 
New England, on the soil of Missouri, we find a young legislator actuated by mo- 
tives and impulses unusual to the people of his State. 

This young statesman of Missouri, although born in a Slave State, whose education 
was confined to the rieh and the aristocratic, had been, by a purpose of Providence, 
educated in Free States where the seeds of the future culture of the nation were 
being sown, and which have since germinated and taken root, aud bloomed all over 
the prairies of the West. Comprehending the spirit of education and its future 
growth in the new land of libertj^, young Rollins, true to that spirit of progress des- 
tined to secure the intellectual redemption of the Republic, gave the full measure of 
his talent and ofllcial position to redeem and regenerate the commonwealth of Mis- 
souri, devoting his attainments and efforts to organize a system of education and to 
eno-raft it upon the commonwealth, making it an organic element in the government 
of the State. The man who led in this cause forty years ago west of the Mississippi, 
was far in advance of his times, and must be written a benefactor, whose soul has 
gone out over the State for the benefit of her children, and whose labors are im- 
pressed upon her statutes for the benefit of all. 

It is a matter of no ordinary concern, to, him who wishes well to his people, that 
he be written in the history of his State as the founder of her educational sys- 
tem. And long years after the close of the century just gone by, when other mil- 
lions, actuated by higher aspirations, inhabit this State, it will be written that James 
S. Rollins founded the system of education in Missouri. 

His first presidential vote was cast in 1836, for General William Henry Harrison. 
At the next election, in 1840, Mr. Rollins was elected on the Whig ticket to the Leg- 
islature by an increased majority. 

This Legislature was composed of the most prominent and ablest men that ever 
assembled in the State, and among them Mr. Rollins again demonstrated his fore- 
sight and public spirit, by his bold and fearless advocacy of the development of the 
State, urging legislation in favor of a general system of internal improvements at 
public expense. No State had yet sufficiently advanced in public improvements 
to prove their supreme importance. Mr. Rollins based his conviction on something 



COLUMBIA. ^''^^ 

more profound than experience, more convincing than example. He realized that 
every improvement that tended to provide cheap and readj^ transportation for pro- 
duce and facilitate the cheap and rapid intei'-communiou of the j)eople of one part 
of the country with those of another, would contribute largely to the intelligence, 
wealth and power of the State. These results he foresaw, with a higher and broader 
perception than experience covild afford. Thus, Mr. Rollins, just maturing into 
manhood, stood before the Missouri Legislature pleading for education and internal 
improvement; and that, too, long before a single rail had been laid in the State, 
and when Missouri was scarcely surpassed in illiteracy by any other State in the 
Union. 

At tlie close of the session of 1841, Mr. Rollins returned to the practice of his 
profession. In 1844, he was appointed a delegate to the Baltimore Convention that 
nominated Henry Clay for the Presidency. During the following campaign he can- 
vassed the State for the "Whig ticket, and performed effective service. In 1846, he 
was elected as a Whig, by a handsome majority, to the State Senate from Boone and 
Audrain counties. He continued his labors in the cause of education, and aided in 
founding the benevolent policies of the State. He was also the principal advocate 
of the bill to establish the first insane asylum, which was located at Fulton. 

Mr. Rollins was by this time well known in the State, and the trusted leader of 
his party, and in 1848 received the Whig nomination for Governor. His Democratic 
opponent was Hon. Austin A. King. The candidates agreed to a joint canvass, and 
commenced a vigorous campaign. 

This was the year of the memorable Presidential contest between Taylor and 
Cass. Mr. Rollins advocated the election of Genei-al Taylor, while Mr. King urged 
the claims of Mr. Cass. Large crowds of people attended the political meetings 
during the campaign, and excitement ran high. Mr, Rollins devoted his attention 
to educational questions and internal improvement, and accomplished much in lay- 
ing the foundation for the growth and enlightenment of the State. Missouri was 
Democratic. Mr. King was elected by a greatly-reduced majority. 

The Whigs in the General Assembly of 1848-9 voted for Mr. Rollins for United 
States Senator. The Democrats liad a large majority, and elected Hon. D. R. 
Atchison. 

In 1854, Mr. Rollins, with Odon Guitar, Esq., as his colleague, were elected on the 
Whig ticket, after an exciting contest, to the State Legislature, from Boone county. 
The chief question of the canvass was the extension of slavery, the Democratic candi- 
dates contending for its establishment in the Territories, and Mr. Rollins and General 
Guitar taking the ground that Congress had the right, and ought to prohibit its 
extension. The election of the latter gentlemen was considered a great triumph in 
a part of the State where slavery had such a strong hold. The session of 1854-5 is 
memorable in the history of Missouri, on account of the excitement caused by slavery 
agitation and the troubles in Kansas. At the session of this Legislature an exciting 
Senatorial contest took place, Mr. Benton, Mr. Atchison and Mr. Doniphan being 
the chief candidates. Mr, Rollins earnestly advocated the election of his friend 
General Doniphan to the Senate, and it was in the discussion growing out of this 
contest that the celebrated debate between Mr. Rollins and Mr. Goode, a prominent 
and able member from St. Louis, arose, which attracted great attention and gave 
the former, justly, the reputation of being one of the most polished and forcible 
speakers in the State. 



830 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

Governor Trusten Polk was elected United States Senator immediately on his 
inauguration in January, 1857. Thus a vacancy occurred in the gubernatorial 
office, which required a new election. Mr. Rollins was again nominated by the 
"Whigs. Hon. Robert M. Stewart was the Democratic candidate. 

These two gentlemen made a joint canvass in 1857, which was exciting (o the 
highest degree. After great delay in getting returns from various counties, Mr. 
Stewart was declared elected by a majority of two hundred and thirty votes. Mr. 
Rollins' friends claimed that he had been fairly elected, and that the returns had 
been manipulated and Mr. Stewart thus counted in. It was the first time in the 
history of the State that the large Democratic majority had been overcome, and the 
triumph of Mr.. Rollins was as great as though he had gained the office. 

In 1860, Mr. Rollins was nominated for Congress in the Ninth District, composed 
of eleven counties lying in the forks of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. It was 
the year of the Presidential campaign, and Mr. Rollins supported Bell and Everett. 
His opponent, the Hon. John B. Henderson, supported Douglas and Johnson. It 
was suspected then, however, and has leaked out since, that both these gentlemen 
had no special objection to the election of Mr. Lincoln. Both the gentlemen were 
able and eloquent speakers, and canvassed the entire district together, addressing 
immense crowds of people and discussing thoroughly every political point at issue. 
After a heated campaign, Mr. Rollins was elected by a majority of 250 or 300 votes. 
The slavery question, which Mr. Rollins had so often discussed, was now about to 
culminate in rebellion. 

He took his seat at the called session of the XXXVIIth Congress, in July, 1861, 
and announced himself promptly and firmly on the side of the Government and the 
Union, regarding the rebellion as both causeless and infamous, and secession as 
wrong in theory and practice, finding no warrant of justification in the Federal 
Constitution. During his service in the XXXVIIth Congress, he sustained the 
Government in its efforts to put down the rebellion by voting for every war measure. 
He deprecated the war *' forced upon the country by the disunionists of the South," 
and he did all in his power to avert the storm and prevent a collision between the 
two sections of the countiy. But, the war having commenced, he knew of no other 
means of meeting the issue than by overthrowing the rebellion by force of arms. 

On April 24th, 1862, Mr. Rolhns made a powerful speech in the House of Repre- 
sentatives on *'The Rebellion," and, at its close, pledged Missouri to stand by the 
Union, in the following eloquent language: 

" Mr. Chairman, in casting our eyes across the beautiful valley westward, we 
behold a vast but unfinished monument, intended by his affectionate countrymen to 
perpetuate a lively recollection of the virtues and character of Washington. Each 
State of the American Union has contributed a part of the material of which this 
beautiful shaft is built. From one a block of limestone, from another a block of 
marble, from another a block of granite, from another a block of quartz, sprinkled 
with gold. The motto of the great State that I have the honor, in part, to represent 
in this hall, is, ' United we stand; divided ice fall,' and in her contribution to the 
"Washington monument she has sent here a block of solid iron, carved from her own 
great mountain, typical of her vast mineral resources, and of her strength and 
power when these resources are fully developed, and indicating further that, as iron 
is more durable than marble or granite, so Missouri will be riiore steadfast in main- 
taining THE UNION OF THESE Btates, and in preserving the Constitution and 
Government which "Washington gave to us." 

Mr. Rollins was a warm and able advocate of the Agricultural College bilb 
approved July 2d, 1862, by which appropriations of the public lands were made for 



COLUMBIA. 831 

the endowment of agricultural and mechanical colleges in the different States ; and 
<he has ever since eai-nestly advocated the policy of devoting every acre of the public 
land remaining unsold to the education of the children, male and female, of the 
different States, reserving the rights of the homestead and the pre-emption. On 
February 5th, 1862, Mr. Rollins introduced into the House of E-epi'esentalives " A 
bill to aid in constructing a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to 
the Pacific Ocean, and to secure to the Government the use of the same for postal, 
military and other purposes." This bill was amended from time to time, but 
remained substantially as Mr. Rollins reported it, and became a law in July, 1862, 
and under it the Union Pacific, Kansas Pacific, and Central Pacific Raih-oads of 
California were all constructed. 

Mr. Rollins was re-elected to the XXXVIIIth Congress by a majority of five or six 
thousand votes, and continued his earnest support of the Government. Hon. John 
B. Hendei-son was then in the Senate. These two gentlemen, who had formerly 
been political opponents, now cordially co-operated in the maintenance and support 
of the Union by the destruction of the rebellion. Mr, Henderson has made his 
name historic as the author of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, 
abolishing slavery in the United States ; and Mr. Rollins, in the House of Represen- 
tatives, delivered what President Lincoln pronounced one of the ablest speeches of 
the time in favor of the amendment, and the general question of emancipation. 
Under the rules of the House, each member was limited to one hour in speaking, 
unless by unanimous consent. The rule was usually rigidly enforced. On this 
thrilling occasion, liowever, involving as it did the abolition of slavery in the United 
States, Mr Rollins' time was twice extended, in order that he might finish his elo- 
quent and powerful speech, of which the following is the peroration : 

Mr. Speaker: T have but one other thought to express, and I pledge the House 
that I will then conclude these remarks, not, however, without thanking all the 
members for the great and unusual courtesy which has been extended to me, as 
well as for the attentive hearing which 1 have received alike from the House, and 
from these crowded galleries. Mr. Speaker, if we can get through this wicked 
rebellion satisfactorily ; if we can go safely between Charybdis on the one side, and 
Scvlla on the other, of the dangerous passage through which we are now steering; 
if we can survive the storm and the strife which imperils our country, and march 
safelv through the dark and dreary wilderness of civil war; and if we can come 
out of it, with the American Union as formed by Washington and his compatriots 
unbroken, and our free and matchless Constitution maintained substantially in all 
its parts ; if we can come out of it, and still preserve our American nationality, and 
with the further boast that though we have passed through these great trials and 
dangers, we have not only saved the Union and the Constitution, but we have caused 
the bright sun of freedom to shine on an additional four millions of human beings ; 
and if the old ship can once more be righted, and set sail on calmer seas, smooth 
and tranquil, where is the man, who feels a just pride of country, and who cannot 
realize the great influence which the American Republic, with freer institutions, and 
a broader Christian civilization, shall exert on down-trodden humanity, in every 
land, and beyond every sea? Aye sir, let ours be the chosen land, let ours be the 
land where the weary wanderer shall direct his footsteps, and where he cau enjoy 
the blessings of peace and freedom. Let ours be the " bright particular star," next 
to the star that led the shepherds to Bethlehem, which shall guide the down-trodden 
and oppressed of all the world, into a harbor of peace, security and happiness. 
And let us, kneeling around the altar, all thank God that whilst we have had our 
trials, we have saved our country ; that although we have been guilty of sins, we 
have wiped them out ; and that we at last stand up, a great and powerful people, 
honored by all the earth, " i^edeemed, i^egenerated and disenthralled by the genius 
of Universal EmancijpationJ' 



332 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

In 1862, the polic)^ was started of enlisting colored soldiers in the Union Army,- 
and, while Mr. Rollins fixvored putting- down the rebellion at all hazards, he doubted 
the effect which the employment of Negro soldiers at that time, would have upon 
the Union sentiment of the country, especially in the Southern States. He there- 
fore opposed the passage of the bill to enlist Negro soldiers for the service of the 
Government. In a speech delivered in the House of Representatives, February 2d, 
1863, he explained his vote as follows : 

" But, sir, arm your three or five hundred thousand negroes, what is to become 
of them after the war is over? According to the terms of this bill the slaves who 
enlist are to be free, and their families are also to be free. But are they to be sol- 
diers no longer? Will they be disbanded, or are they, or a part of them to be con- 
solidated into our army, and remain a part of the permanent military defence of 
the country? Are the wounded and disabled to be placed upon your bounty and 
pension lists? Are medals and commendatory resolutions and votes of thanks to be 
awarded to them by our legislative assemblies for their prowess and valor upon the 
field of battle? Or will you thus use them, and still keep them beneath the iron heel 
of a social and political despotism? Will you keep closed upon them all the avenues 
to distinction, all the portals which lead to usefulness, to honor, and to fame? Or 
is your object to break down all the bulwarks of society, to overcome, and by force,^ 
at once the fixed opinions and prejudices of the people, strengthened by a growth 
of centuries? Sir, if this be your grand purpose, you have a mighty task before 
you. These changes in the ideas and sentiments of a people must always be tlie 
work of time, wrought out by high mental and moral culture, and those en- 
larged and liberal, benevolent policies looking to the elevation and amelioration 
of our race, and which hitherto have been one of the distinguishing features of the 
nineteenth century. 

Sir, to see such results springing from such influences and causes, in the steady 
march of enlightened progress, was a spectacle attracting the notice and awakening 
the regard of every humane heart. And I confess to you, sir, that it was through 
policies and agencies such as these, and that elevating influence exerted upon masses 
of men by a free Government, and the quickening spirit of liberty regulated by 
written constitutions and wholesome laws, that I hoped to see not only the march 
of empire across the continent from ocean to ocean, with State after State springing 
up, adding star after star to that beautiful emblem of American nationality, but also 
in the midst of this physical and political growth was my vision illumined with the 
hope that through the same influences, exerted by free institutions, in educating the 
common mind, in expanding our commerce, in enlarging our moral ideas, that all 
men at last, without distinction of race or color, and in the final results of a better 
Christian civilization, would rise to the dignity of true manhood in the enjoyment, 
of universal freedom. Such, sir, was the peaceful theory by which I hoped that the 
problem of African slavery would be solved upon this continent. To have worked 
out such results might have required centuries of time, but that such would have 
been the final solution of this great question I have never doubted, if the American 
people did not themselves fail in their experiment of self-government." 

Speaker Colfax having offered a resolution to expel the Hon. Mr. Long, of Ohio, 
for advocating the cessation of war, and for expressing dis-Union sentiments in the 
House of Representatives, Mr. Rollins opposed the passage of the resolution and 
advocated the " Freedom of Speech" in a masterly effort delivered April 12th, 1864. 

The following extract is given expressing his views as to the value of the'' Amer- 
ican Union," and the sacrifices which ought still to be made in order to preserve it: 

''Mr. Speaker, yet another word. I have referred to the immense interests at 
stake in the struggle that is now going on between tnis government and those who 
are in rebellion against it. Defeat to us is eternal, everlasting disgrace, and dis- 
honor to ourselves and oar children. We must succeed. It cannot be otherwise. 

In the mighty struggle which we suppose is now impending, when a more terrible 
crash of arms will be felt than any that has yet taken place during this terrible strife,. ' 



COLUMBIA. 



833 



suppose that accomplished General, the most accomplished, perhaps, of all the gen- 
erals on either side, at least equal to any in military skill and power, Robert E. Lee, ' 
should beat down our forces and drive them back across the Potomac; what tlicn? 
Are our hearts to sink within us? Are we to give up the struggle in despair? Sup- 
pose this Capital is taken, suppose the President, at the other end of the avenue, is 
compelled to remove a few hundred miles further north, and this Congress to go 
elsewhere for the purpose of holding its sessions. Suppose the Potomac is crossed, 
the Chesapeake reached, Baltimore taken? Suppose they march to the Susque- 
hanna, and pass victorious through Maryland and Pennsylvania, will youthen be 
contented to give up the struggle? Never, never ! Stand by your flag! Standby 
your Constitution! Rally the power and strength of the loyal States that have not 
yet exhibited themselves. Bring out your middle classes; bring out your gray- 
headed and gray-bearded men, and put the Union at last upon its real trial. 

Will it take a year longer; two years longer; five years longer? What are years 
in the history of a nation ; what is time ; what is money ; what is blood ; compared 
to the preservation and salvation of a Government like this? Will you say, tliat 
we have already lost $2,000,000,000; that five hundred thousand men are already 
missing from the nation's muster-roll, and that you are therefore ready to acknowl- 
edge the efibrt to save the Union a failure? Sir, here are five hundred thousand 
more of our sons to be sacrificed, and here is a Government to be saved. Which is 
of most value, $2,000,000,000 and five hundred thousand men for putting down this 
rebellion, or this Government? Will you weigh these sacrifices against the preser- 
vation of liberty and free institutions, for ourselves, our posterity, and all who shall 
make America their happy home? God forbid ! God forbid ! We will not give it 
up, let the war last five years or ten years. We will continue it as long as any power 
remains in this Government. And if I could send the same spirit to those beautiful 
children whom God has blessed me with, it should descend to them from sire to son, 
until that flag which is now streaming from the dome of this Capitol should wave 
over this onc'e happy country, as the flag of a free, powerful, happy, and redeemed 
people." 

Mr. Rollins was always admired by President Lincoln and the great men of his 
party, and was regarded as a true man and co-laborer in all the great issues of vital 
concern to the union of States and the promotion of the national welfare. In 1864, 
Mr. Rollins declined a re-electiou to the XXXlXth Congress, and the war closing 
in the spring of 1865, he returned to his home, near Columbia, aud devoted himself to 
business and his private affairs, which had been greatly disarranged during the long 
and bloody civil war. In 1866 he was again called upon to represent Boone county 
in the Legislature, and received nearly the entire vote cast at the election. 
During this session, and the subsequent adjourned session of the Legislature, Mr. 
Rollins devoted himself mainly to revising the laws of the State, so as to readjust 
them in harmony with the new Constitution which had been adopted in 1865, and 
in adapting our whole system of laws to the new order of things growing out of 
the war, and the abolishment of African slavery. He also co-operated earnestly 
with the friends of education, in perfecting tlae common school system of the State, 
and in placing on a firm and solid foundation the State University, which had been 
broken up during the war, its buildings being occupied as a military post and ]?av- 
racks. . ■■ 

He was the author and eloquent advocate of a bill which after great opposition, 
became a law, establishing a Normal Department in connection with the University, 
and also appropriating ten thousand dollars for the re-building of the president's 
house, wliich had been destroyed by fire, and appropriating also one and three- 
fourths per cent, of the State revenue annually, after deducting twenty-five per cent. 
for common school purposes, to the support and maintenance of the State Uni- 
versity. From this source the institution received annually between $16,000 and 
$17,000, which placed it upon a firm and solid foundation. 



834 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

During the same session Mr. Rollins introduced a bill establishing the Agricultui'al 
and Mechanical College as a department of the University, and turning over to the 
curators the 330,000 acres of land granted to the State of Missouri by the general 
Govermnent for the purpose of endowing the same. A long and bitter contest 
ensued in regard to this important measure and the bill was defeated, as it failed to 
receive the constitutional majority of all the members elected, and not simply a 
majority of all those voting. The failure of the passage of this bill was a sore 
defeat to Mr. Rollins, after his long and severe labors, running through two entire 
sessions of the Legislature, in its behalf. 

In 1867, President Johnson commissioned Mr. Rollins one of the Government 
Directors of the Union Pacific Railroad, which position he accepted, but resigned 
it in the fall of 1868. 

In 1868, in consequence of the disfranchisement of Mr. David H. Hickman, who 
had been nominated for the State Senate in the district composed of the counties of 
Audrain, Boone and Callaway, the name of Mr. Rollins, contrary to his wishes and 
only a few days before the election, was substituted for that of Mr. Hickman. He 
was elected by a decided majority, although eight-tenths of the voters of the district 
had been disfranchised by striking their names from the registration list of voters : 
the same person being the Superintendent of Registration and also his competitor 
for the Senate, and the Superintendent of Registration possessing the power at that 
time under the law, with the county registrars, of disfranchising the people. In 
spite of all this, Mr. Rollins' seat was contested by his competitor; but after a 
long and bitter contest, and a thorough investigation by a Senate a majority of 
whom were politically opposed to Mr. Rollins, he was unanimously declared 
elected. 

Upon the convening of the General Assembly at the city of Jefferson, Mr. Rollins 
again introduced his bill in the Senate locating the Agricultural and Mechanical 
College, endowed by the General Government with 330,000 acres of public land, as 
a department of the University. After a long and heated contest, it became a law, 
being so amended, however, as to give one-fourth of the proceeds of the sale of the 
lands towards the support of the School of Mines and Metallurgy, located at Rolla, 
Phelps county, which is also a department of the State University. 

Mr. Rollins also, while a member of the Senate, introduced a bill, which finally 
became a law, adjusting an old account existing between the State and University, 
and under which the sum of $166,000 was added to the permanent fund of the insti- 
tution, and $35,000 was given to the School of Mines and Metallurgy, to be expended 
in the erection of the necessary buildings at Rolla . 

Having thus, by his great energy and labor, obtained a large endowment for the 
University, and desiring to bring the means of education within the i-each of all the 
youth of the State, both male and female, Mr. Rollins introduced a bill, which 
became a law, cutting down the tuition fees, making the institution substantially 
free to the sons and daughters of Missouri. 

Mr. Rollins, it is said, besides being one of the largest subscribers to secure the 
location of the State University at Columbia, has also been the author and chief 
advocate of every important bill introduced into the General Assembly, either 
adding to or providing for the maintenance and advancement of the University. 

Besides these important services in the cause of education, Mr. Rollins, for the 
past eight years, has been President of the Board of Curators, and has given a large 
portion of his time to advancing still further the best interests of the institution — 



COLUMBIA. 



835 



in the multiplication of its departments, the increase of its endowments, the addi- 
tion to its able corps of professors and teachers and students ; the addition to its 
libraries, and its other facilities for instruction. 

During these years of great struggle and labor to give Missouri a literary, scieu- 
titic and practical institution of learning, in all respects worthy of her present posi- 
tion and great futui-e as the Empire State of the Mississippi Valley, Mr. Eollins has 
met with opposition, and even abuse, from a few narrow and ignoble minds. His 
services, however, in behalf of education have been to some extent appreciated, and 
in the future, when the whole people of the State will enjoy and reap the full ben- 
efit of his wisdom, his labors, and his sacrifices, these things will be far more prized 
and appreciated than they are at the present time. But they have not been wholly 
overlooked. At a regular meeting of the Board of Curators of the State University, 
held in the University edifice. May, 1872, after having received publicly the thanks 
of the professors and president of the institution, and a series of complimentary 
resolutions adopted by the students, Erofessor Wyman of St. Louis, an old and 
distinguished educator of the State, and member of the Board of Curators, offered 
the followiug.resolutions, which, after being eloquently advocated by himself. Dr. 
Yincil and Hon. Wm. F. Switzler, were unanimously adopted: 

Whereas, The long-continued services of Hon. James S. Rollins, commencing 
thirtv-four years ago in the introduction of a bill by him in the House of Repre- 
sentatives of the General Assembly of this State, providing tor the lecation of the 
State University, and the various measures since that time of which he has been the 
author and earnest and able advocate, terminating with the act passed at the last 
session of the Legislature, making provision for the payment of the debts of the 
institution, enlarging its library, completing the Scientific building and adding to its 
permanent endowment, deserve a proper recognition and acknowledgment by this 
Board ; be it therefore, 

Besolved, That this Board are deeply impressed with the value of the important 
services rendered bv Hon. J. S. Rollins, and other friends of education, in placing 
the University of Missouri upon a solid and permanent foundation, where the youth 
of the State may enjoy equal advantages for higher education with the youths of 
other States of the Union. . . „ 

2d. That he has won the honorable title, of ''Pater Universitatis Missouriensis, 
and that the thanks of this Board are hereby tendered to him for his great efforts to 
promote the prosperitv. usefulness and success of this institution. 

3d. That the secretary of this Board cause to be prepared in some suitable form a 
copy of the foregoing resolutions, signed by the vice-president and secretary, and 
with the seal of the University attached, and presented to the Hon. James S. Rollins 
in the name of that Board. 

A year afterward, in June, 1873, many of the citizens of Columbia and Boone 
county, having had painted a full-length portrait of Mr. Rollins, by George C. Bing- 
ham, Esq., his life-long friend, and Missouri's great artist, in recognition of his great 
services in building up the University, caused the same to be formally presented to 
the Board of Curators. The ceremony was a very interesting one, fine addresses 
having been made by Mr. A. J. Conant, the distinguished artist of St. Louis, and 
also by the Hon. William F. Switzler, with a handsome response from Mr. Rollins 
himself. This splendid portrait, which is a faithful likeness, is placed permanently 
in the fine library hall. 

But Mr. Rollins, whilst a member of the State Senate, did not confiiie himself to 
the advocacy and passage of those laws bearing upon the interests of his immediate 
constituents alone. As chairman of the committee on Education, he reported, and 
advocated zealously, bills providing for the establishment and support of two Nor- 



836 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

mal Schools. This bill became a law, and the schools were subsequently located at 
Warrensbnrg- and Kirksville. He also advocated a bill making a permanent appro- 
priation annually for the support of Lincoln Institute, a highar educational institu- 
tion for the benefit of the colored youth of the State. Mr. Rollins was also lai-gely 
instrumental, by his zeal and energy, in the passage of the bill providing for the 
establishment of the Asylum for the Insane of the State at St. Joseph, and which is 
now in snccessfnl operation. 

In 1872, he permitted his name to go before the Democratic State Convention, 
wliich assembled in Jefferson City, in August of that year, as a candidate for the 
nomination for Governor. It was generally admitted that he would make an accept- 
able candidate before the people, and that, all things considered, he was fairly enti- 
tled to the nomination. But there were elements in the convention that felt but little 
interest in his views and opinions ; in fact, with a few of the more extreme men 
'composing it, there was a positive prejudice against him. Mr. Rollins is no mere 
partisan. Cultivated and intelligent, he rises to the dignity of true statesmanship; 
no narrow, or prejudiced or sectional opinions ever controlled his conduct as a public 
man. He believes in our American nationality, and in his policies for the develop- 
ment of the physical, moral and intellectual improvement of the country, he embra- 
ces the whole of it, and all its parts. Of all the distinguished men who have shed 
histre upon the State of Missouri, whether born within her boundaries or on other 
soil, none has a better record, a brighter fame, or a stronger hold upon the affections 
of the people than Jas. S. Rollins. His life has been one of unselflsh devotion to the 
best interests of his fellow-men, and his chief aim lias been to advance the greatness 
and prosperity of his adopted State. Most men of distinction attain their high posi- 
tion by pursuing one object, or in advocating some special theory ; but he has been 
equally devoted through his life to all measures that seemed for the public good, and 
the elevation of man. When the salvation and integrity of his country demanded the 
emancipation of all the slaves and their subsequent advancement to citizenship, he 
did not hesitate to give his aid to the movement by voice and pen, though incurring 
the displeasure of old associates, and at the sacrifice of his own personal interests, 
he being a large slave owner. 

In private life Mr . Rollins is charitable, benevolent and sociable ; leading in all 
plans that are suggested to improve, and elevate and make respectable and prosper- 
ous the county in which he resides, and to whom the people are greatly indebted for 
its good name throughout the State ; and if Mr, Rollins has not attained the highest 
positions of official honor in the State, the universal sentiment is a higher distinc- 
tion — that he deserved them. 



JOHN MARTIN SAMUEL, 

of Columbia, Missouri, was born in Boone county, Missouri, December 16th, 1825, 
and was the son of Richard Samuel and Lucy Marrs, both of whom died before he 
was six years of age. His early education was received in Shelby and Franklin 
counties, Kentucky ; after which, returning to Missouri, he entered the State Uni- 
versity at Columbia in 1842-3, and therefore was among the first students who 
received instruction in that institution. In 1844 he attended college at Louisville, 
Kentucky, John H. Harvey, president, and Wm. Butler, one of the professors. 
Intending to devote himself to the profession of law, he became a student in the 
law office of Preston Loughborough and Wm. H. Fields Louisville, Kentucky; and 




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710 9ji &amuL 



COLUMBIA. 837 

in 1848-9 attended one course of lectures in Transylvania University, Lexington, 
Kentucky. Having, however, on September 2d, 1847, married Miss Elenora B. 
Vanhorne, daughter of the late Ishmael Vanhorne, of Boone county, Missouri, his 
purposes of professional life were changed, and he determined to abandon legal and 
literary pursuits for the more active career of merchant and trader. He therefore 
largely and successfully engaged in merchandise, and in the shipment of tobacco 
and pork packing. Each of these industries he has prosecuted with industry and 
enterprise, and much to the advantage of the region of country in which he resides. 
In 1857 he was elected sheriff of Boone county, and was re-elected in 1859. In 
1867 he was elected clei-k of the Boone Circuit Court, and in 1871 was re-elected. 
In 1876 he was elected treasurer of Boone county, and is now an incumbent of the 
office. In all the official positions he has been called to fill, Mr. Samuel has given 
evidence of rare capacity, and his administrations have been marked for dilligence, 
probity and success. A gentleman of large philanthropy, genial nature and 
attractive address, he has won for himself a host of personal friends whom no oppo- 
sition or misfortune can estrange . In short, Mr. Samuel belongs to that type of 
men universally popular with the people, and very difficult to defeat as a candidate 
for office. In enterprise, breadth of view and public spirit, he is abreast with the 
active spirit of the age, and will long be remembered for his liberality, charity and 
willingness to aid with his counsel and means those measures designed to advance 
the prosperity of the community in which he lives, and to ameliorate the condition 
of mankind. 

Mr. Samuel and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. They have three 
children, all daughters, and all married. 



WILLIAM F. SWITZLER 

was born in Fayette county, Kentucky, March 16th, 1819. His paternal grandpa- 
rents were natives of Switzei-land. They emigrated to America, settling near Har- 
risburg, Pennsylvania ; and subsequently moved to Orange county, Virginia, where 
Simeon Switzler was born. 

In 1826, the subject of this sketch moved with his father, Simeon Switzler, and his 
family, to Fayette, Howard county, Missouri. They resided in Fayette until 1832, 
when they moved upon a farm midway betw^een Fayette and Boonville. He alter- 
nately attended Mt. Forest Academy, and assisted his father upon the farm. His 
father and mother fostered and wisely encouraged his early-developed taste for lit 
erary pursuits. He read and composed much, and pi-osecuted his studies at home 
and school with great industry. He took a prominent part in the debating society 
organized at the academy, and here laid the foundations for that aptitude for ready 
writing and popular oratory which has characterized him ever since. He read law 
at home, enjoying occasional instruction from his early friends Judge Aiiel Leonard 
and Col. J. Davis, of Faj^ette. In 1840, he strongly advocated the election of 
General Harrison, and wrote a series of articles in his favor for the Boonslick Times 
a Whig paper then published at Fayette. 

In the winter of 1840-1, he was kindly tendered the use of the law library of 
Hon. James S. Rollins, of Columbia. He accepted the offer, and on January 8th, 
1841, he arrived at Columbia, where he has ever since resided. For several months 
he paid his expenses by acting as book-keeper for a firm at Columbia. In 1841, he 
delivered an address on the occasion of the death and in commemoration of the life 



838 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEl. 

and services of Genei-al Harrison. The same year he became editor of the Patriot^ 
a Whig paper then published at Columbia. He kept xip his law studies, and was 
admitted to the bar in May, 1842. In July, 1842, he retired from the Patriot. In 
December following he purchased a half interest in the oflSce and again became its 
editor. In January, 1843, he changed its name to the Missouri Statesman, and he 
has conducted that paper ever since. With the single exception of the St. Louis 
Republican, the Statesman is the oldest paper in the State. 

The Statesman has been Mr. Switzler's life-work, and is a monument of his enter- 
prise, abilit}^ and energy. It is an individuality, receiving and imparting the imper- 
sonation of its editor. It is a model newspaper, enterprising, progressive, active 
in every good work, conducted with acknowledged fairness and ability, and wields 
an influence over the public mind equal to any weekly publication in the State. It 
has contributed substantially to the prosperity of the State, and of the town and 
county where it is published. 

In August, 1843, Mr. Switzler was married, in Columbia, to Miss Mary Jane, 
daughter of the late John B. Royall, of Halifax county, Virginia, and in 1845 he 
retii'ed from the bar. 

In 1846, 1848 and in 1856 he was elected to the State Legislature from Boone 
county. In 1860 he was a delegate to the Baltimore Whig National Convention, 
which nominated Bell and Everett. It was upon Mr. Switzler's motion that Mr. 
Everett was nominated by acclamation for Vice-President. He was a candidate for 
Presidential Elector on the Bell and Everett ticket, and made an extensive canvass. 

He was a decided but conservative Union man during the war. Since 1863 he 
has actively co-operated with the Democratic party. He supported General Mc- 
Clellan for President in 1864, Seymour in 1868, Greeley in 1872, and Tilden in 1876. 

Mr. Switzler was a member of the State Constitutional Convention in 1865, and 
took a very active, and prominent part in that body against disfranchisement and 
other extreme measures adopted by the Radical party. 

In 1866 and in 1868 he was nominated by the Democracy of his district for Con- 
gress. He made an extensive canvass, meeting his opponent in joint discussion in 
every county. Notwithstanding the wholesale disfranchisement of his political fi'iends, 
he was botli times elected. The Secretary of State, however, gave the certificate of 
election to the Republican candidates. Colonel Switzler contested their election 
with an industry that knew no rest and an ability that won the applause of his con- 
stituents and the public generally. The Election Committee of the House, although 
largely composed of his partizan enemies, reported each time in his favor, but the 
House of Representatives, by a strict party vote, gave the seats to the sitting mem- 
bers, thus refusing the award of its own committee, which had investigated the con- 
test. Mr. Switzler on both occasions addressed the House in speeches of eloquence 
and great power, which attracted much attention throughout the Union. 

Mr. Switzler was a member of the Constitutional (Convention of 1875. To him, as 
Chairman of the Committee upon Education, the State is largely indebted for the 
admirable article on that subject in the New Constitution. His speech, when this 
article was reported, was among the ablest delivered in the Convention. His large 
experience in public life, his great and accurate knowledge of political questions, 
his familiarity with parliamentary law, and his ability as a debater and writer, gave 
him a prominent position among the members of the Convention. 

Mr. Switzler is blessed with a most remarkable memory, especially as to names, 
dates and incidents. This peculiar gift he has cultivated to an almost marvellous 



COLUMBIA. 



839 



extent. He has paid special attention to the history of Missouri and her public men. 
He has all his life kept memoranda and " scraps" carefully arranged concerning- 
incidents in connection with the growth of his State. Having also been all his life 
an editor, recording and publishing history as it was made, he is by natural gift 
and professional training admirably adapted to write the " History of Missouri." 
The main article in the Commonwealth, from his pen, will speak for itself and estab- 
lish his character as a writer and historian. 

Mr, Switzler is a self-made man, who has won honorable distinction by never- 
flagging industry, self-reliance and personal purity and worth. He is distin- 
guished alike by his liberal views and energetic action. As a journalist he is justly 
ranked as a benefactor for advocating those great measures of public policy which 
have for a quarter of a centuary been the progress of our nation. To his honor be 
it said that, while he has always been surrounded by (hose who made, sold and drank 
liquor, he has never tasted a drop of an intoxicating beverage. He has been alwajs 
a steady, unflinching advocate of total abstinence, and of all agencies tending to 
elevate the intellectual, moral and social condition of man. He is still in vigorous 
manhood, his constitution unimpaired by any abuse. 

Conservative without tameness ; progressive without impatience or violence, acting 
ever with foresight and intelligence, he belongs to that class of public men in whose 
hands and under whose, guidance the people must look for the preservation and 
safety of our countiy and its institutions. 

JOSEPH KIRTLEBY EOGERS 

was born in Fayette county, Kentucky, November 19th, 1828. His ancestry emi- 
grated from England to Virginia, and thence to Kentucky , soon after the Boone 
settlements there. They located subsequently at Bryan Station, and membe 
the family are now scattered through all the Western States. His father and mother, 
WilUam and Francis Rogers, removed to Missouri in the fall of 1830, and settled 
upon a farm about ten miles west of Palmyra, the county town of Marion county. 
In this frontier land, where the tracks of the retiring red man were fresh in the soil 
and the embers of his camp-fires still smoldered in the forests, he spent his childhood 
and youth. He grew up amid the trials and struggles of a new country , which 
inure to hardships and train to habits of industry and self-reliance. 

His education was commenced in the traditional frontier " log school-house " with 
" puncheon floor," " slab seats," and a log cut out for a window. Each boy had his 
" cow-horn inkstand," home-made ink, ''goose-quill pen," and ruled his paper with 
a home-made lead-pencil. Mr. Noah Flood, subsequently a prominent minister of 
the Baptist faith in Missouri, presided over this school. Blackboards were unknown 
but the " birch" was a familiar acquaintance. Young Rogers spent five years " off 
and on" in this grade of schools. At the age of fifteen he entered Masonic College, 
Marion county, Missouri, presided over at that time by G. J. Worthington Smith, of 
Virginia. Archibald Patterson was professor of mathematics. He remained here 
two and a half years, making good progress in Latin and mathematics, and in the 
fall of 1850 entered Missouri University at Columbia, and graduated July 4th, 
1853, in the Course of Arts with the degree of A. B. He received the honorary 
degree of A. M. in 1856. 

In the fall of 1854 he opened a seminary for girls and young la I'-CS at St. Joseph, 
Missouri. 



840 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

Ill August, 1855, he was married to Miss Jennie E., daughter of Captain Archi- 
bald S. Robard, of Hannibal, Missouri, an accomplislied and cultured ladj^, who 
afterwards became a most important aid and co-worker with him in his protracted 
and laborious educational work. 

In 1856 he accepted a position as professor in Christian College, Columbia, under 
L, B. Wilkes, the president of the institution. In July, 1858, upon the resignation 
of President Wilkes, Mr. Rogers was elected his successor as president of Christian 
College. He held this important and arduous position, discharg-ing its duties with 
signal ability and success, until July, 1877, when, on account of impaired health, he 
resigned. The popularity of the school during this time was all its most entusiastic 
friends could desire, and more than its best and most substantial friends expected. 

The graduates and students of Christian College are scattered far and wide over 
all the Western States. They are a host of intelligent and retined women, who, in 
the family circle, in the school-room, and in the various walks of life, amply attest 
the fidelity and ability with which President Rogers discharged the most important 
duties and delicate trust confined to him through all these years. 

Mr. Rogers resides with his family in Columbia, and hopes, as all who know him 
hope, that after a year or two of rest and recuperation, he will again be ready for 
many more years of usefulness. 



GEORGE CLINTON SWALLOW 

was born in Bulkfield, Oxford county, Maine, in 1817. Among the lists of the 
Norman conquerors which history has preserved appears the name of Sevalliou. As 
far as known, he was the progenitor of all who bear the name of Swallow in 
America. When, or for what cause, the French etymology was changed, does not 
appear. Nevertheless, the history of the migi-ations of the numerous branches of his 
family have been preserved. From these records we learn that one branch migrated 
from France direct to New Orleans. Another, after a residence in England, came 
with the Eastern colonists to New England, and settled in New Hampshire. From 
the latter branch George Clinton Swallow was descended. His father was a farmer 
of high repute among his neighbors, and laid them under special obligation by the 
exercise of his fine mechanical skill in his blacksmith and gunsmith shop. 

Here their agricultural implements were made and repaired, as well as their fire- 
arms, which were in constant requisition. In these varied occupations, on the farm 
and in the woi'kshop of his father, were laid the foundations of a fine physical 
stature and manly development. 

Inheriting the mechanical tastes and talents of his father, he felt continually an 
increasing need and longing for that scientific knowledge which his native village 
could not supply. Just at this time, men were beginning to unfold the long history 
of the earth from the stratified rocks. He looked at the grand mountain ranges of 
his native State, and resolved that he would read their secrets — he must study 
Geology. In his labors and experiments in the gunshop and on the farm, many 
questions arose involving principles — particularly in chemistry— of which he knew 
nothing. 

The branches he most desired could only be reached in the senior year at college. 
Between him and that coveted time were five long years of toil and study, upon sub- 
jects of the value of which, at that time, he could form no proper estimate.. Never- 
theless he resolved to pay the price. Hardship though it seemed to him then, those 



COLUMBIA. 841 

five years of training and mental discipline gave a breadth and comprehensive grasp 
to his intellect which otherwise it would never have possessed. Putting his purpose 
at once into execution, he graduated at Bowdoin College with honor in 1843. Imme- 
diately upon his graduation, he was made lecturer upon Botany, and delivered the 
first course on that subject ever given in his Alma Mater. 

He was soon after elected principal of Hampden Academy, and resolved that there 
should be at least one school where the sons of farmers could study chemistry, as 
applied to agriculture, and such other branches of practical knowledge as would 
better fit them for tillers of the soil. For this purpose he applied to the State Legis- 
lature, and, in 1848, was successful in procuring a grant of land in aid of his enter- 
prise. By this timely encouragement he was able to erect and furnish a laboratory, 
where students were instructed by experiments, as well as in theory, in agricultural 
chemistry and assaying. 

But now a wider field iuvited his labor, and, in 1850, he was elected Professor of 
Chemistry and Geology in the University of Missouri. As he looked abroad over 
this great territory, with her vast natural resources, he became profoundly impi-essed 
with the great need among the people, of some better means of interchange of ideas 
and methods of knowledge and practical experience in agricultural matters. Pro- 
fessor Swallow was not content with the bare performance of the routine duties of 
his chair in the University, but began to agitate among the people the necessity of 
special organization for these purposes. In 1852, he published an exhaustive address 
to the people of Missouri, which led to the establishment of the Agricultural and 
Mechanical Association of Boone and St. Louis counties, quickly followed by similar 
organizations throughout the State. As the result of his persistent labors in this 
direction, and in response to a memorial from his pen, the Board of Curators of 
the State University, in 1858, formally established the Agricultural Department of 
that institution. But, owing to the disturbed conditions during the civil war and 
the years immediately antecedent, but little was accomplished in this department. 

In 1853, Professor Swallow was appointed, by Governor Sterling Price, State 
Geologist, which position he held for seven years, and until he was driven from the 
field by the war. A more lengthy notice than our limits will allow would be necessary 
to do justice to the extent and value of his long labors in this extensive field. Suffice 
it to say that, upon entering the work, he called around him a corps of assistants of 
such signal ability as were rarely or never engaged at one time in a similar enter- 
prise. Among them the names of Shumard, Lytton and Norwood stand pre-eminent. 
In 1855, his first report was given to the world. It immediately took rank with the 
best works of the kind in America, giving the author a well-deserved fame and a 
recognized position among the scientists of the world. So great was the interest 
awakened, and so important were his contributions to geological science regarded, 
that he was speedily elected a member of the leading scientific associations of Europe 
and America. His announcement of the discovery of Permian rocks in America was 
new and startling to geologists of both hemispheres, and provoked much discussion. 
In Europe, where this formation was best understood, his descriptions afi"orded 
convincing proof of their existence, while at home, though the fact is now unques- 
tioned by any, many were slow to admit that the described formation was Permian 
at all. 

Among the many misfortunes which befel the State of Missouri by means of the 
civil war, not the least was the interruption, at such a time, of her geological survey, 
by which the results of a vast amount of labor were lost or destroyed. 

54 



842 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

In 1865, Professor Swallow was appointed State Geologist of Kansas, and contin- 
ued in that survey for two years, until the appropriation was exhausted, when he 
published a detailed report of the rocks of the eastern portion of that State. 

In 1870, curriculum of the University of Missouri was greatly enlarged, embracing 
the departments of Law, Medicine and Agriculture. Professor Swallow was imme- 
diately elected to the Chair of Agriculture and Geology. Soon after he was placed 
at the head of this department and made Dean of the College of Agriculture, which 
honored position he slill occupies. 

As a recognition of the value of his labors and his contributions to knowledge, he 
has been pi*esented with rare and costly scientific works by foreign societies. He 
has also received the highest diploma in medicine and the honorary degree of 
LL. D. 

"While, by moans of his reports, the vast and rich mineral fields of Southwest Mis- 
souri and Southeastern Kansas, and the vast coal fields of Northwest Missouri and 
Eastern Kansas have been brought to the notice of the world, thereby hastening the 
development of the exhaustless treasures of these regions, still the greatest and 
noblest sphere of his usefulness is doubtless the one he now so worthily fills. In 
the Agricultural College, of which he is the Dean, the sons of the farmers of the 
great Mississippi Valley are educated to become centers of intelligence and influ- 
ence for good in their widely-separated homes. 

Prof. Swallow is a teacher of life-long experience. At the age of sixteen, before 
he entered Boudoin College, he was a teacher in the public schools of Maine. From 
that time until he came to Missouri, a period of seventeen years, he was engaged in 
teaching during a part of each year in schools of all the various grades in Maine 
and Massachusetts. 

By both his natural adaptation and by his felicitous power of impai'ting ideas, he 
is pre-eminently qualified for a teacher of the young. With all his years of experi- 
ence, his tireless industry, his earnestness of purpose and his breadth of culture, in 
the full ripeness of his manhood, no prophet is needed to predict, as a sure result of 
his labors, a perpetual influence for good, not only in the development of the natural 
resources of the country, but in shaping the intellectual character of the people of 
his empire State. 

In the turmoil of trade and the tumultuous whirl of political excitement which 
ever attend the aggregation of peoples of different nationalities in the organization 
of governments in youthful States, the leaders of parties and factions are those 
men who most absorb the attention of the masses. The truly great men, however, 
who are often less conspicuous, are those who contribute most to the solid founda- 
tions upon which the futui-e Srate shall stand perfected. For the establishment of a 
well-arranged system of education, which shall rear and equip a manhood capable 
and worthy of the grave responsibilities of that higher civilization which we believe 
is already dawning, there is needed something of a prophetic ken, which is the 
vision of a broad intelligence, a comprehensive grasp of mind, an abiding faith in 
the glorious possibilities of the future, and an unswerving purpose. To the early 
toilers in this wide field, of which Professor Swallow is an honored representative, 
will belong, in a good degree, the etei-nal honor of devising and putting in success- 
ful operation those means and influences which are moulding in goodlj^ shape the 
civilization oF the commonwealth. 

It matters not whether or no the marble monument shall hereafter be reared to 
perpetuate his memory and record his works. His monuments are not only the liv- 



COLUMBIA. 843 

ingmen of to-day, upon whose character he has made his mark, but the long gen- 
erations who shall succeed, whose characters, too, shall be moulded by the undying 
influence of the life and works of his noble, unselfish labors. 

But this brief sketch would be sadly incomplete if no notice were taken of the 
life of one who, in the truest sense, has been the life-long helpmeet of her husband 
in his manifold labors. In 1844, Professor Swallow was married to Martha A. Hill, 
•daughter of Reverend David Hill, of the Methodist Church of Virginia. He was a 
man of enlightened views, and gave his children the rich prestige of a good educa- 
tion. 

Though raised in her father's faith, when she joined her destiny with the man of 
Iher choice, she united with the Presbyterian Church, of which for many years, and 
until the present time, Professor Swallow has been an elder. They have but one 
child, a charming daughter, who is possessed of rare gifts and accomplishments and 
now the wife of Colonel A. M. Woolfolk, of Montana. How much Professor 
Swallow is indebted for his position to the unflinching devotion, tender influence 
and rare good judgment of his esteemed wife, none knows so well as himself. Of 
the generous hospitality of that home in which she has been perpetual sunlight, the 
writer of this speaks from an experience of many years. 



JAMES L. STEPHENS 

was born in Garrard county, Kentucky, November 17th, 1815. He was the second 
son of Elijah Stephens, a North Carolinian, of English ancestry. His mother was by 
birth a Virginian, and of Scotch descent. Elijah Stephens removed from Kentucky 
to Missouri in the fall of 1819, and located on a farm in Boone county. He was a 
man of genuine piety, well-informed, and had a good library, and sought after and 
read all works of importance within his reach. He delighted in solving mathemati- 
cal problems, and was for a number of years surveyor of his section. Being himself 
a man of studious tastes, he did not fail to give his children the best education 
afibrded in his vicinity at that early date. 

The subject of this sketch left his father's home in the spi'ing of 1836, and entered 
a dry-goods store as clerk in Columbia, where he has continuously resided since, 
except one year in the city of New York, two years in Greenbui'g, Indiana, one 
each in Mexico and Fulton, Missouri. 

Few men in Central Missouri have ti'ansacted more business of a private character, 
or engaged more largely in public enterprises, than James L. Stephens. No intei-nal 
improvement of his section has failed to receive his cordial, and, in many instances, 
his leading support. 

Columbia owes much of its reputation, as holding an enviable and commanding 
position among the refined communities of the State, to Mr. Stephens, who has con- 
tributed liberally, both in time and money, to the establishment and maintenance of 
Stephens College. He also used his best endeavors to secure the location of the 
State University at Columbia, and has contributed liberally to William Jewell 
College, at Liberty. 

Though Mr. Stephens' life has been that of a business man, his enterpi-ise and 
reliable character caused his party, in 1860, to nominate him as their candidate, in 
the district composed of Boone and Callaway counties, for State Senator, against 
•ex-Governor Hardin. He sustained the canvass to the entire satisfaction of his 
jparty, which at that time was in a decided minority. 



844 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

Mr, Stephens married Amelia, daughter of the late Judge J. Q. Hockaday, of 
Fulton, Missouri. They have two children. Mr. Stephens and his family are mem- 
bers of the Baptist Church, which, with Stephens College, engages much of his 
attention. 

ALEXANDER MEYROWITZ, A.M., Ph.D., 

was born in Wilna, once the capital of Lithuania, in Poland, August 1st, 1810. His 
parents were Jews, and he was educated for the Rabbinical chair, and when fourteen 
j^ears of age he began to preach, and continued with success until his eighteenth 
year. 

An unprejudiced and thorough study of the Old Testament, as well as most of the 
Rabbinical literature, rendered him dissatisfied with Judaism, and he left his native 
place, in search of some more satisfactory belief. 

In Leipsic he met the great Hebrew scholar, Franz Delitsch, D.D., from whom he 
first learned and accepted the truths of Christianity. There, under the able guidance 
of the great Oriental Professor, H. L. Fleischer, he completed his oriental studies. 
From Leipsic he went to London and Oxford, where he graduated as B. A. in Brazn- 
nose College, after which he traveled to Rome, and there attended the lectures of 
Pater Perona in Collegio Romano, and those of Pater Modena at Sapienza. In 
Rome, Dr. Meyrowitz profited by the acquaintance of the great linguist, Cardinal 
Mezzofanti, and, returning to England in 1843, he became a tutor of Hebrew in 
Bristol College. 

He was married to Miss Eliza Dornibi'ook, in 1844. Having received a call to 
Edinburg, he went there in 1846, where his wife died on the 9th of October, 1848, 
he soon afterwards removing to Germany. Three years after, he married Miss 
Emilie M. Abram, and settled in St. Petersburg, Russia. His wife bore him five 
children — three boye and two girls. In 1866, her health beginning to decline, the 
physicians advised him to leave Russia, and he returned to Germany, where, a year 
later, she died of consumption. 

Dr. Meyrowitz being left with a large family, most of them yet in need of a 
mother's care, he again married, his third wife being Miss Eleonora Baum, 
the daughter of a celebrated lawyer in Prussia, and soon after emigrated to America^ 
where he arrived on the 25th of October, 1869. 

Having formed the acquaintance of the Rev. Howard Crosby, D.D., he was by 
him appointed Professor of Hebrew Language and Literature in the University of 
New York. In 1876, he was appointed Professor of Hebrew Language and Semitic 
Literature at the State University of Missouri. 

Dr. Meyrowitz is a member of the Oriental Society, and is the author of a Phoeni- 
cian grammar and lexicon in English, a Hebrew grammar, and many able articles 
in various literary journals. 

JOSEPH FICKLIN, A.M., Ph.D., 

was born in Winchester, Clark county, Kentucky, September 9th, 1833. His father,. 
"William Ficklin, came from England about the year 1820, and settled in Virginia, 
where he married Miss Eleanor Cecil Brown, and soon after removed to a farm in 
Mercer county, Kentucky, where they resided until he was nearly eighteen years of 
age. 



COLUMBIA. 845 

During this time, Joseph Ficklin attended school irregularly, owing to his fathei*'s 
limited means and need, of his lielp at home; and when, in the autumn df 1851, the 
family removed to Grundy county, Missouri, Joseph went to New Madrid county, 
and there taught his first school. In the following February, he returned to Ken- 
tucky and lived with his grandfather, where he attended a good school until Septem- 
ber, 1853. At that date he left Keiitucky, and, after a trip of ten days, mostly by 
river, he arrived at Trenton, Grundy county, Missouri, near his father's home. He 
then entered the Sophomore year of the Masonic College at Lexington, Missouri, 
but Avas obliged to leave at the end of the year for lack of means. He, however, 
continued his studies at home, and the college subsequently conferred upon him the 
degree of A.B. He then taught school, first as assistant, then as principal at Tren- 
ton, and was for several years County School Commissioner of Grundy county. He 
united with the Christian Church in tlie winter of 1855-6, and was, on March 3d, 
1856, married to Miss Penelope Ferrill, of Trenton. They have a family of six chil- 
dren. 

In September, 1859, Mr. Ficklin left Trenton to accept a position in a female 
college ill Bloomington, Illinois. In 1860 he removed to Linneus, Linn county, 
Missouri, where he taught public and private schools, until, in September, 1864, 
President Rogers, of Christian College, offered him the chair of Mathematics in that 
institution, which he accepted. A similar position in Eminence College, at Emi- 
nence, Kentucky, was also tendered, to him at this time. 

A year later. Professor Ficklin was appointed to fill the Chair of Mathematics, 
Mechanical Philosophy and Astronomy in the University of the State of Missouri, 
which position he still occupies. 

In 1865, Professor Ficklin became an elder in the Christian Church at Columbia, 
and continues to hold that honorable position. 

In 1866, Professor Ficklin received from the Missouri State University the honor- 
ary degree of A. M. ; and, in 1874, the University of Wisconsin conferred upon him 
the honorary degree of Ph.D. 

Professor Ficklin has accomplished much in educational literature, first in 1869, 
when he was employed by Professor Snell, of Amherst College, to assist in the 
revision of the mathematical portion of Olmsted's College Philosophy. In 1874-75, 
his " Complete Algebra and Algebraic Problems " appeared. He wrote the articles 
on Involution, Evolution, Progressions and Annuities, in " Fish's Complete Arith- 
metic," (Eobinson's series), and, in 1875, he revised Eobinson's Elementary and 
University Algebras. His Algebra has gone through five editions, and is now used 
by more than thirty colleges and universities, besides numerous common schools, 
high schools and academies. 

JOSEPH GRANVILLE NORWOOD, M.D., LL.D. 

The subject of this sketch was born in Woodford county, Kentucky, December 
20th, 1807. His father, Charles Norwood, was a native of Westmoreland county, 
Virginia, and the son of John Norwood, an English gentleman, who came to Vir- 
ginia about the year 1740. 

John Norwood was born and educated in London, and, like several of his ances- 
tors, (one of whom measured the first meridian established in England) , was an ac- 
complished mathematician. He was also a zealous member of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church. On account of his learning and devotion to the church, he was 



846 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

solicited by the clerical authorities to go to Virginia, and devote himself to the edu- 
cation of youth. Soon after his arrival he was placed in charge of a school at 
Wecomico Church, in Westmoreland county, and continued to teach there until his 
death in 1774. His wife was Ann Brinnon, a native of Ireland, to whom he wa& 
married in 1750. The issue of this marriage were four sons and four daughters. 
The sons were bred to farming, and the daughters married farmers. Their descend- 
ants are to be found now in nearly every Southern State, most of them engaged in 
the same occupation. John Norwood left to his oldest son two manuscript works 
on Mathematics, which he had written mainly for the use of his pupils. 

Charles, the oldest son of John, was born in 1753, and in 1781 married Ann Dale,, 
the daughter of a planter in Westmoi eland. During the war of Independence he 
was a soldier in the regiment commanded by Col. Woodford, from the date of its 
organization until it was disbanded, sometime after the battle of Yorktown. After 
the war was ended he returned to the farm near Wecomico, and married. Three 
sons and two daughters were born of this marriage, viz : Frederick, John, Fran- 
ces, Charles and Ann. These were all born in Westmoi-eland county. 

About the year 1787, the husband of his oldest sister, Raleigh Hudson, and John 
Sti-ingfellow, who had married his youngest sister, together witA several families of 
the Dales, relatives of his wife, migrated to Kentucky, and settled in Woodford 
county. He remained in Virginia some years longer, but, upon the death of his 
wife, he finally determined to remove with his children to the neighborhood of their 
maternal relatives. He first settled in Franklin county, but after several years he 
purchased and removed to a farm in Woodford, about five miles from Versailles and 
seventeen from Lexington. Soon after this removal he married Mildred Dale, a 
sister of his first wife. Of the children of this marriage Joseph G. is the only sur- 
vivor. In the beginning of the new year (1808), the mother with two of her infant 
sons were at rest in the same grave. 

On the commencement of the last war with Great Britain, Charles Norwood built 
a powder-mill on his farm, and continued to manufacture gun-powder until the end 
of the war, when he sold his mill, and soon afterwards his farm. He removed to a 
pface adjoining Lexington in 1815, and began the cultivation of a market-garden for 
vegetables and small fruits, together with nurseries of fruit and ornamental trees. He 
was now sixty-two years old, and with two servants of the same age, he cultivated 
his gardens of about fifteen acres for some years, and until the infirmities of age 
would no longer permit him to labor with his hands. He died in 1832. 

After the loss of his mother, Joseph G. was tenderly cared for by an unmarried 
half-sister and a colored " mammy." When six years old it was determined to send 
him to school. As there was no suitable place of the kind in the vicinity of home, 
he was sent to the care of a married sister, within two miles of whose house was a 
school kept by an old Scotch gentleman, named Buchanan. He remained in this 
six months, in which time he had learned to read tolerably well. A few days after 
the removal to Lexington was accomplished, he was admitted to a school organized 
and taught according to the system of Bell and Lancaster. This '' Lancasterian 
School " was established by John P. Aldrich and John Vaughan, gentlemen from 
the Eastern States. At the time Joseph G. entered this school there were over three 
hundred boys in Mr. Vaughan's department, and about eighty girls in that of Mr. 
Aldrich. The pupils were graded, and while those of the lowest class were learn- 
ing the alphabet, those of the highest grade were studying the higher mathematics. 
He i-emained in this school five years, dui-ing the last two of which he performed 
the duties of Head Monitor. 



COLUMBIA. 847 

His father, after he quit the gardens, moved into the town and occupied a house 
immediately opposite to which was the printin"' office of the Western Monitor, a 
paper edited by William Gibbes Hunt. He made the acquaintance of one of the 
boys of the office, and was introduced by him into the composition and press rootn=, 
where he witnessed, for the first time, the uses of the " case," the " stick," the 
"balls" and the press. In the course of a ^ew visits he became ardently desirous 
of becoming a printer, but his father was firmly opposed to it; he had other views 
in regard to the future of his son. In the first place, he and Dr. Frederick Ridgley 
(who was present at the birth of the boy) had determined, years before, that he 
should, as soon as old enough, enter the office of the doctor and become a physician. 
To tills consummation the boy objected as strongly as his father did to his becomijig a 
printer. In the second place, his father wished him to receive more and better 
classical training than he had received, but the boy thought he had as much of such 
knowledge as he would ever have any use for. In after years he has often expressed 
bitter regrets for this great mistake of his j'-outh. The conflict of wishes between 
the father and son resulted in the sou being placed with Mr. Jacob Winn, a private 
banker and manufacturer of bale-rope and bagging. He remained one year in Mr. 
Winn's service, his principal duties being to give the small notes of the bank in 
exchange for larger bills of the "Commonwealth's Bank," to those who wanted 
" change," and to redeem the notes of the bank when presented, in sums of five dol- 
lars or more, in notes of the " Bank of the Commonwealth." This would have 
been a dull year for the subject of this sketch, had it not been for an occurrence 
which took place four or five months after he had entered Mr. Winn's office. A 
gentleman named Snell, from Worcester, Massachu.setts, was visiting the principal 
towns of the West and South, with an exhibition, intended for the instruction and 
amusement of persons of all ages. Mr. Snell, soon after his arri\'al, called to see 
Mr. Winn, who was a native of Worcester, and an old acquaintance. Mr. Winn 
being absent, Mr. Snell left his respects for him, and, presented the clerk with a ticket 
of admission to his exhibition. 

The exhibition consisted of experiments in electricity, with a very good cylinder 
machine and an excellent supply of apparatus; an exhibition of pictures, humorous 
and otherwise, by aid of a magic lantern; a few experiments in magnetism, and 
quite a number of showy ones illustrating the chemistry of the gases. The whole 
concluded with an exhibition of " Punch and Judy," which sent the youngsters 
home in good humor and determined to see the show again. 

There were no longer any dull evenings for the young clerk in Winn's bank. A 
new passion had been boi-n — a love for experimental science— stronger even than his 
love for printing. By the aid of a tinner and some small lenses obtained of a watch- 
.maker, he constructed a magic lantern, and prepared his own slides, using ivory 
black for outlines, and a few transparent colors, rubbed up in colorless varnish, for 
the bodies of the figures. They were undoubtedly miserable daubs, but they occu- 
pied, amused and instructed him. With some small bottles, a pane of window glass, 
some tin foil, a stick of sealing wax, a skein of silk thread, and a supply of elder 
pith, a few electrical experiments were made; but the one, of all others, which, 
made the greatest impression on the experimenter, and the memory of which has 
remained indelible, from youth to age, was a chemical one. He intended to astonish 
Mr. Winn when he came to his office after supper, as was his habit, by greeting 
him with an illuminated sentence written along the front of the counter. He had a 
stick of phosphorus in a vial of water, and about the usual time for the appearance 



848 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

of his employer he took it out and began writing. Before he had finished one letter 
the phosphorus burst into flame, pieces of the melted burning chemical falling on 
one of his hands, and in his efforts to throw it off, becoming scattered over the floor, 
counter and desks. Mr. Winn came in time to witness the illumination, assist in 
preventing a general conflagration, and apply emolients to the wounds of the sufler- 
ing chemist in embryo. The burnt hand did not get well for months, but the passion 
for experiments in natural science had been born, and grew daily, continuing 
through youth and all the long years since. 

The visits to Gibbes Hunt's printing ofiice and to Snell's exhibition, are believed, 
by the subject of this notice, to have determined the course of his life ; or at least 
to have been mainly instrumental in directing him towards those labors which have 
in any way concerned the public. 

These incidents may interest some parents, but are most likely to be appreciated 
by the school-boys and girls into whose hands the narrative may fall. 

In a few days after, Mr. Winn closed his banking business, and Joseph G. was out 
of employment. His father, without previously communicating his intentions, told 
him that he had made an arrangement with Mr. John Bradford (then editor of the 
Lexington Public Advej^tiser) , by which he would be allowed to enter his printing 
ofiice for the purpose of learning the art and mystery of printing. He was to 
remain as long as Mr. Bradford was satisfied with his conduct. In little over a 
year, Mr. Bradford, who was very old, and sufiering from one of the most painful 
diseases in the catalogue of human afiiictions, determined to stop the publication of 
his paper and sell his office. The office was purchased by a nephew of the former 
proprietor, and among the first work done by him was the printing of the second 
volume of A Treatise on Pathology and Therapeutics," by Prof. John Esten Cooke, 
M. D. J. G. Norwood did most of the composition on this volume, and became 
greatly interested in the subjects treated of. After this work was finished, he was 
employed for a short time in the office of the Kentucky Whig, of which Nelson 
Nicholas, Esq., was editor and proprietor. Mr. Nicholas died before the completion 
of the first volume of his paper. His executor, Hon. E. Hawes, determined to 
complete the volume, which was done under the superintendence of A. G. Hodges, 
afterwards publisher of the Commonwealth at Frankfort. Mr. Hawes then oflbred 
the materials of the office for sale, and J. G. Norwood finally purchased them. 

While negotiations for the purchase of the Whig office were in progress, it was 
proposed by some of the friends of Henry Clay, that an edition of the principal 
speeches of that great statesman should be published in a form better suited for 
their preservation and transmission to posterity, than the columns of newspapers. 
Mr. Clay engaged to arrange the speeches in the order in which he wished them to 
be published, and to furnish such notes and annotations as he might think desirable. 
A title-page was printed and deposited in the office of John H. Hanna, Clerk of the 
District of Kentucky, who issued a copy-right for the work. While one of the 
inducements to purchase the Whig office, was to have the means of publishing 
"Clay's Speeches," the new proprietor determined to publish a newspaper, also ; 
and, in the summer of 1826, he issued the first number of the JSTorth American. 
About the end of November, Mr. Thomas Smith, editor of the Kentucky Repoi^ter, 
proposed to purchase the office and subscription list of the North American, to- 
gether with the copy-right for "Clay's Speeches." The terms ofiered were suffici- 
ently favorable to induce the proprietor to sell. 

Mr. Norwood left Lexington in December, and spent nearly a year in traveling 
in the South, the New England and Eastern States, and returned in the fall of 1827. 



COLUMBIA. 849 

He went to Cincinnati soon after his return, and purchased material for a boot and 
job office. The first work printed in this new office was on tlie subject of " Fsedo- 
baptism," by the Eev. Samuel Steele. The whole of the composition and press- 
work on this book was done by the hands of J. G. Norwood alone ; the forms being 
inked with " balls." 

From this time there was no want of work on books and pamphlets, a number of 
compositors being constantly employed. In 1828 he commenced the publication of 
the Transylvania Journal of Medicine and the Associate Sciences, edited by Pro- 
fessors Short and Cooke, of the Medical Department of Transylvania University. 
It was published quarterly. In the fall of 1829 he began the publication of the 
Christian Examiner, a monthly 12mo. journal, devoted to the defense of Christi- 
anity. Elder Jacob Creath, Jr., now of Palmyra, Missouri, was associate editor of 
this Avork. In 1830 he formed a partnership with James W. Palmer, who had once 
been a printer in Philadelphia, but for many years past a book-seller in Lexington. 
They agreed to move the printing establishment and book-store to Louisville, with 
a view of establishing a large printing and publishing house; considering that city 
a much more eligible location for such a business than Lexington. This was after- 
wards found to be ;i great mistake. As soon as the Louisville office was in working 
order, Norwood & Palmer began the publication of the Louisville Price- Cur rent, 
the first paper of the kind issued in that city. It was edited by the first named 
member of the firm, and liberally supported by the merchants. 

They also began immediately to print two books, both of which had been con- 
tracted for before they left Lexington ; one of them a work of " Sacred Music," by 
a Mr. Willis, the other a large edition of " Jones' Church History." This last work 
was printed for Ephraim A. Smith, of Danville, Kentucky. After these books, 
together with the second volume of the Examiner, were completed, there was no 
other book-work offered. Norwood became discouraged with the prospect, especi- 
ally as, in his opinion, the firm did not possess sufficient capital to publish exten- 
sively on their own account. Mr. Palmer offered to purchase Norwood's half of 
the business, and his offer was accepted. After the sale, Norwood was induced to 
invest some of the proceeds in a produce and commission house, conducted by a 
relative, but he soon found that he knew nothing about such business, and was 
entirely unqualified to take a part in its conduct. He therefore withdrew from the 
firm and returned to Lexington with the fixed determination to devote himself to 
the study of medicine and the cognate sciences. Several circumstances, in addition 
to his love for several branches of natural science, coincided in urging him to this 
course. His desire for chemical and physical knowledge had never ceased to grow. 
He had devoted many of his leisure hours to reading works on these subjects, and 
witnessing experimental illustrations as opportunities offei'ed. Then, again, the 
most intimate and best-loved friend of his boyhood, youth and young manhood, had 
graduated and came to Louisville to practice medicine, and his advice had its influ- 
ence. Perhaps, though he might not have been conscious of it, the memory of his 
opposition to his father's wishes, years before, reacted in the same direction. 

Just before the return of Mr. Norwood to Lexington, Mr. Edwin Bryant, a jour- 
nalist by profession, had become associated with Mr. Julius Clark, then editor of a 
small political paper called the Washingtonian, and they proposed to establish a 
new paper, of large size, in the interests of the Whig party. At the urgent solici- 
tation of these gentlemen, made immediately after his return, Mr. Norwood agreed 
to go to Cincinnati and purchase all the printing materials necessary for carrying 
out their enterprise. In about two weeks aifter the purchase, the first number of 



850 GEEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

the Lexington Intelligencer appeared. He agreed to exercise a general supervision 
over the aflfairs of the office, and to make up the forms. He continued to perform 
these duties for about a year, when he found they interfered too much with his 
medical studies, and he withdrew from the office, and gave his undivided attention 
to professional subjects, under the direction of several of the Professors in the Tran- 
sylvania Medical School. 

Towards the close of his second session of attendance on medical lectui-es, he was 
informed that he was expected to be a candidate for the degree of M. D. at the 
ensuing commencement, but he had determined on another year's pupilage, not 
being himself satisfied with his acquirements. At the close of the session he was 
advised by the members of the Faculty to go to some town or village, and do what 
practice he could until the next session of the school opened; and he was presented, 
without solicitinn, by every member of the Faculty with testimonials of a very high 
character, recommending him to the confldeuce of the public as a medical practi- 
tioner. 

By the advice of some medical friends at Louisville, he went to Madison, Indiana, 
and opened an office there in March, 1835. His success in obtaining pi-actice was 
beyond all expectations of either himself or friends, and by the end of the year he 
had as large a business as any physician in the city. In the spring he was joined by 
Dr. J. H. D. Kogei's, as a partner, who attended to a large practice on the south 
side of the river, in Kentucky, there being no physician near the river for a distance 
of more than ten miles below and above the city. Towards the close of January^ 
1836, he went to Lexington, wrote and presented a thesis on spinal diseases, and 
was graduated at the following commencement in March. 

In 1840, the Legislature of Indiana chartered the " Madison Medical Institute,'^ 
and in the organization of the Faculty, Dr. Norwood was placed in the chair of 
Surgery. 

In 1843, he was invited by the Trustees of the Medical Department of the Univer- 
sity of St./Louis, to the chair of Materia Medica, General Therapeutics and Medical 
Jurisprudence in that institution. 

At the close of the session of 1843-4, he returned to Madison and resumed prac- 
tice until the time approached for the beginning of the next session. He continued 
his connection with the St. Louis school until the spring of 1847, when he resigned 
in order to accept the place of Assistant United States Geologist, in the survey^ 
oi-dered by Congress, of the country now embracing Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota 
and Dacotah. lie continued in this survey until 1851. The work done by him may 
be learned from the two reports made to the chief of the survey. Dr. D. D. Owen^ 
and published by order of Congress, the first in 1848, and the second in 1852. 

In 1851, while preparing the report last mentioned, he received the appointment 
of State Geologist for Illinois, and organized a corps in the fall of that year, the 
members makii'g a reconnaissance of some of the southern counties of that State? 
preparatory to detail work in the spring. He continued at the head of this 
survey until March, 1858, when he was removed from office. The Legislature, 
which had just adjourned, refused to make an appropriation for the publication of 
the report of his work; and the only document printed on the subject was an "Ab- 
stract of a Eeport on the Coals of Illinois," done by order of the Governor, and 
paid for out of some fund of which he had control. In 1854, Dr. Norwood was 
elected to the chair of Chemistry in the Kentucky Medical School, at Louisville, and 
accepted the place in the expectation that he could devote a portion of the winter, 
when field work could not be done, to the chemical course at Louisville, without 



COLUMBIA. 85 1 

detrimeut to the survey ; but one of the State Board having control of the survey 
objected to the arrangement, and he felt constrained to resign the position at Louis- 
ville. In the spring of 1858, he was invited by Prof. G. C. Swallow to take the • 
place of an assistant in the geological survey of Missouri. He accepted the offer? 
and entered on the work in April. He continued in this survey until August, 1860, 
and, during his connection with it, made detail surveys of eight counties. 

In July, 1860, he was elected to the chair of Natural Science in the University of 
the State of Missouri. This was done without application on his part, and contrary 
to his wishes. On receiving notice of his appointment from Mr. E. L. Todd, Secre- 
tary of the Board of Curators, he concluded to visit Columbia and consult his family 
and the resident Curators before he decided on accepting or rejecting the professor- 
ship. His family urged him to accept. He did so, and has remained a member of 
the faculty of the institution to the present time, with the exception of a part of one 
year, when the faculty was disbanded on account of the civil war. It may be well 
to say that, during these ysars, he has the reputation of having always done his duty 
accox'ding to his strength and abilities. 

Dr. Norwood has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Louisa Taylor, 
the daughter of a merchant who formerly resided in Richmond, Virginia. He died 
some years before his daughter's marriage. Her mother was the daughter of Mr. 
Lotspeich, a native of Holland, who came to Virginia, and settled at Richmond, 
before the Revolution, where he was engaged for many years in exporting tobacco 
to Europe. At a very advanced age, he and his wife followed their children — two 
sons and their daughter, Mrs. Taylor — to Kentucky, where they died a short time 
before the marriage of their granddaughter to Dr. Norwood. Three children were 
born of this marriage — a daughter and two sons. The daughter is still living, the 
widow of Colonel John A. Hendricks, who commanded the 22d regiment of Indiana 
volunteers at the. battle of Pea Ridge, and fell at the head of his troops in that 
engagement. The family consists of three daughters and one son, one of the 
daughters being married and having a son. Mrs. Norwood and her youngest son 
died of cholera, at Lexington, Kentucky, in 1833, during the desolating epidemic of 
that year, the eldest son having died at Louisville, of small-pox, in 1831. 

In 1847, Dr. Norwood was married to Mary Frances, a daughter of Mr. John 
Pugh, of Madison, Indiana, one of the early settlers of that town. Her mother was 
a Miss Eliza Boone Lamond, and she the daughter of Miss Rebecca Grant, the second 
white female ever in Kentucky. A large number of the descendants of the Grants, 
Bryants and Boones reside in Missouri. The children born of this marriage with 
Miss Pugh were five daughters and three sons. Two of the sons and one daughter 
died in infancy; the third and youngest son, Charles J. Norwood, was for some 
years engaged in the State geological surveys of Missouri and Kentucky, and is now 
Professor of Natural Science in Bethel College, at Russellville, Kentucky. His wife 
was Miss Sallie -White, a daughter of the late Hon. Daw White, of Manchester, 
Kentucky, and for many years proprietor of the extensive salt works in the ueigli- 
borhood of that town. 

Four of the daughters of this last marriage are living, and three of them are mar- 
ried. Louise is the wife of Mr. Overton A. Fitch, of Madison, Indiana; they have 
one child, now in his sixteenth year. Eliza Boone is the wife of Mr. Henry 
McConathy, of Columbia; they have four children, two boys and two girls. Emma 
is the wife of John D. Vincil, D.D., of St. Louis; one boy, now in his second year, 
has been born to them. 



852 great; CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

HANNIBAL. 

The city of Hannibal lias about 15,000 inhabitants, and is located on 
the west side of the Mississippi River, one hundred and fifty miles above 
St. Louis. Lots were sold as early as 1817, and as early as 1819 a 
town was regularly laid ofi" by Thomas Bird. The first house, a rude 
log cabin, was built in 1817 by Moses D. Bates, who was also the 
builder of the first keel-boat that weijt down the river from Hannibal. 
The hills, upon which a prosperous city has since been built, were then 
dotted over with Indian wigwams. Black Hawk and Keokuk, two 
noted chiefs, made this their principal trading point. 

In 1828 the white inhabitants of Hannibal consisted of the families of 
Z. G. Draper, Reuben Turner, Joshua Mitchell, Giles Thompson, Amos 
Gridley and Theophilus Stone. In 1829, Mr. Mitchell, now living, built 
the first frame house, and in 1833, Joseph Hamilton built the first brick 
house. At this time the inhabitants of the town numbered 35, and one 
steamboat amved and departed each week. During the same year, the 
first saw-mill was built by Mr. Johnson and Joab Smith, of St. Louis ; 
and in 1837 Thos. E. Brittingham arrived from Maryland and built the 
first brick residence in the place. Bear Creek then wound through what 
is now the chief business portion of the city ; South Hannibal was a 
dense forest, and West Hannibal a favorite hunting-ground. 

Dr. Nelson was among the first to preach the gospel to the people, 
and in 1835 a Methodist church was organized by George W. Bewley, 
and in 1837, Dr. Marks organized the first Presbyterian church. 

From 1825 to 1835 Hannibal, Palmyra, Quincy, New London, Scipio 
and Marion City were competitors for the ascendency, but Hannibal far 
outstripped her rivals on the Missouri side of the river, and, in 1839, 
was regularly incorporated as a city. The trade of the Upper Missis- 
sippi River at this time began to increase, and Hannibal become an im- 
portant shipping point. Her wealth increased with her trade, and by 
1847 she had so far advanced that it was clear that she was to become 
the chief city of Northeast Missouri and one of the principal points on 
the Mississippi River. In 1847, a charter was obtained for the Hannibal 
& St. Joseph Railroad, which was opened for travel in 1858, thus giving 
direct communication with the East and the West. 

In 1856, the Keokuk Northern Line Packet Company was organized, 
and thus was conferred the advantage of the most rapid as well as the 
most elegant line of steamboats ever on the Mississippi. At the begin- 
ning of the war the population of the city was 10,000, but in 1865, the 
number of inhabitants was not over 6,000. A rapid increase, howerer, 



HANNIBAL. 



853 



now set in, and trade began to increase with marvelous strides. The 
lumber business became especially prominent, employing a capital of 
not less than $1,000,000 in the year 1873. The amount received and 
shipped during the same year, reached nearh^ 100,000,<;00 feet. 

In 1869, a company was organized, with J. K. T. Hayward as presi- 
dent, for the purpose of building a bridge across the Mississippi river, 
and in 1870 work was commenced. The contract was taken by the De- 
troit Bridge and Iron Works, and the cost was to be $485,000. The 
bridge, which is a magnificent structure, was completed in July, 1871. 

Hannibal is the terminus of the Wabash ; Missouri, Kansas & Texas ; 
Hannibal & St. Joseph, and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroads, 
and is touched by the St. Louis, Keokuk & Northwestern and the St. 
Louis, Hannibal & Keokuk Railroads. It is apparent, then, that her 
avenues of communication with the world of commerce are of the very 
best. Not only has she railroad communication with all the great mar- 
kets of the country, but at her doors is the great Mississippi, whose 
waters afford a healthy competition to the railroads. The advantages 
of Hannibal are numerous. Her buildings are mostly of brick, many 
of them elegant, and the surrounding country very rich. The traveler 
who comes across Illinois on the Wabash Railroad, and goes across Mis- 
souri on the Hannibal & St. Joseph, will have his eyes feasted with the 
sight of gardens planted by nature's own faultless hand; and if the 
relder would see an ideal landscape, reaching up and down the Missis- 
sippi, let him climb the hill south of Hannibal, known as Lovers' Leap, 
and turn his eyes loose in the glad vision that presents itself on every 

side. 

It is not too much, then, to predict for such a location a brdliant 
and prosperous career. Here will one day be a busy city of 50,000 
inhabitants, and the green hills that now have nothmg to disturb their 
verdure except recurring winter frosts, will be covered by factories, 
machine shops and foundries. Among the individuals who have thus f\ir 
contributed most largely to the growth of the city, we may mention the 
following : 

JOHN B. HELM 
was born in Marion county, Kentucky, October 28th, 1797. His parents were natives 
of Virginia, and moved to Kentncky at an early day. His father, J^^^n ^ej'"' ^^^^ 
the name of a brave soldier and intrepid L.dian fighter during SL Chnr s <^^^f\^^^ 
campaign of 1791, in wMch he was severely wonnded, besides receiving seven bullet- 
holes through his clothes. 



854 GREAT CITIES AKD TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

The subject of this sketch inherited, with a handsome patrimony, the prestige of 
an honorable and influential family connection, and derived from his mother, who 
possessed rare natural endowments, many of her gifts and graces. He is the last of 
four generations of judges in direct succession. His great-grandfather was a judge 
in Fairfax county, Virginia; his grandfather and his father were judges in Hardin 
and Washington counties, Kentucky ; and he was a judge of the Court of Common 
Pleas, Hannibal, Missouri. At his birth, he was plain John Helm, and had a cousin 
of the same name. During a family reunion at the home of their grandfather, Judge 
Thomas Helm, some confusion arose by both the boys answering when the name 
John Helm was called out during their play. The grandfather called them before 
him, and solemnly christened one John B. Helm and the other John L. Helm. 
These initials they received, with his blessing, and ever afterward retained. 

John B. Helm acquired an academic education under the tutelage of the late 
General Duff Green, and studied law in the oflBce of his kinsman, Hon. John Pope, 
of Frankfort, Kentucky. He commenced practice in Alabama, but an uncongenial 
climate caused him to move to Elizabethtown, in his native State, where, in 1824, he 
married his cousin, Miss Jane Helm. While in Elizabethtown, he erected several 
large buildings. 

In 1833, he removed to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where he was for years the 
attorney for the Bank of the State of Kentucky, and where he attained a wide 
reputation as a lawyer and counselor. Mr. Helm had a great fancy for putting up 
fine buildings, and erected several edifices in Bowling Green, among them the 
famous " Big 8." 

Ijx 1835, he manumitted his inheritance in slaves, and moved to Indianapolis. 
After a brief residence there, he retured to Bowling Green. In order to employ his 
sons, he accepted and for several years held the office of postmaster of Bowling 
Green. He also held the position of Commissioner of the State Board of Internal 
Improvement, in which he displayed great energj^ and engineering ability. He 
supervised the construction of the locks and dams on the Green and Bai'ren rivers. 

Mr. Helm called himself a conservative. State's rights, Jefferson Democrat. He 
was nominated for Lieutenant-Governor of Kentucky, and, during the canvass, 
wrote and spoke so ably that he ran ahead of his ticket; but, the Whigs being in a 
majoi'ity, he was defeated. He was eminently successful and highly esteemed in 
Bowling Green, many of his warmest personal friends being political opponents. 
On his removal to Missouri, the bar unanimously passed a series of complimentary 
resolutions, and spread them on the records of the Circuit Court. 

In 1840, his first wife, Jane Helm, died, leaving several small children. September 
1st, 1842, he wedded Mrs. Pollard, widow of Pleasant Pollard, deceased, and 
daughter of Colonel B. B. and B. N. Crump, of Glasgow, Kentucky. 

In 1852, he moved to Hannibal, Missouri, and resumed the practice of his pro- 
fession. He was the same year elected Judge of the Hannibal Court of Common 
Pleas, and filled that office until 1856, when he resigned. An incident may here be 
related. While Judge Helm was merchandising at Elizabethtown, Kentucky, his 
store was often visited by Abe Lincoln, then a tall, lank boy ten years of age. While 
his step-mother was making her purchases, he would be seated on a nail keg, often 
supplied by Mr. Helm with maple sugar— a kindness that won his heart, and planted 
a green spot in his memory. When Abraham Lincoln was a candidate for Presi- 
dent, returning with a party of friends from Kansas, he sought out Judge Helm, 
called at his office, and, after some conversation, said: " Yes, gentlemen, this is the 



HANNIBAL. 855 

fi-iend I wanted to find," and in his inimitable way related the above facts, and 
added : " This gentleman is the first man I ever knew that wore ' store clothes ' all 
the week. My highest ambition was to reach his position in society." They spent 
Sunday together, and parted to meet no more on earth. Daring Lincoln's adminis- 
tration, although of different political parties, Judge Helm's recommendations 
always received marked attention and respect. 

Judge Helm was a director of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad Company. 
He took a deep and active interest in every enterprise affecting the welfare and 
growth of Hannibal. Some of the best years of his life were spent, without fee or 
reward, endeavoring to secure for his city eastern and western railroad connections, 
and he lived to see his efforts crowned with success. After retiring from the bench, 
he retained his professional practice as counselor, not, however, appearing there- 
after as an advocate, but became more deeply interested in real estate. 

In 1864, he laid out J. B, Helm's addition to Brookfleld, Missouri, where he 
-erected a number of buildings. He also erected a large number of substantial 
houses in Hannibal. During his life he put up about eighty substantial buildings, 
and was superintending one (he had often expressed the wish that he might be so 
employed) when he died. 

Judge Helm was a child of the Church. His parents were members of the 
Methodist Church, and his family were grafted on the same faith. A touching inci- 
dent on the birth of a grandchild, August 13th, 1871: Judge Helm asked for the 
boy, and had him baptized when he was eight days old, and named him John Helm 
iRoBard ; had him set apart and consecrated to the Gospel ministry, and settled upon 
him, by tmst deed, funds to care for and educate him for that work. Should the 
boy fail to accept under this trust, the funds are to be transferred to the Missouri 
■Conference of the M. E. Church South, for the use of the widows and orphans of 
the itinerant ministry. Judge Helm's declining years were sustained by an increased 
faith and stronger love for Christ. His Christian brethren and sisters were, at his 
request, for years before his death, accustomed to hold their weekly prayer-meeting 
at his residence, in which he united with heart-cheered zeal and Christian love. 
Death had for him no terrors. He spoke of his future life in Heaven as an accom- 
plished fact. Thus cheered, he 

" Approached the grave 
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 

He was gathered to his fathers, full of years, June 1st, 1872. 

The city of Hannibal ofladally recognized his worth and demise in the following 
resolution (among others) : 
■" Be it enacted by the City Council of the City of Hannibal: 

'' 1, That in the death of Judge John B. Helm, a former honored member of our 
body, the communitv has lost an upright, useful and worthy citizen ; one honored 
and esteemed for the' purity and integrity of his character, and, in all the relations of 
life, commanding the highest respect and confidence of his fellow-citizens." 

Judge Helm was a member of Hannibal Lodge No. 188, and a Knight Templar of 
Excelsior Commandery No. 5, by which society he was buried with Masonic honors. 
The general appreciation and esteem in which he was held by his neighbors, friends 
and legal brethren are aptly expressed in a portion of the tribute adopted by the 
Hannibal Bar, as follows: 



^^^ GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

_ ^^ Resolved, 1st. That in liis death we realize a loss to ourselves of a kindly, affec- 
tionate neighbor and friend, and a loss to societ)^ of a most valued member, whose 
exalted existence has been a lengthy and busy career of usefulness and success, 
uncorrupted by any stain. 

"2d. That the remembrance of liim in the professional and official relations 
formerly sustained by him in our city is cherished by us with the liveliest regard, in 
the consciousness, on our part, of his forensic worth, and the record of the pure 
and upright fulfillment of the. duties of his judicial position. 

"3d. That we bear testimony of him as a man, who, in his individual relations 
with his fellow-men, wore the seal of true nobility of character, and illustrated the 
brightest virtues of humanity; and one whose impressive recognition and faithful 
practice of the holy precepts of the religion which is the primal undertone of the 
law of our land, we recognize as the ' path of the just, which shineth more and 
more unto the perfect day.' 

" 4th. That, in contemplation of the unmeasured life beyond the grave, we will 
cherish with emotionate and profitable remembrance his priceless assurance, the 
parting hail that ' all is well,' which we have received from the waters of death, as 
the immortal herald of his triumph over the last enemy." 

Judge Helm was a large, fine-looking, dignified gentleman, with high intellectual 
development, fair complexion, black hair and eyes, over six feet high, and weighing 
over 200 pounds. He was genial and hospitable— loved to have his friends come, 
often and stay long. His heart was tender as a child's, and his will as strong as 
iron. 

Judge Helm had a cultivated literary taste, which led him to an intimate familiar- 
ity with our standard authors. He was a man of independent thought, of great 
forecast, and prudent, sagacious counsel. His mind was vigorous, searching and 
reflective, and he was possessed of a wonderful tenacity of purpose. His memory 
was retentive, and grasped his ideas like a vise. He was benevolent and charitable, 
the friend of the widow and orphan, in deed as well as in sympathy. No one went 
from his door without relief. His heart was full of kindness ; he neither thought 
nor expressed evil of his friends. Scrupulously conscientious in his dealings, the 
broadest honesty and highest honor marked his conduct through a long and useful 
life. He was a true man, abounding in sterling virtues, and impressed all who 
knew him as endowed with superior ability. Judge Helm exceeded the three-score 
and ten, having lived seventy-four years, seven months and three days, and left 
surviving him his widow, and residing in the city of Hannibal, John C, May, Jennie 
B., Alice and Henry B. Helm, children of his deceased son, Cyrus T. Helm; their 
daughters, Sallie Crump, wife of J. L. RoBard, attorney-at-law ; Bessie, afterwards 
wedded to M. E. Piatt, Esq., and Mary N. Helm. 

His remains rest in the lot selected and often visited by himself, in the beautiful 
Mt. Olive Cemetery, which overlooks the city and Mississippi river. Near him are 
the graves of his sons, Cyrus T., John C. and Benj. M. Helm. A handsome Italian 
marble monument at his tomb looms up a score of feet higher than the commanding 
crest of Mt. Olive, and looks down on the blocks of buildings, on Main street and 
Broadway, erected by him when in our midst. 



R. F. LAKENAN 

was born at Winchester, Virginia, March 17th, 1820. His father was in the war of 
1812, and was wounded in a skirmish near Baltimore. When he was an infant only 
six weeks old, his father died and left his mother a widow, who soon afterwards 
removed to Fairfax county, where Senator Lakenan was raised. He was educated 




^ ^. ^-0 



HANNIBAL. 857 

tinder Benjamin Hallowell, of Alexandria, taking a full classical course. He com- 
menced the study of law in 1842 ; served as deputy sheriff of Fairfax county under 
General John Chapman Hunter, in 1843; completed his law studies under the 
instruction of Hon. Henry W. Thomas, the present Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia, 
in 1844; was admitted to tlie bar in the spring of 1815, and, in June following, 
moved to Hannibal, Missouri, where he has lived ever since. 

He had enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education, made good use of his excel- 
lent opportunities, rapidly built up a lucrative practice, and soon became l^nown as 
an able la^vyer and a useful citizen. In 1846, at a public meetii*^- of the people of 
Hannibal, lie was selected and requested to draw up a memorial for a charter for 
what has since become the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad. The charter was 
granted in 1847, and he, a few years after, canvassed all the counties lying along the 
proposed route, making speeches at the county-seats to induce them to make sub- 
scriptions. He was made a director of the road, and served in that capacity for 
several years. In 1852, he went to Washington in the interest of the railroad, to 
aid in inducing Congress to pass a bill granting lands to Missouri, the sale of which 
was to aid in Completing the Hannibal & St. Joseph Eailroad. The measure was 
entirely successful, and soon afterwards he became the general attorney for the road. 
As another mark of esteem and confidence on the part of the people of Hannibal, it 
may be said that, in 1847, he was appointed to defend certain ejectment suits brought 
in the names of Rector and Vail, for the possession of a large and the most valuable 
portion of that city. Opposed to him and his associates were several of the most 
eminent and well-known lawyers in the State. The defense was successful, and 
forever settled the title to an extensive and valuable piece of property. 

In 1854, Mr. Lakenan was married to Miss Mary, daughter of R. W. Moss, Esq., 
of Hannibal, and has six children — four sons and two daughters. 

In 1861, he retired to his farm in Shelby county, but returned to Hannibal in 1866, 
and resumed the practice of his profession. In 1867, he was engaged by the citizens 
of Hannibal to go to Jefferson City and appear before the appropriate committee, 
and induce them to compel the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad Company to cease 
charging citizens of Missouri toll for the bridge at Quincy, whether passed over or 
not, and to compel them to run thi-ough cars from St. Joseph to Hannibal. In this 
he was again successful, thus gaining a great victory for his fellow-citizens. In 1870 
he again, by request, visited Jefferson City, with other citizens of Hannibal, and 
successfully opposed an attempt of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad to build a 
branch from Monroe City south, which would have destroyed Hannibal as a terminal 
point. In 1867, he was the first man to make a public speech in favor of building 
the road from Hannibal to Moberly, which has since become a portion of the Mis- 
souri, Kansas & Texas Railroad. He made a thorough canvass of Monroe county, 
with others, and induced her citizens to give a two-thirds vote in favor of making 
the requisite subscription. He was chosen one of the corporators, and served as a 
director till the road was transferred to the Toledo, Wabash & Western Railroad. 
He was an early advocate of the gravel roads leading to Hannibal, and aided in their 
construction. He was one of the corporators in the company to build the railroad 
bridge over the Mississippi at Hannibal, and one of its first advocates. A friend of 
education, he donated to Hannibal College thirty-five acres of land lying in the cor- 
porate limits of the city. In 1875 and 1876, he served as Curator of the State 
University. 

55 



858 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

It will be seen from the foregoing that Mr. Lakenan has been intimately associated 
with the orio-in of two of the most important railroads in the State, but what he did 
was not done as a mere personal speculation, but for the general good of the public. 
He did much of his work without remuneration, and others followed after him to 
reap the profits of his enterprise and labor. 

Though not a politician, in the ordinary sense, he has always been an active 
Democrat, attending county and State conventions, and ready with his means to do 
any duty that his party might impose upon him. As early as 1846, he declined the 
nse of his name for a nomination, to the Legislature. In 1852, he was a delegate 
from his district to the National Convention that nominated Franklin Pierce for 
President, and, in 1860, was a member of the National Democratic Convention at 
Charleston. In 1876, he was elected to the State Senate from the Thirteenth District, 
and during the session of 1877, served as chairman of the Committee on Constitu- 
tional Amendments. 

He has been an active man all his life, and is as faithful in his legislative duties as 
he ever was to interests of his own. In whatever he attempts, he is diligent and 
persevering, by which qualities, coupled with a character that no one has ever dared 
to impeach, he has succeeded in acquiring, not only the comforts of a reasonable 
fortune but also the fair honor of being one of the most useful citizens of a great 
State. 

BENTON COONTZ 

was born at Florida, Monroe county, Missouri, May 26th, 1838. His father emigrated 
from Jefferson county, Virginia, to Missouri. His great-grandfather was one of the 
first settlers of the celebrated Shenandoah Valley, and during an Indian fight of 
those early days, was captured and never heard of afterwards. 

In 1814, Mr. Coontz' father settled in Hannibal. Benton had more of an eye to 
business than to books, and, at the age of twelve, commenced to learn the trade of 
rope-making with Mr. William E. Samuels. Two years he was cutting wood at 
50 cents a cord, on Bay Island, a little north of Hannibal. He afterwards attended 
school and was a class-mate of Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain), who at that 
time lived in Hannibal. He left home, in 1854, to seek his fortune, with no capital 
but industry and honesty, and commenced clerking at Cincinnati, in Ralls county. 
:i^ouno- Coontz made friends, and, though a boy, was appointed postmaster; kept 
out of bad company, although the town was notoriously a reckless and drunken 
one and two years later he fitted himself for the many responsible positions 
which he has since filled, by taking a thorough course at Bacon's Business College, 

Cincinnati. 

He then went on the river to learn piloting, which, after a three months' trial, he 
abandoned. He engaged with R. D. Brewington in the leather business, at which 
he continued till 1861, when he opened a grocery house. On November 27th, 1861, 
he married Mary, the daughter of Colonel R. D. Brewington. In 1864, he sold his 
o-rocery and formed a copartnership with his father-in-law in the leather trade, in 
which he prospered and remained until 1876. 

In 1866, Mr. Coontz was appointed agent for the St. Louis & Quincy Mississippi 
River Packet Line, and when that line sold out, in 1868, he was made agent of the 
White Collar Line of steamboats. On December 22d, 1866, he was commissioned 
by Governor Thomas C. Fletcher as Captain of Company D., 65th Regiment of 
Missouri Militia. 



HANNIBAL. 859 

In December, 1870, he was appointed to fill out the unexpired term of County 
€ollector, vice J. D. Meredith, deceased. He served several years as a member of 
the Hannibal City Council, and was active in the advocacy of public improvements 
In 1872, he was elected, as a Democrat, Collector of Marion county. In 1874 he 
was renominatad without opposition, and re-elected by the largest majority ever 
^iven in the county. On July 5th, 1876, he was commissioned by Governor C H 
Hardin as Colonel and aid-de-camp of the Missouri Organized Militia. 

Mr. Coontz has been an active and successful business man, and in every position 
which he has accepted he has shown diligence, faithfulness and care. He is a man 
of sterling worth, a popular and public-spirited citizen, an honest official, and in 
politics an active and efficient Democrat. 



MOSES P. GREEN 

was born in Prince William county, Virginia, May 10th, 1818. He moved to Mis- 
souri in 1837 ; settled at Hannibal in 1838 ; entered Miam.i University in 1839, tauo-ht 
•during vacations to pay expenses, and graduated in 1843. He read law while acthio- 
^s porter, clerk and book-keeper for W. N. Green & Co., and was in 1844 admitted 
to the bar, and elected City Attorney, a position he held for six consecutive terms. 
In December of the same year he married Miss Mary R., daughter of Samuel C. 
Bo wen, Esq., one of the first settlers of Marion county. 

Mr. Green was among the foremost anti-slavery men of Northeast Missouri, au 
early friend of, and co-worker with, Francis P. Blair and B. Gratz Brown, and 
was one of the pioneers in the cause of emancipation, being the first man in Mis'souri 
who boldly avowed that doctrine as a distinct question in a political canvass, and 
was defeated for Congress in the Hannibal district on that platform. Mr. Green 
■served several years as Mayor of Hannibal, and was an active and efficient member 
•of the State Constitutional Convention of 1864, in which he labored untiringly for 
the harmony of the hostile elements there represented. 

He died at his home in Hannibal, October 17th, 1870, honored and respected by 
ihe community in which he had so long lived. 

At a meeting of the Hannibal Bar, in commemoration of Mr. Green's life and 
services, Colonel W. H. Hatch said: '' In the preparation and investigation of his 
cases at the bar, he was an earnest and laborious worker. He never ate the bread of 
idleness, nor did he receive remuneration for services unperformed. He was prompt 
and practical in all his engagements, fulfilling every obligation of his business life 
with an exactness worthy of imitation. * * * a consistent and earnest adherent 
of the Federal Government during the war, he was ready to aid the General Govern- 
ment or his State in every lawful or constitutional enterprise. But his political faith 
was founded upon the Constitution of the United States and its bill of civil or 
political rights, and he suflTered martyrdom at the hands of his party rather than 
violate his convictions of the one or the recognized precepts of the other. He 
labored earnestly and voted consistently against every proscriptive feature of that 
(1864) Constitution, refusing to sign it, and recording his vote against it at the 
polls. * * * Kind, generous and benevolent, devoted in his attachments, mag- 
nanimous to a fault, and faithful to all his social relations, were traits of character 
that he possessed in so eminent a degree that few men have ever lived in this com- 
munity more beloved, or died more universally lamented." 



860 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUM. 

EICHARD DRA^E, 

Land Commissionei- of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, was born in Alleghany 
county, Maryland, June 27th, 1833. He received a practical education, and, at the 
age of fifteen, engaged as a clerk in a store. Two years later he located at Hannibal, 
where he clerked for Collins & Breed one year, and he went to Wisconsin, where 
he remained two years, and returned to Maryland. He soon went to Chicago, 
where he engaged as paymaster for Singer & Talcott, owners of the extensive stone 
quarries at Lemont, with whom he remained four years. 

He was married March 24th, 1856, to Miss E. J. McCandless, of Maryland. He 
returned to Missouri, and for a short time lived in the vicinity of Hannibal, and 
afterwards located at Keokuk, Iowa, where he studied law in the office of Noble & 
Strong, the former being General Noble, now of St. Louis. 

On the breaking out of the war he returned to Hannibal, and, in 1862, was 
appointed chief clerk in the Land Commissioner's office of the Hannibal So St. 
Joseph Railroad, and was the same year commissioned as Captain in the State 
militia by Governor Gamble. In 1871, he was promoted to the head of the Land 
Department of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad. While Captain Drane was 
chief clerk, the rqad sold abou.t 400,000 acres of land, and since he has been in 
charge of the department, about 125,000 acres, so he has been the chief manager of 
the sale of over half a million acres. In transactions involving many millions, not 
one act has been charged to his discredit. 

Mr. Drape voted for Douglas in 1860, but since that time has been a strong 
Republican. In 1876, he was nominated by the Republican party in Missouri tov 
Register of Lands, but was defeated, the Democrats having fully 40,000 majority in 
the State. 



WAEKENSBUKG. 861 

WAREENSBURG. 

This is a thriving town of some 6,000 inhabitants, the county seat of 
Johnson county, and is pleasantly located on a high, timbered ridge» 
oommanding an extensive view of well-cultivated prairies, dotted with 
farm houses, stretching away from the town in all directions. The 
location is remarkably healthy, and in the vicinity are a number of fine 
springs. The town was laid off in 1835, by John and Martin D. Warren, 
for whom it was named. The first term of the county court was held 
there in 1836 ; it was incorporated as a town in 1846, and as a city in 
1855. It is the seat of 

THE SOUTH MISSOURI STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 

which is designed for the Second Normal District, comprising 43 counties, in the 
southwestern part of the State. It was located at Warrensburg, April 28th, 1871, on 
the joint proposition of Johnson county and the town of Warrensburg offering to 
the State a building worth two hundred thousand dollars, and the further donation 
of sixteen acres of land as a building site. On May 10th, 1871, the school was 
opened in a building temporarily leased for the purpose. Geo. P. Beard, A. M., was 
chosen President. The corner-stone of the new building was laid with appropriate 
ceremonies August 16th, in the same year, and the building was occupied in June, 
1872. It is a magnificent structui-e of the Lombard Venetian style of architecture. 
It is one hundred and sixty feet long, eighty feet wide, and five stories high. It 
contains thirty-six rooms, not including the Mansard story, and will afibrd accommo- 
dations for eight hundred students. The basement story is of gray sandstone ob- 
tained at the celebrated Warrensburg quarries ; the blocks used are massive and 
neatly faced. The front of the other stories is of cut stone from the same quarries, 
while the end and rear walls are of brick trimmed with stone. It stands on an eleva- 
tion at the southern limits of the town of Warrensburg, and commands an extended 
view of the surrounding country. 

This school has already attained an eminent success, there being an attendance at 
this time of neai'ly four hundred students. 

Board of Regents.— R. D. Shannon, State Superintendent of Public Instruction; " 
Wm. McClean, Henry C. Fike, Samuel Martin, John E. Ryland, A. W. Ridings, 
William P. Greenlee. 

Faculty.— Geo. L. Osborne, President, and Professor of Intellectual and Moral 
Philosophy and School Economy ; Richard C. Norton, Vice-President, and Professor 
of Mathematics and Natural History ; John J. Campbell, Professor of English Lan- 
guage and Literature ; William F. Bahlman, Professor of Ancient and Modern Lan- 
guages ; Ida M. Carhart, Teacher of Drawing and Botany ; B. L. Saum, Professor 
of Book-keeping and Commercial Law ; Aurelia Miller, Teacher of Reading, English 
■Grammar and Arithmetic. 

Among the citizens of Warrensburg possessing more than a local 
reputation we may mention the following : 



862 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

THOMAS T. CRITTENDEN 

was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, January 2d, 1834. His father, Henry Crit- 
tenden, was also born in Kentucky, and was the youngest of four bi'others, one of 
whom was the illustrious John J. Crittenden. The family were all Whigs and much 
inclined to politics. Henry Crittenden was less devoted to politics than any of his 
brothers, the most active demonstration he ever made being a race for Congress 
against Jolin Pope. 

Mr. Crittenden's mother, was a daughter of Col. John Allen, who, in his day, was 
a prominent lawyer in Kentucky and who was killed at the head of his regiment, in 
the battle of River Raisin, in the war of 1812. He was a brave, noble man, and his 
name will ever be cherished with pride and gratitude by the sons of Kentucky. Mrs- 
Crittenden, who inherited many of the qualities of her father, was a mother who 
ever devoted herself to the happiness and welfare of her children. A strict member 
of the Presbyterian Church, she inspired not only in her children but in all those as- 
sociated with her, a supreme respect for the Bible and the teachings of Christianity. 
"When Colonel Crittenden was but two years old his mother was left a widow, and 
after some years, was married the second time, to David R. Mun-ay, Esq., of Clover- 
port, Kentucky. One of the children of this second marriage is General E. H. 
Murray, who was distinguished among the younger Generals in the Union army 
during the late war. Up to the early part of 1876, he had for some time been United 
States Marshal for the District of Kentucky, and is to-day among the accomplished 
and brilliant men of that State. 

Mr. Crittenden was educated at Center College, Kentucky, and graduated in a 
class of twenty-three, many of the members of which have since become distin- 
guished in the history of their own State and the nation. Among them may be men- 
tioned Colonel John F. Phillips, of Missouri, John Young Brown, of Kentucky, 
Addison Craft, of Mississippi, Thomas M. Greene and W. C. P. Breckenridge, of 
Kentucky, and Thomas P. Barbour, of Missouri. He studied law at Frankfort, 
Kentucky, in the office of his uncle, John J. Crittenden, and was admitted to the bar 
by Chief Justice Simpson, of the Supreme Court of Kentucky, at Winchester, in 
1856. In the fall of 1856, he was married to Miss Carrie W. Jackson, daughter of 
Samuel Jackson, Esq., of Lexington, a lady who has been not only a faithful and 
devoted wife and mother, but also the possessor of many charms of both mind and 
person and an ornament to society. In the summer of 1857, he moved to Missouri 
-and located at Lexington, where he began the practice of law. He was admitted to- 
the bar by Judge Russell Hicks, with whom he was ever afterward on terms of the 
warmest friendship. 

Mr. Crittenden formed a partnership at Lexington with Judge John A. S. 
Tutt. He was kindly received by such men as Judge Ryland, and all the older 
lawyers with whom he came in contact, and soon attained to a fine practice. In the 
late war he entered the Union service, and was cornmissioned by Governor Gam- 
ble as Lieutenant-Colonel of the Seventh Regiment of Missouri State Militia, under 
the command of Colonel John F. Phillips, of Sedalia. His record in the army was 
as manly and honorable as his course bias always been in private or civil life. He 
was mustered out of service in 1865, and moved to Warrensburg, his present home, 
to renew the practice of law. In 1867, he became associated with General F. M. 
Cockrell, present United States Senator from Missouri, and soon commanded a wide 
and lucrative practice. 




Aj 



ours ^Tufi 





V CLiy\as>. 



WAKEENSBUKG. 



863 



Colonel Crittenden is more of a lawyer than a politician, but on account of his 
many excellencies of mind and heart, his fellow-citizens have called him to positions 
of honor and trust. During the war, and while he was a very young man, Governor 
"Willai'd P. Hall appointed him to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Attor- 
ney-General Atkinson P. AVelch. In 1872, he was nominated for Congress from the 
Seventh District on the Democratic ticket, and defeated Burdett, the Republican in- 
cumbent, by over fifteen hundred majority. He was defeated for the nomination in 
1874 in the famous tripartite contest before the convention at Sedalia between him- 
self, Colonel John F. Phillips, and A. M. Lay. Over six hundred ballots were taken, 
which finally resulted in the nomination of Colonel Phillips. Without being a can- 
didate, he was nominated in 1876, and defeated Stover, Republican, by a majority of 
thirty-four hundred, which is double any majority ever before given in the district. 
At the Democratic Convention at Jefferson City, July 19th, 1876, he was almost 
unanimously chosen one of the electors-at-large for the State of Missouri, but after 
making a brilliant canvass, resigned to accept the nomination to Congress so unex- 
pectedly tendered him. 

Though Colonel Crittenden has distinguished himself in war, in law, and in poli- 
tics, it is as a pi'ivate citizen that he displays the more brilliant traits of character. 

His best friends are those who have known him longest, and his own fellow- 
citizens, without regard to church or party, pay him that respect which none but a 
good man can desei"ve or maintain. 



A. W. RIDINGS 

was born on the Yeakin river, in Surrey county. North Carolina, December 8th, 
1815. His early years were passed upon his father's farm. He was educated at 
Patrick Henry's Academy, Virginia, and at Randolph Macon College. He moved 
to Missouri in 1837, first stopping at Lexington, which then consisted of an old ware- 
house on the river. 

Some of the men, now well known, who lived in the vicinity were Gen. Graham, 
Samuel L. Sawyer, Steel Hale and S. B Stampke. Soon after his arrival at Lexing- 
ton, Mr. Ridings removed to the neighborhood of Chapel Hill, some twenty miles 
southwest of Lexington, in Lafayette county, where he entered a considerable body 
of land and began the improvement of a farm. 

On the 8th of October, 1810, he was married to Mary J. Stepp, daughter of Judge 
John Stepp, of Lafayette county. Even at this early age he felt a deep intei'est in 
the education of the youth of his adopted State. In 1845, he opened Chapel Hill 
College, under the patronage of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and named 
in honor of the University of his native State. It was immediately successful. 
Commodious buildings had soon to be erected for the accommodation of students 
from a distance. During the ten or twelve years of its prosperous existence, it 
exercised a wide and beneficial infiuence. From its halls went forth many young 
men who have since become prominent in the affairs of the State, among whom are 
General F. M. Cockrell, present United States Senator from Missouri; General John 
Marmaduke, of St. Louis; Colonel Vincent Marmaduke, of Saline county; Colonel 
John T. Crisp; John E. Ryland, Esq., of Lexington; Milton Moore, Esq., of Kansas 
City; Joseph W. Mercer, ex-State Treasurer of Missouri; George E. Simpson, 
banker, New York; Jeff. Robertson, banker, Missouri City, Missonri; James Went- 
worth, banker, Brownsville ; Thomas Tidball, banker, Fort Worth, Texas ; James 



864 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

Ward, banker, Warrensburg, Missouri; W. Jack, of First National Bank, Warren»- 
burg; Rev, C. A. Davis, D.D., Memphis, Tennessee; Rev. John Prather, of 
Lafaj-ette county; Rev. "W. W. Luddath, deceased; G. S. Mode, Clinton, Missouri; 
Rev. James H. Houx, Warreusburg; Rev. James Dalton, Jackson county, and Rev. 
J. W. Morrow, Moberly. In the early education and training of these prominent 
gentlemen, Mr. Ridings erected a monument to himself that time cannot destroy. 

In 1856, he left the school which he had founded, and was not occupied in any 
active business till 1862, when he located at Lexington, and engaged in vai'ious 
kinds of trading till 1866. He then removed to Warrensburg, his present home. 
He established the banking-house of A. W. Ridings & Co., becoming its president, 
with James Ward as cashier. Four years afterwards he converted it into the First 
National Bank of Warrensburg. He soon proved as successful as a financier as he 
had been as an educator, having accumulated a respectable fortune for himself, 
while contributing largely to the material and social prosperity of Warrensburg and 
Johnson county. The stability of his banking-house has never been questioned, and 
in every venture he has been peculiarly fortunate. As a business man he is indus- 
trious and exact, strict in his adherence to recognized laws ; as a citizen, liberal and 
public-spirited in every good enterprise. 

After the establishment of the South Missouri Normal School at Warrensburg, 
best energies. Much opposition and bitter feeling toward the institution had arisen 
Mr. Ridings became its constant friend. To it he devoted his time, his money and his 
among the people of Johnson county, on account of alleged mismanagement in its 
establishment. Mr. Ridings was severely censured for his close adherence to its 
fortunes. He has already been vindicated in his course by the success of the institu- 
tion and the general praise of his conduct. He has long been one of the Board of 
Regents, and its chief financial adviser. In its magnificent success he has seen one 
of the greatest triumphs of his life, and his name will go closely linked with its 
history as its best friend in its darkest days. 

Mr. Ridings is a gentleman whose principles are the foundations of his life. Wealth 
is to him a stepping-stone to something higher ; the luxuries of life are of minor 
importance. He labors rather for substantial benefits. He has been a most success- 
ful financier. As an educator, and as a friend of education, he has achieved a still 
more enviable success, and in his own quiet, unobtrusive way, has made a name 
forever to be honored by the youth of Missouri. 



EDMOND A. NICKERSON 

was born in Baltimore, Maryland, August 31st, 1835. His parents belonged to one 
of the best families in the State, and his father was a literary man of considerable 
standing. Young Nickerson was educated at Baltimore Collegiate Institute, and at 
the age of eighteen commenced the study of law in the office of Charles Z. Lucas, 
of Baltimore. He was admitted to practice by the Superior Court of Baltimore city, 
and at the age of twentj-one went to Parkersburg, Virginia, and formed a partner- 
ship with B. F. Jackson, with whom he remained about eighteen months. He then 
returned to Baltimore, expecting to locate there, but his physician advised him, on 
account of the delicate state of his health, to travel. He moved west, and located 
in Union, Franklin county, Missouri. He there pursued his profession, with much 
success and distinction. He was especially brought into notice by his successful 
defense of Brock, in the celebrated Bruff criminal case. 



WAJtRENSBUEG. 865 

In February, 1862, he located in St. Louis county, and waa married to Miss Huldah 
A. Tyler, daughter of Henry Tyler, Sr,, of St. Louis county. He was engaged in 
agricultural pursuits, in connection with the practice of his profession, till 1865, 
when he removed to Washington, Missouri, where he remained till January, 1866, 
when he removed to "Warrensburg, his present home. He engaged in the practice 
of law, meeting with success. Immediately after his arrival at Warrensburg, he 
bought some wild land just south of the city, and erected thereon an elegant dwell- 
ing. To the cultivation and beautifying of the grounds surrounding his residence 
he has devoted much care and attention. His vineyard produces a great number of 
choice varieties of grapes. To the care of his vines, trees, shrubbery and plants he 
gives much of his own personal attention. 

In 1873, he organized the Warrensburg Savings Bank, and was for several years 
its president. In 1874, while absent in California, he was elected a member of the 
Constitutional Convention of 1875. In that body he gave his chief attention to the 
limitation of the powers of the Legislature, and assisted valiantly in securing that 
feature of the new Constitution. 

Personally, Mr. Mckerson is of a modest, retiring disposition, but among his 
acquaintances and friends he is quite sociable, and even talkative. He has a great 
aversion to all classes of pretenders, preferring the association and friendship of the 
honest poor man to the shallow pretensions of the proud and bigoted. He is strictly 
temperate, and honest in all his business transactions. As a lawyer, he stands high 
in his profession. As a speaker, he is strong, forcible and logical, and when 
animated with the fire of debate on an important "case, is especially eloquent. He 
takes great pride in his home, and spares no pains or expense to make it both 
pleasant and attractive. 



GEOEGE L. OSBORNE 

was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, December 18th, 1835. He was reared to 
agricultural pursuits, and after receiving such rudimentary instruction as the common 
schools of the neighborhood afforded, he entered Waynesburg College, at Waynes- 
burg, Pennsylvania, in 1855. For the means of acquiring an education he was 
dependent upon his own exertions, and owing to the interruptions thus occasioned, 
did not receive his degree until after the close of the late war. He was a hard stu- 
dent, with a decided preference for mathematics, which, however, he did not permit 
to interfere with other branches of study pertaining to a liberal education. He read 
law, but his own inclination and the attendant circumstances led him into teaching. 

In 1861, Mr. Osborne was married to Miss Sarah V. Swisher, of Marion county, 
West Virginia, which union has been blessed with one child. 

After having been at the head of several of the larger graded schools of South- 
western Pennsylvania, he was, in 1865, elected to the professorship of Mathematics 
in the Southwestern Normal College of that State. 

In 1868, Professor Osborne was called to Macon, Missouri, as Superintendent of 
the public schools of that place. After three years, during which time he had 
brought the schools up to a high standard, he accepted an urgent invitation to go to 
Louisiana, Missouri, and organize and perfect the public schools of that city. In 
both places he was eminently successful, clearly establishing his ability as an educator. 

In July, 1875, he was elected President of the South Missouri Normal School at 
Warrensburg, the place which he now occupies. Under his administration this instir 



SQ& GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

tution has steadily progressed and gives every evidence of continued prosperity. He 
is a man of fine executive ability, and is a firm believer in the benefits of a well-pre- 
served discipline. His conception of the duties and qualities of a teacher is clear and 
well formed. He is moderate in his views on most questions, and is kind and genial 
in his disposition. In religion, he is a Cumberland Presbyterian, but is, in no sense^ 
a sectarian. 

EICHARD C. NORTON 

was born in Hiram, Ohio, June 16th, 1840. He attended the Western Reserve 
Eclectic Institute (now Hiram College), and nearly finished the course, but went into- 
the war before graduating. After his return, he received the degree of A. M. from 
Eureka College, Illinois, the president of which institution was the President of 
Hiram College when Professor Norton was one of its students. He was in the Union 
army nearly two years, and, as a member of General Garfield's regiment, participated 
in some of the hardest-fought engagements at the siege of Vicksburg. He received 
an honorable discharge from the army on account of protracted sickness, and came 
home. After recovering, he engaged in teaching and civil engineering. 

In 1864, he was married to Miss Maria L. Mason, and in the following year re- 
moved to Trenton, Missouri. He was elected principal of the public schools of that 
place, and gave such satisfaction that he was successively elected to the same position 
up to the year 1875, when he was chosen Vice-President of the South Missouri State 
Normal School, which position he now holds to the great satisfaction of all who know 
him. He is now the President of the Missouri State Teachers' Association, and has 
been officially connected with that organization most of the time since he came to the 
State. 

In June, 1876, he was elected President of the Northwestern Missouri Normal 
School, but declined at the earnest request of the Board of Regents of the Warrens- 
burg Normal School. 

Pi'ofessor Norton is a devoted advocate of educational progress, an untiring student 
and a faithful and successful teacher. He is a man of fine physical and mental organ- 
ization and has the elements of great personal popularity. He is a member of the 
Christian Church. 

W. F. BAHLMANN 

was born in New Yoi'k City, of German parentage, August 21th, 1836. After having- 
been in public and private schools and under tutors for eleven years, he spent two 
years in the University of the City of New York. When nineteen years of age he 
went to Virginia and for a time taught an '' old field" school. He returned to New 
York and shortly afterwards spent eighteen mouths at the German universities. His 
stay materially aided him in acquiring that proficiency in German for which he has 
since become distinguished. 

He returned to America in 1860, and went to Louisiana, where he became secre- 
tary for Judge John Perkins and tutor in his family. 

In April, 1861, he went to West Virginia and was among the first Confederate 
volunteers from that State. He was elected orderly sergeant of his company and 
shortly afterwards chosen brevet second-lieutenant. At the reorganization of the 
Twenty-second Virginia infantry — in April, 1862, — he was made first-lieutenant of 



WAREENSBUEG. 867 

his company. He was wounded and captured at the battle of Lewisburg, May 28d, 
1862, but was exchanged after a a short imprisonment. 

In December, 1862, he was married to Miss Lydia L. Abbot, of Virginia. Soon 
after this, he again joined the army, and was wounded and captured at the battle of 
Droop Mountain, November 6th, 1863, and on the 11th of the same month was made 
captain of his company. After the lapse of ten months, being still unable to return 
to the field, he was assigned to post duty, on which he remained till the close of 
the war. 

In 1868, he moved to Missouri and became teacher of German in the public schools 
of Lexington. He was soon afterwards made principal of the Lexington High 
School and held that place about two-and-a-half years. During this time he estab- 
lished a reputation that resulted in his election to a professorship in South Missouri 
Normal School in June, 1875. 

He is a member of the Baptist Church ; a man of much personal popularity. He 
possesses an unbounded energy and is eminently practical. As a teacher he is very 
clear in his delineations and has the faculty of impressing his ideas forcibly and 
rapidly. 

J. J. CAMPBELL 

was born in Huntington county, Pennsylvania, October 5th, 1840. He received his 
education at Milnwood Academy, and at the age of eighteen entered JeflTerson Col- 
lege. He graduated in three years, and studied Theology at Western Theological 
Seminary, Pennsylvania, but never entered the ministry. 

In 1867, he became a teacher in Tuscaroi-a Academy, in Juniata county, Pennsyl- 
vania, and remained there three years. 

In August, 1870, he was married to Miss R. Annie French, of Philadelphia, and in. 
September of that year moved to Warrensburg, Missouri, having previously been 
elected principal of the public schools of that place. He soon made himself well 
known as a teacher of fine abilities. He assumed charge of the Wai-rensburg public 
schools at a critical period of their history, and contributed greatly to the enviable 
position they afterwards held in the State. 

In 1875, he was elected to a professorship in the Normal School at "Warrensburg. 
He now presides over the department of English Language and Literature, and dis- 
charges his duties with much carefulness and efficiency. 

Professor Campbell is a teacher who devotes himself wholly to his work. He is a 
careful student, and has a mind well stocked with the best information, and his lit- 
erary taste is cultivated and sensitive. 



868 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

LEXINGTON. 

The city of Lexington is one of the historic towns of Missouri. 
Situated at a commanding point on the Missouri river, it was, for a long 
time, the commercial center of the western portion of the State, until 
the construction of railroads so cut off the trade as to render it, as it 
is now, dependent for business upon the county contiguous to it; but its 
healthy location, its great educational advantages and its inexhaustible 
coal fields, must always make it an important place. Its broad streets, 
adorned with shade trees, and lined with tasteful residences, which are 
usually surrounded with flowers and shrubbery, make it one of the most 
beautiful cities of the State. It contains, in addition to numerous well- 
attended public schools for both white and colored children, three 
flourishing seminaries for young ladies and a private high school for boys. 
The business houses are substantial and commodious. There are four 
banks, some seventy stores, twelve churches and three newspapers — 
The Caucasian, The Intelligencer and The Register. We regret that we 
are able to present sketches of but few of the leading citizens. 



JAMES YOUNG 

was born in Hawkins county, East Tennessee, May 11th, 1800. His early education 
was limited, there being no public schools in that State then, and but few pi'ivate 
schools. His father, Captain William Young, was one of the first settlers of Ten- 
nessee, and was for twenty years the I'epresentative of Hawkins county in the 
Legislature of that State. He was a warm personal friend of Andrew Jackson, and 
was one of the men who urged him to be a candidate for the United States Senate, 
the election to which was the beginning of Jackson's eventful political career. 
When twenty-one years old he was married to his cousin, Miss Betsy Young, who 
afterwards proved to be a remarkable woman, and to whom her husband is greatly 
indebted for the prominence and worth to which he has attained. Mr. Young was 
elected to succeed his father in the Tennessee Legislature, upon the death of the 
latter. 

In 1832, he moved to Missouri, riding all the way on horseback, the most agree- 
able means of travel in those days. His family had preceded him, and were stopping 
temporarily in Cooper county. To avoid the danger of cholera, then raging in St. 
Louis, he crossed the Mississippi near New Madrid, and traveled through the State 
in company with Dr. Cannon, afterwards Lieutenant-Governor of Missouri. At 
Potosi they formed the acquaintance of Governor Dunklin, who was on his way to 
Jefferson City to be installed, and to whom Mr. Young had letters of introduction 
from General Jackson, Felix Grundy, and other prominent citizens of Tennessee. 
Mr. Young joined his family in Cooper county, remained there about a year, and 
went to Lafayette, where he paid $1,200 for 240 acres of land, seven miles southeast 
of Lexington. He improved his farm and added to it until he owned 1,000 acres, 
worth $50 per acre, being one of the finest farms in Lafayette county. 



LEXINGTON. 869 

In 1836, Mr. Young was elected to the Missouri Legislature from Lafayette county, 
and served two terms. He was then elected to the State Senate, and served a term 
of four years. Dnriug this time he was associated with those well-known Mis- 
sourians, James H. Lucas, A. "W. Doniphan, John F. Darby, John Jamison and 
Governor King. In 1844, he was elected Lieutenant-Governor, on the ticket with 
John C. Edwards, who was elected Governor. Governor Edwards was absent from 
the State much of the time during his term of ofSce. It therefore devolved upon 
Governor Young to act as State Executive, which he did with great credit to himself. 
He issued the first call for Missouri troops to go to the Mexican war, and issued com- 
missions to the regiment of Colonel A. W. Doniphan. In 1848, he retired from 
active political life, after an almost continuous service of nearly twenty years. Since 
that time he has been a member of most of the State Democratic Conventions, and 
has always been appealed to by his party as one well fitted to give advice and 
encouragement. 

Governor Young was, on February 7th, 1876, greatly afllicted in the death of his 
estimable wife, who had been a companion in hardship and prosperity, whose coun- 
sels were wise, and whose devotion was unfailing. 

Governor Young is a splendid representative of the "Andrew Jackson Democ- 
racy." He was the intimate friend and associate of Andrew Jackson, and learned 
his doctrines of political economy directly from the lips of that statesman. He 
is a gentleman of sterling character, strong convictions and great determination. 
He is a man of magnificent stature, and, now, at his advanced age, he stands nearly 
as erect, moves with almost as much vigor, and advocates his political sentiments 
with as much freshness and force as at the age of fortJ^ 



WILLIAM T. WOOD 

was born in Mercer county, Kentucky, March 25th, 1809. He studied law in his 
native State, and was licensed to practice in 1828. He emigrated to Missouri in 
1829, and settled at Liberty, where he practiced his profession till the spring of 1845, 
when he removed to Lexington. From Lexington he removed to St. Louis, in 1856, 
and there resided till November, 1865, when he returned to Lexington, where he 
now lives. 

Judge Wood has been prominently identified with the history of Missouri, and has 
been the friend and associate at the bar of her most distinguished sons. In 1837, 
while living at Liberty, he was appointed by Governor Boggs to the oflBce of District 
Attorney, a position which, at that juncture, required not only legal skill and learn- 
ing, but good judgment. It was during the period of the Mormon troubles in this 
State, and the region wherein Judge Wood's oflicial duties lay was that portion of 
the State inhabited by that people, and the scene of the most sei'ious complications. 
His management of the cause of the State was eminently satisfactory to Governor 



In the latter part of 1837, at a regimental muster of the militia in Clay county, he 
was placed on a committee with David R. Atchison, A. W. Doniphan, E. M. Samuel 
and Peter H. Burnett, to petition and memorialize Congress to annex to the State of 
Missouri the Platte country, then occupied by the Indians. The committee assigned 
to Judge Wood the duty of writing the petition and memox'ial. The result was the 
acquisition of that extensive and fertile territory. 



S70 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

In 1840, he was elected to the Legislature from Clay countj', along with General 
Doniphan and Major Dougherty, and served as chairman of the executive committee 
to look into the affairs and condition of the State Bank, then the subject of much 
complaint and newspaper comment. He drew up and presented their report, which 
was deemed highly satisfactory. 

After his removal to Lexington, on the death of Judge Young, of that district, on 
the call of the Bar, he was elected by the people as his successor, but resigned in 
1856, because of his removal to St. Louis. After his return 1o Lexington in 1865, in 
1868 he was again, on an urgent call of the bar, elected to the same position by a 
majority of over 1,500; but Secretary of State Kodman gave the certificate to his 
opponent. By the same action of the Secretary of State, two other judges and two 
or three Congressmen in (he State were defeated, and all (except Colonel Switzler, 
who made a manly, but unsuccessful resistance) submitted to the result. Judge 
Wood was not willing to submit to an act of such palpable wrong, and, after a 
struggle of some five years, he succeeded in obtaining his rightful position, just 
before the expiration of his opponent's tei-m. In 1874, he was again elected Judge 
of the Sixth Judicial District — this time without opposition^and now holds that 
position. 

He is a man whose record as a lawyer is without blemish, and whose character as 
a private citizen has always been above reproach. Becomingly modest in all his 
intercourse with men, and strictly adhering to the practice of his pi'ofession, he has 
probably not occupied a position in the public estimation to which his abilities entitle 
him. 

He was a thorough Whig while that party endured. He avoided, rather than 
sought, place in political life. In 1860, then residing in St. Louis, he, with other's, 
about a dozen in number, at their own expense, published a campaign paper, called 
The Guard, edited by himself, Albert Todd, of St. Louis, and Judge Kichardson, 
of the Supreme Court. Judge Eichardson died after the issue of the first number, 
and Mr. Todd and himself only remained the editors. The Guard advocated the 
election of Bell and Everett for President and Vice-President. Judge Wood, appre- 
hending and foreseeing dangers to result from the election of Mr. Lincoln, in articles 
written by him gave earnest and solemn warning, and made the most ardent appeals 
to excite and arouse a feeling and action for the preservation of the Union, and for 
the perpetuation of constitutional liberty. 



WILLIAM MORRISON 

was born at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, August 7th, 1817. Shortly after his birth, 
his father and grandfather moved to Ohio, and cleared the site of the town of New 
Lisbon. When sixteen years of age he went to Steubenville, Ohio, and served an 
apprenticeship in the tin and copper business, under M. & P. Roberts. In 1836, he 
left Steubenville, and, with only willing hands and a clear head, went to New 
Orleans and there worked at his trade. By the closest economy, he soon accumu- 
lated some money. He took a steamboat on the Mississippi to St. Louis, and there 
took the steamer Elk, which sunk in the Missouri i-iver at I'Outre Island, just below 
Hermann, and carried down with her all of young Morrison's earnings, which 
amounted to about $1,000. He escaped the wreck with his life, and, with character- 
istic pluck, turned around and went back to New Orleans to renew his scanty for- 
tune. He worked for his old employers one winter, and, with less than $200, started 



LEXINGTON. 



871 



l)ack to Lexington, where he conamenced business in a little house on Lexington 
street, in what is now known as " Old Town." In a short time he moved down to 
^' New Town." He prospered from the start, and soon purchased a lot opposite 
where the City Hotel now stands, and built a house. In 1848, he built a foundry, 
the first and only one west of St. Louis for several years. He entered largely into 
the manufacture of stoves, which he sold all over the West. They were hauled 
•overland to Salt Lake, Santa Fe, and other equally distant points. The profits of 
the trade were good, and Mr. Morrison made rapid accumulations of property. 

He was soon recognized as a man of excellent financial ability, and his services 
were asked in the organization and operation of various monetary corporations. 
■Governor King appointed him one of the directors in a branch of the old State Bank, 
located at Lexington, which ofiice he held till that institution was abolished. 

In 1858, he was elected to the Legislature from Lafayette county, and was 
influential in obtaining a charter for the Farmers' Bank, established at Lexing- 
ton, witha cash capital of $1,000,000, and was one of its oflicers during its existence. 
In 1864, with Stephen G. Wentworth, he established a private bank, which has 
always maintained an excellent reputation. It was one of the few banks in 
the country that did not suspend during the panic of 1873. In 1875, the name 
was changed to Morrison- Wentworth Bank, and it was reorganized under the State 
law. Mi° Morrison's active capital is now chiefly employed in the banking 
business, though he owns valuable real estate in Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa, 
and is a large stockholder in several business enterprises. He is the President 
of the Lexington Coal Company. He is President of the Lafayette County 
Insurance Company. In 1870, he. became the President of the Lexington & St. 
Louis Kailroad, then in an embarrassing, half-finished condition, and completed 
it in a year and a half, securing for Lexington and Lafayette county a much-needed 
outlet to St. Louis. 

In his business career, Mr. Morrison has always adhered strictly to the rules of 
temperance, economy, industry and honesty. By these he has succeeded in placing 
himself among the most substantial business men of Missouri. As a private citizen, 
he has always been active in his sympathy with every movement for the good of 
society. 

He is a member of the Methodist Church, and president of th3 Board of Curators 
of Central Female College, and has always contributed liberally of his means for its 
support. He was married in Lexington, some years after he settled there, and has 
four children— three sons and one daughter. 



HENRY C. WALLACE 

was born in Woodford county, Kentucky, August 18th, 1823. He is a descendant of 
one of the oldest and most honored families of Kentucky, being of Scotch-Irish 
blood. His ancestors in this country settled first in Virginia and thence went into 
Kentucky. His grandfather, the Hon. Caleb Wallace, was among the first settlers of 
that portion of Virginia which was afterwards formed into Kentucky, and was a 
member of the Legislature of Virginia from Lincoln county (now Kentucky), in the 
year 1783, and was a member of four successive conventions at Danville, preparatory 
to the separation of Kentucky from Virginia— two in 1785, one in 1787, and one in 
1788. He was also a member of the convention which formed the first constitution 
of Kentucky, at Danville, in 1792, as well as a member of the convention which 



872 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

formed the second constitution of Kentucky, at Frankfort, in 1797; he was also a 
presidential elector for Kentucky in 1797, when John Adams was elected President. 
He was one of the first Judges of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky, being appointed 
in 1792, soon after the State was admited into the Union, and served as such for 
many years. 

Captain Henry Wallace, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Kentucky 
in March, 1792, the year that State was admitted to the Union, and is supposed to 
have been the first white male child born on Kentucky soil after she was organized 
into a State. Captain Wallace was a soldier of the war of 1812, and served under 
General Wm. H, Harrison in a severe winter campaign in the Northwestern territory 
against the hostile Indians, and participated in the battle of Mississiniway, Decem- 
ber 18th, 1812. After the wai-, he returned to KentiTcky and devoted himself to 
farming pursuits in Woodford county, where he remained till the year 1844, when he 
removed to Lexington, Missouri. Here he resided till his death, in May, 1875. He 
was always an honored and respected citizen and a man of great personal courage 
as well as pure Christian character. His venerable widow, Mrs. Elizabeth C. Wal- 
lace, sui-vives her husband at an advanced age. 

The subject of this notice enjoyed the advantages of a good academy in his native 
county, and was attending Canter College, at Danville, when his father moved to 
Missouri. He was forced to leave school on account of impaired health, and in 1844 
came to Missouri, where his health slowly improved, but not sufficiently to allow his 
return to college. He continued, however, to pursue his studies, taught school a 
year and a half at Lexington, and then studied law with his brother-in-law, the late 
F. C. Sharp, Esq., a well known member of the St. Louis bar— who then lived at 
Lexington— and was admitted to the bar in 1849. After practicing eighteen months, 
he attended the law school at Louisville, where he graduated in 1851. He returned 
to Lexington, Missouri, where he has since lived, engaged in an extensive and lucra- 
tive practice. He is a very industrious and painstaking lawyer, and is careful and 
conscientious in the discharge of his duty. Though often solicited to be a candidate 
for the Legislature and by the bar to be a candidate for Judge of the Circuit Court, 
he has uniformly declined, preferring the quieter and more regular work of the de- 
voted practitioner. He was an active and infiuential member of the Constitutional 
Convention of 1875. 

In June, 1863, Mr. Wallace was married to Miss Eliza A. Sharp, daughter of the 
late A. M. Sharp, of Christian county, Kentucky, by whom he has five children, 
three sons and two daughters. 



SPEINGFIELD. 873 

SPKINGFIELD. 

The city of Springfield is the county-seat of Greene county, and the 
metropolis of Southwest Missouri. It is pleasantly situated on the high 
lands on both sides of the famous Wilson's Creek, and is attractive alike 
as a desirable place of residence and as a point for business operations, 
commanding the trade not only of Southwestern Missouri, but of large 
sections of Arkansas, Kansas and the Indian Territory. Its reputation 
as a trading and lumber point dates as far back as 1820. 

Along the course of Wilson's Creek were beautiful groves of Avalnut 
sycamore, blackjack, and oak trees, of luxuriant growth of perhaps a 
half a century, from among which the underbrush had been cut away, 
making one of the handsomest hunting grounds in all the Southwest. 
There stretched out on the north and east rich timbered lands, and on 
the south and west beautiful prairies, which in early days wei'e cultivated 
by the aborigines as a field or native Indian farm. Around this pioneer 
village and handsome field were many living springs, from which it took 
the name of Springfield. 

The Indians gave up this hunting ground very reluctantly, holding it 
tenaciously against the intruding pale faces, until 1830, when they found 
themselves in the minority, and Springfield was then incorporated as a 
town, with a population of five hundred. In 1835, Hon. W. P. Switzler 
passed through this town, and recorded in his diary that Springfield was 
a poor place ; some eight or ten log cabins altogether, constituted the 
town. There were four stores, two groceries, two blacksmith shops, 
and a tan-yard. Its population remained about the same until 1857, 
when it began to increase, and in 1860 it had two thousand inhabitants. 
It had a varied fortune during the war, being occupied by both armies, 
at different times, and each time to the detriment of the city. It came 
out of the rebellion in 1865, badly demoralized in every respect, with a 
population of five hundred. At this time it began to increase rapidly, 
some of its former citizens returning, while its chief increase was from 
Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky. According 
to the census of 1870 it had a population of five thousand five hundred and 
sixty-three. The Atlantic & Pacific railroad was formally opened to this 
city May 3d, 1870. It has now over one hundred and fifty business firms 
in all departments of trade, which sold goods in the year 1874 to the 
amount of $2,618,773, which amount has been largely increased of late. 
Since the advent of the railroad, constant shipments have been made of 
the large quantities of wheat, corn, oats, rye, buckwheat, tobacco, and 

56 



874 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUKI. 

herds of cattle, mules, sheep, and hogs, with apples, peaches, pears, 
grapes, etc., with which this country is very prolific. In 1871, 185,433^ 
bushels of wheat were shipped, two hundred and sixty-three car loads of 
stock, and other produce in proportion. 

Springfield has two National banks, each with a capital of $100,000, 
and each doing a safe and prosperous business. It has three first-class 
hotels, extensive iron works, three flouring mills, two planing mills, one 
woolen and one cotton factory, seven lumber yards, and several other 
manufacturing establishments, besides the machine shops of the St. 
Louis & San Francisco Railroad, with capacity for seventy-five men. 
It has some twenty practicing physicians and about forty practicing 
lawyers. The bar of Springfield is worthy of special mention, it having- 
no superior for integrity and ability anywhere in the State. 

Eleven church societies are in a prosperous condition, and the city 
boasts one of the most elegant free graded school buildings in the West- 
It is also the site of Drury College and Ozark Female Institute. 

The people are intelligent, orderly, and industrious. The cit}' has 
doubled its population and wealth since 1869. Its present population is 
over seven thousand, and its present taxable wealth over $3,000,000,. 
and rapidly increasing. New railroad connections are being pushed, and 
the city is doubtless destined to become one of the future great centres 
of the West. 

BOONVILLE. 

Beautifully built upon the south bank of the Missouri River, midway 
between St. Louis and Kansas City, and on the line of the Missouri,, 
Kansas and Texas Railway, stands Boonville — county seat of Cooper 
county, and one of the handsomest cities in all Missouri. 

Its site is picturesque in the extreme, the town being surrounded by 
wood-covered hills that extend on either side back to the fertile land 
around. High above the river, the view of the bottoms on the opposite 
side is most beautiful and attractive. The health of the people is uni 
formly good, and the glorious advantage of a rare climate and a rich 
surrounding country, render the city one of the most desirable places for 
a home, aiforded by any locality in the land. The streets are generally 
macadamized, and lighted by gas, and the dwellings and business houses 
are almost wholly built of brick. Numerous churches and schools,, 
together with the influences of a highly educated and moral community, 
give to the town a social advancement found in but few places out- 







w//,>, , }/.sy//;nsA/ 



^^///y. r J^/r^//r C/ia/r/z/rfH v^>/j/w//// i^V//-^/ 




l.il ISauk Xi.li- (>i.X<i,Vr)ili. 



BOONVILLE. 875 

side of the East. Wealth and culture are evident on every hand, and 
nowhere can be found a more hospitable or liberal people than are num- 
bered among the citizens of the place. 

Boonville is f\ivoi-ed with most excellent railroad accommodations, hav- 
ing two great lines upon which to transport the products of the rich 
country surrounding her. Its population numbers over 6,000. The 
area of the county is 362,880 acres, with a total population of 28,000. 
It is watered by the Missouri, Lamine, Blackwater, Petite Saline, Moni- 
teau and other streams and is admirably adapted to nearly all classes of 
manufacture. The country abounds in lead, iron, coal, and other min- 
erals. Timber is found in abundance all over the country, consisting of 
oak, ash, walnut, maple, hackberry, sycamore, etc. 

The city has several Ibundries and machine shops, a furniture factory, 
a woolen mill, three large pottery establishments and several other 
manufactories ; also two banking houses, of one of which we give a fine 
steel-plate picture. This institution is principally controlled by Captain 
J. L. Stephens, a gentleman well-known in railroad and business circles 
throughout the State, and whose best energies have been given to de- 
veloping the interests of Boonville and Cooper county. 

In addition to the public schools, Boonville boasts of a number of 
private institutions of learning. Of these the famous " Kemper Family 
School," is perhaps the most prominent, drawing its pupils not only 
from the immediate vicinage but from distant States and Territories. 
The school is presided over by Professor F. T. Kemper, who has devoted 
a long life to the cause of education, ably assisted by Professor T. A. 
Johnston and others. " Boonville Seminary " and " Cooper Institute" 
are flourishing schools for young ladies. 

The bridge spanning the river at this point, of which we give a picture 
on another page, is probably the handsomest structure yet stretched 
across the Missouri. 



876 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 



SKETCHES OF DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS NOT RESIDING IN 
ANY OF THE FOREGOING TOWNS. 

CHARLES H. HAEDIN 

was born iu Carroll county, Kentucky, July 15th, 1820. His father came to Mis- 
souri in November following, locating temporarily in Howard county, about five 
miles northwest from Boonville, and then in Columbia, Boone county, where he 
lived till his death, a few years afterwai'ds. His mother was a sister of William 
Jewell the founder of the college at Liberty, bearing his name. He received a 
primary education in Columbia ; and at the age of eighteen, entei'ed Miami Univer- 
sity, Ohio, where he graduated in 1841. He returned home and commenced the 
study of law under the instruction of Hon. James M. Gordon, a lawyer of eminent 
ability. In February, 1843, he was admitted to the bar, obtaining his license from 
Hon. Wra. Scott, of the Supreme Court of Missouri, and in the same year he moved 
to Fulton. He lived there eighteen yeai's, during five years of which time he was 
the law partner of Preston B. Reid, and for twelve years he was one of the Board 
of Managers — and Secretary of that board — of the State Lunatic Asylum at that 
place. He assumed these positions when the Asylum was in its infancy, and left it 
in a most flourishing condition and fully organized as one of the leading State 
Institutions. 

In 1844, he was married to Miss Mary B., daughter of Theodoric Jenkins, Esq., 
a prominent farmer and stock-raiser of Boone county. She is one of the few women. 
who in that early day received a classical education. She is a fluent and graceful 
writer, an accomplished and refined lady, respected and beloved by all who have 
enjoyed her acquaintance ; and her piety takes the practical side of throwing her 
influence on the side of temperance and purity, while her practical and judicious 
benevolence bind to her the hearts of the poor, who have, at all times, her sympathy ,- 
kind words and substantial assistance. 

In 1848, he was elected Circuit Attorney for the Third Judicial District, composed 
of the counties of Callaway, Boone, Howard, Randolph, Macon and Audrain; and 
during the whole of his four year's service, did not lose an indictment, thus indicat- 
ing his great care as well as his competency and industry. In 1852, he was elected to 
the Missouri Legislature, from Callaway county. He was re-elected in 1854, declining 
to be a candidate in 1856, and re-elected in 1858. During the session of 1854, he was 
appointed on a committee with Thomas C. Richardson and John W. Reid, to revise 
the laws of Missouri, which work they did by December of that year, and repoi-ted 
the result to the adjourned session of 1855. The revision was accepted with great 
satisfaction, and was thought to be the best the State ever had. He was appointed 
the commissioner to superintend the printing of the revised code, a mark of great 
confidence, since the Legislature was Democratic and he a Whig. In 1858, while a 
member of the Legislature, he was selected, along with J. Proctor Knott, now of 
the United States Congress, to prosecute, on belief of the House of Representatives, 
the articles of impeachment against Judge Jackson, before the Senate. In 1860, he 
was elected to the State Senate for the counties of Boone and Callaway, and, although 
a Whig, and the Senate Democratic, the Lieutenant Governor, Thomas C. Reynolds^ 



BIOGKAPHICAL SICETCHES. 



877 



appointed him chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He attended the called session 
of the Legislature, at Neosho and Cassville, in obedience to the proclamation of 
Governor Jackson, in 1861, and was the only member of the Senate who voted 
against the ordinance of secession. After the adjournment he retmnied to his home, 
and soon afterwards moved to Audrain county, and settled on his farm, near Mexico, 
where he has since lived. In 1872, he was elected, without opposition, to the State 
Senate, on the Democratic ticket, and served as chairman of the Judiciary Com- 
mittee. At the Democratic State Convention of 1874, he was nominated for 
Governor, and was elected by a majority of 38,000. During the two years of his 
term of service, he introduced many reforms into the State Government, by the 
appointment of efficient and honest men to office, and the reduction of expenses 
wherever it was possible. His administration was among the most successful ever 
enjoyed by Missouri. He was emphatically the servant of the people, and labored 
for them as he would have labored for himself. He discharged every duty incum- 
bent upon him with a zeal rai-ely seen in public men, and made for himself, without 
ostentation or noise, a name that will ever be honored by his fellow citizens. But 
he has not alone been a benefactor to the State, as its chief executive. In 1873, the 
citizens of Mexico, and Audrain county, resolved to establish a female college in their 
midst, and knowing Governor Hardin's zeal in the cause of education, asked him for 
some assistance. He donated, for the purpose, the sum of $37,000, and has since 
increased it to $40,000. The institution which, largely through his liberality, 
immediately sprung into activity and prosperity, was, in his honor, named Hardin 
College. Though much of life may yet be before him, and honors at the hands of 
the people may yet await him, this school, for the education of the daughters of his 
own State, will be his best and most lasting monument; for in its halls will gather 
those who will, in the distant future, point with pride to its founder, and tell their 
sons to follow in his footsteps. 



ALEXANDER WILLIAM DONIPHAN, 

of Richmond, Missouri, was born in Mason county, Kentucky, July 9th, 1808. He 
is of English ancestry, and the youngest in a family of ten children. His fatlier, 
Joseph Doniphan, was born in King George county, Virginia, and served in the 
American army during the entire Revolutionary struggle, and at the close of the war, 
being yet unmarried, went to Kentucky, spending several years with Daniel Boone, 
in that then " far West." He is credited with teaching the first school in what is now 
the State of Kentucky, in which he settled permanently with his family in 1790. 
Mrs. Joseph Doniphan (??ee Anne Smith) was a native of Fauquier county, Virginia, 
and an aunt of Governor William Smith, of that State. She was a woman of rare 
mental powers and sparkling wit, to whom was left the care of the family upon the 
death of her husband in 1813. 

William was in his eighth year placed under the instruction of Richard Keene, a 
well educated and eccentric Irishman, a gi-aduate of Trinity College, Dublin, and 
then residing at Augusta, Kentucky. He entered Augusta College at the age of 
fourteen, and after enjoying the benefit of distinguished instructors, especially Doc- 
tors Bascom and Durbin, graduated with distinction, especially in the classics, four 
years later. He then devoted a year to a careful study of history and general litera- 
ture. He read law with Martin P. Marshall, one of the ablest jurists in that distin- 
guished family, and after two years' study in that gentleman's offi .-e was admitted to 
the bar by the Supreme Court of Ohio. 



878 GEE AT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

In March, 1830, Mr. Doniphan moved to Missouri, and was licensed to practice by 
the Supreme Court at Fajette the following month. He settled at Lexington, Mis- 
souri, April 19th, to practice his profession, in which he has had such a brilliant, suc- 
cessful and lasting forensic career. Law libraries were then few and limited in 
extent, legal blanks were unknown, and his practice extended over much territory, 
rendering his large practice extremely laborious. At the early age of twenty-two, 
without experience, and only a limited acquaintance, he was brought in contact with 
such older and experienced gentlemeu as Abiel Leonard, E. W. Wells, Payton R. 
Hayden and others, eminent for legal ability. His maiden speech was made in the 
defense of a man indicted for murder. In this case he assisted Mr. Leonard, and his 
modest but effective effort was the dawn of that reputation which he afterwards 
attained as a criminal lawyer. 

' In 1833, Mr. Doniphan moved to Liberty, where he lived until 1863, and where he 
found already established in practice such eminent lawyers as D. R. Atchison, Amos 
Rees, and James M. Hughes. The atmosphere of Liberty was favorable to the devel- 
opment of manly, social, intellectual character. Its leading business and professional 
men were of unusual prominence and ability. They were young gentlemen of high 
social positions in their native States of Kentucky, Virginia, and the East. They 
were manly, generous and enterprising, and had settled on the *' verge of civilization " 
to build their homes, make their fortunes, and win their position in the State 
and nation. To relieve the routine and tedium of military life there came from Fort 
Leavenworth such brilliant young army oflScers as the Rileys, Kearneys, and Sidney 
Johnsons, so that society at Liberty was exceptionally brilliant. 

Doniphan was ambitious, highly cultured, and of such elastic mold that his mind 
readily rose to meet the magnitude of each new occasion. He was a ready, polished 
and powerful speaker. His flashes of brilliancy, his weight of argument and irre- 
sistible oratory, captivated the minds and hearts of all who heard him in conversation, 
at the bar, or on the stump. He was elected to the Legislature from Clay county in 
1836, again in 1810, and in 1854 without opposition, 

In 1838, Mr. Doniphan married Miss Elizabeth Jane, daughter of the late John 
Thornton, of Clay county. She was a woman of refined and gentle manners, acute 
perception, elegant literary taste, great strength of character, and of a deeply relig- 
ious nature and life. Their domestic and harmonious life was blessed with two 
sons, both of whom died in their youth. 

When the Mexican war broke out in 1846, M^. Doniphan, at Governor Edwards' 
request, assisted in raising volunteer troops in the western counties of the State for 
service in that conflict. The people were enthusiastic and Mr. Doniphan was popu- 
lar; and in a week or so companies of men had volunteered, which, upon organization 
at Fort Leavenworth, formed the famous "First Regiment of Missouri Mounted 
Volunteers." There never was in United States service a regiment of finer material. 
It was composed mainly of young men in the prime of life, the sons of Missouri 
pioneers, possessed of the mental and physical power of their adventurous fathei's. 
Most or all of them were already inured by frontier life to all the duties and hard- 
ships of a soldier's life. Mr. Doniphan was, almost by acclamation, elected Colonel 
of this splendid regiment, which formed -a part of G-eneral Stephen W. Kearney's 
command, known as the Army of the West. In June, 1846, the regiment commenced 
its long march — known as Doniphan's Expedition — to Santa Fe, Chihuahua, Monte- 
rey and the Gulf, a distance of nearly three thousand miles. In November, 1846, 
Colonel Doniphan and his regiment proceeded to the Navajo Indian country, on the 



BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 879 

western slope of the Rocky Mountains, to overawe or chastise them. His soldiers 
toiled through snow three feet deep on the eastern slope and crests of the mountains 
in reaching their objective point. He completed the movement with great celerity 
■and ability, securing the object of the expedition and concluding a satisfactory treaty 
with the Indians. He then returned to the River Del Norte, where he was rein- 
forced by two batteries of light artillery. On the banks of this stream, after a brief 
refreshing of his men, he prepared to effect what was then intended to be a junction 
with General "Wool. In December he faced his little column south and moved 
towards Chihuahua. Then followed, in quick succession, his brilliant and decisive 
Tictories at Bracito and Sacramento, followed by the capture of Chihuahua. He 
then plunged his gallant little army into the unknown region between Chihuahua 
and Saltillo, to emerge in triumph at the latter city. The laurels won by Colonel 
Doniphan and his men are among the brightest that grace and glorify American 
arms ; and their memory, untarnished by a single blemish, is as enduring as the history 
of the nation itself. 

In January, 1861, Colonel Doniphan was appointed one of the five delegates from 
Missouri in the Peace Convention at Washington. During his attendance upon that 
body he was elected from his Senatorial District to the State Convention called by 
the Legislature in January, 1861, in which he took his seat upon his return from the 
Peace Convention. He maintained, in this assemblage, the position of a Conserva- 
tive Union man, and the excitement of the times did not force him to lose sight of 
the rights of the States. 

In 1863, Colonel Doniphan removed to St. Louis, where he remained until 1868, 
when he returned to Western Missouri, settling at Richmond, Ray county, where he 
now resides. Since the loss of his estimable wife, in 1873, he has lived in retirement, 
devoting himself to amusement, reading, and to correspondence and social convei'se 
with his numerous friends. He was an ardent and conscientious member of the 
Whig party during its existence, but since its dissolution has acted with the Democracy. 
He was always too broad-minded to be a restricted partizan and never sought a polit- 
ical ofl3.ce. He is a firm believer in Christianity, and has been, since 1859, an active 
and consistent member of the Christian Church. 

In personal appearance, he is imposing and magnificent. He stands six feet four 
inches high, of fine proportions, full figure without obesity. His forehead is high, 
square and full, his eyes bright hazel, his lips smiling and symmetrical. His face as a 
whole approaches closely the Grecian ideal, with the characteristically American 
nose, which is aquiline without severity. His complexion is very fair; his hair and 
beard (now mingled with gray) were sandy. 

Colonel Doniphan has exerted a large influence in the various positions of his life, 
and in parliamentaiy bodies has succeeded mainly by social impress and personal 
contact. His society, wherever he goes, is sought as a fascinating conversationalist. 
His mind is quick and precise, with great powers of perception, analysis and gener- 
alization. His poetic, non-romantic temperament is finely guarded by a cultivated 
taste and a delicate sense of the ridiculous. His well-ordered and nicely-balanced 
mind, with its machinery so happily fitted and its stores of information so well 
digested, is so completely a part of his life that its riches without apparent effort flow 
or flash foi'th on all suitable occasions, and place each subject or object touched in a 
flood of living light. 

Nature endowed him munificently in physique and in intellect, and like the man 
with ten talents, he has most worthily emjiloyed his inheritance, and is indeed, one 
of " Nature's noblemen." 



880 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

JUDGE WILLIAM B. NAPTON 

was born in New Jersey, and graduated at Princeton College, after which he also 
graduated at the law department of the University of Virginia, and began the 
practice of his profession at Charlotteville, Virginia. In 1832 he moved to Missouri, 
and located at Fayette, Howard county. After establishing himself in his new 
home, he founded the Boonslick Advocate, which soon became one of the most 
popular papers outside of St. Louis. 

In 1834, he was elected secretary of the State Senate, and soon afterwards was 
appointed Attorney-General, in place of Robert W. Wells, who had been appointed 
United States District Judge. In 1839, he was appointed Judge of the Supreme 
Court by Governor Boggs, his associates being Judges McGirk and Thompson. He 
was OD the bench continuously until 1862, with the exception of the term between 
1851 and 1858. In 1862, when the whole Supreme Court of Missouri was removed 
by Governor Gamble, and a new one was appointed. Judge Napton moved to St. 
Louis and resumed the practice of his profession. In 1873, on the death of Judge 
Ewing, of the Supreme Court, he was appointed to fill the vacancy, by Governor 
Silas Woodson, and was unanimously nominated and elected his own successor in 
1864, and still holds the position. He has been on the bench twenty years longer 
than any other man in the State, and possesses the respect and esteem of the bair 
and the people, with whom he has so long lived and labored. 



JUDGE ELIJAH H. NORTON 

was born in Logan county, Kentucky, November 21st, 1821. When seventeen years 
old he entered Centre College, at Danville, and, in the winter of 1842, graduated in 
the law department of Transylvania University, and immediately afterwards moved 
to Missouri, and located at Platte City, his present home. He formed a partnership 
with Solomon P. McCurdy, and very rapidly built up a successful practice. 

In 1850, he was married to Miss Malinda, daughter of John Wilson, Esq., of Platte 
county. In 1852, he was elected, without opposition, as Circuit Judge of the district 
composed of Platte, Buchanan, Andrew, Holt, Atchison, Nodaway and Gentry 
counties. He was re-elected in 1857, again without opposition, and sexwed in that 
capacity till elected to Congress, in August, 1860. In 1861, before taking his seat in 
Congress, he was chosen as one of the representatives from his Senatorial District 
to the State Convention called to consider the relations of Missouri to the Federal 
Government. In that body he opposed the ordinance of secession. 

In 1868, he was nominated by the Democratic Stale Convention for Supreme 
Judge, but was defeated, along with the whole ticket. In 1875, he was elected a 
member of the State Constitutional Convention which framed the present Constitu- 
tion of Missouri, and was chairman of the Committee on Representation and 
Representative Districts. In 1876, he was appointed to the Supreme Bench by^ 
Governor Hardin, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Judge H. M.. 
Vories. 

JUDGE WILLIAM CARTER 

was born in what was then Wayne, now Carter county, December 11th, 1830. His 
father was one of the early settlers of Missouri, settling in 1808. He received the 
rudiments of education at schools in the neighborhood of his father's farm, and! 



BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 881 

became a student at Arcadia High School, aud completed the course of study. He 
read law and graduated at the Louisville Law School, Kentucky, in 1855. He com- 
menced practice at Potosi, Missouri, and formed a partnership with Judge David E. 
Ferryman, a well-known lawyer in his day. Mr. Carter paid special attention to 
the real estate department of law, developing great ability in that line of practice. 

During the war he strongly opposed secession, though always a Democrat, believ- 
ing it would result in ruin to the South. In 1864, he removed to Farmington, his 
present home. 

In March, 1864, he was elected the first Judge of the Twentieth Judicial District, 
and filled the place with such marked ability and great satisfaction to the bar that he 
was continued in the position till 1874, when he resigned. The same year he repre- 
sented St. Francois county in the Missouri Legislature, and served as chairman of 
the Judiciary Committee, discharging his duties in a manner altogether satisfactory 
to the House and the people of the State. In the summer of 1876, he was strongly 
urged to be a candidate for Supreme Judge befoi-e the Democratic State Convention, 
but declined a nomination. Naturally of a retiring disposition and a devoted student 
of his profession, while not unmindful of a citizen's responsibilities, he is strongly 
averse to the excitement and uncertainty of political life. He was a member of the 
Committee on Resolutions at the Democratic Convention which met at Jefferson City, 
in June, 1876, to appoint delegates to the National Democratic Convention soon to 
follow, and there successfully urged the reference of the finance question, which at 
that time threatened the party in Missouri, to the national convention. This, and 
other services he has incidentally rendered, show him to be well learned in the 
genius and scope of politics. 

At the present time. Judge Carter is taken up entirely with the labors of a very 
wide practice, and is living that quiet, but biisy life so congenial to one of his tastes 
aud acquirements. He is just now coming near the prime of life, and there is before 
him an honored field of usefulness and activity. 



JOHN A. HOCKAJDAY 

was born in Callaway county. May 6th, 1837. His father, Irvine O. Hockaday, came 
from Clark county, Kentucky, in 1820, and settled in Callaway county, at Elizabeth, 
the first county-seat of that county. He afterwards became both circuit and county 
clerk, and held those positions about 18 years. The subject of this sketch was raised 
at Fulton, to which place his father removed in 1830. He entered Westminster Col- 
lege, at that place, when fourteen years old, and graduated in 1856. He commenced 
studying law in 1857, in the office of Thomas Ansel, and was admitted to practice 
in 1859. He opened an office at Fulton, where he continued to practice uninter- 
ruptedly till the opening of the war. He was made City Attorney of Fulton the same 
year he was admitted to the bar. The town had just been incorporated, and Mr. Hock- 
aday drew up all the original ordinances. During 1864 and 1865 he served as County 
Attorney for Callaway county, and in 1866 was elected to the State Senate from the 
counties of Boone, Audrain and Callaway by a majority of 2,500. His seat was 
contested and he was ousted on the ground of alleged ineligibility, after a service of 
three weeks. 

In 1868, he was nominated, by the Democratic State Convention, for Attorney 
General of Missouri, but was defeated along with all the ticket. He was a delegate 
from his Congressional district, in 1866, to the National Convention which met at 



882 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEI. 

Philadelphia, called by Montgomery Blair and others to consider the condition of 
the country and devise measures of reconstruction. 

In 1872, he was appointed elector from his district to cast a vote for President and 
Vice-President. Mr. Greeley having died previous to the meeting of the Electoral 
College, Mr. Hockaday cast his vote for Thomas A. Hendricks for President. 

In 1874, he was nominated by the Democratic party and elected Attorney General 
of Missouri. During his term of Office he rendered at least twelve hundred written 
opinions touching all jDoints in law, and up to the expiration of his office not one 
of them had been reversed by any court. He was a prominent candidate for Gov- 
ernor before the State Convention of 1876, but has now left the field of active 
politics and has resumed the pursuit of his profession at his home in Fulton. 



SAMUEL H. OWENS 

was born in Spi'ingfield, Illinois, May 8th, 1835. His father, John Owens, moved 
from Kentucky to Illinois, and thence to Cole county, Missouri, in 1837. He was 
limited in means, but gave his son a common-school education, and sent him two 
sessions to the State University at Columbia. Young Owens then returned to 
Jefferson City, entered a store, and earned his living while studying law under the 
instruction of Warwick Hough, Esq., now of the Missouri Supreme Court, and J. 
Proctor Knott, Attorney-General of Missouri, and was admitted to the bar in the 
latter part of 1859. He immediately afterwards commenced the practice of his 
profession at California, Moniteau county, where he has since resided, rapidly build- 
ing up a large, respectable and lucrative practice, and maintaining his rank among 
the leading lawyers of the State. 

He was married in 1860, to Miss Ella M., sister of the late Dr. A. Y. Thorpe, of 
Moniteau county. 

In 1861, he espoused the Confederate cause, and joined the Missouri State Guard. 
He was captured soon af<^er the battle of Lexington, and paroled, with permission 
to practice law within the First Judicial Circuit of Missouri. He was elected 
President of the Moniteau National Bank in 1869, and now holds that position, 
though not devoting himself actively to banking, or any pursuit outside of his pro- 
fession. 

Mr. Owens is a Democrat, and has generally taken a deep interest in local and 
general politics, but was never a candidate for any office until he consented to become 
a candidate for nomination before the Congressional Convention at Sedalia, in 1876. 
After about twenty ballots it became apparent that there was a dead-lock, and Mr. 
Owens withdrew, and the nomination fell to Colonel T. T. Crittenden, whose name 
had not been before the convention. Mr. Owens made a vigorous canvass of the 
entire field, and assisted in electing Colonel Crittenden by the lai'gest majority ever 
cast in the Seventh District. 

Mr. Owens has attained wide distinction as a member of the Masonic order. He 
was, in 1862, appointed District Deputy Grand Master, and from that time forward 
has held various positions of honor and trust until 1872, when, after having filled 
almost every subordinate office, he was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of 
Missouri. He declined a re-election, though his interest, prominence and usefulness 
in the fraternity is in nowise diminished. 

Mr. Owens is a representative Missourian. He has risen to an honorable position 



BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



883 



in life by the persistent and industrious use of his sturdy intellect. He is a gentle- 
man of fine capacity and great endurance, indomitable will, eminent social qualities, 
a genial companion and a successful citizen, worthy of the great State within whose 
borders he has so long lived and pi"ospered. 



JACKSON L. SMITH 

was born in Callaway county, Missouri, near what is now Cedar City. His father, 
JRichard Smith, was among the early settlers of Howard county, and moved to Old 
Franklin in. 1816. Mr. Smith being a farmer, Jackson, his son, spent the earlier years 
of his life in that pursuit, jv^orking on the farm in the summer and attending the dis- 
trict school in the winte\\ 

It is common to speak of njen who have acquired valuable information without 
the facilities presented in well-endowed institutions of learning as self-made men. 
The man, however, who by wise, faithful, constant use expands his powers, and 
by persevering industry makes the treasures of learning his own, whether with or 
without the aid of libraries and universities, is a self-made man. While a youth Mr. 
Smith manifested that thirst for knowledge which always finds the object sought. 
His father, a man of active mind and a patron of learning, favored young^ Jack- 
son's desire for learning by sending him first to David Jones' school at Pisgate, 
Mo., then to the University of Missouri, and finally to the Masonic college at 
Lexington. By aid of these facilities, close application and an industrious use of 
time he graduated, a practicable scholar. 

In the summer of 1858, Mr. Smith entered the law office of Gen. Monroe Parsons, 
at Jefferson City. In September, 1860, after more than two years close study, he was 
licenced to practice by the late E. B. Ewing, then a Judge of the Supreme Court. 
He commenced the practice of law associated with his friend and preceptor. Par- 
sons, and so continued till the latter was called away by the civil war. In 1863 Mr. 
Smith formed a law partnership with H. Clay Ewing, late attorney general, and this 
firm has done, and is now doing, a large and lucrative practice in the United States 
Supreme and local courts. For ten years Mr. Smith has been attorney for the Pacific 
railroad. 

At the Democratic State convention of 1876, Mr. Smith was nominated for Attor- 
ney General of Missouri, and he was elected in November following, and he now 
fiills that office. He is yet comparative a young man. His^ life has been one of in- 
dustry and success, and his character, position and ability will, no doubt, make him 
better known in the years to come. 

DeWITT C. ALLEN, 

of Liberty, Missouri, was born in Clay county, Missouri, November 11th, 1835. 
His ancestry, both paternal and maternal, are of English-Welsh extraction, and have 
been in America for over a century and a half. His father, Shubael Allen, was a 
native of Kentucky, who moved to Missouri in 1817. His mother (nee Trigg) immi- 
grated to Missouri with her father, in 1818. 

Having received an excellent primary education, Mr. Allen entered William Jewell 
College in 1850, and graduated with the highest honors in 1855. The ensuing year 
he taught as principal of the preparatory department in Masonic College at Lexing- 
ton, and afterwards spent some time in the study of history, literature and the 



884 GKEAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOUEl. 

elements of law. He read law in the office of Kichard K. Rees, of Leavenwortn^ 
Kansas, from the summer of 1858 till May, 1860, when he returned to Liberty to 
practice his profession, in which he has, without interruption, labored ever since,. 
and in which he has attained an enviable position. 

In the fall of 1860, he was elected Circuit Attorney in the Fifth Judicial Circuit. 
In January, 1875, he was, without opposition (with E. H. Norton as colleague), 
elected to represent the Third Senatorial District — Clay, Clinton and Platte coun- 
ties — in the Constitutional Convention of that year. In that body he took an active 
and efficient part as a member of the committees on Education and on Legislation. 
In 1866 and 1867 he was an officer of the Kansas City & Cameron Railway Company, 
and was active in securing what is now the Kansas City Branchof the Hannibal & 
St. Joseph Railroad, from Cameron to Kansas City, through Clinton and Clay 
counties. 

Mr. Allen has been for seven or eight years one of the leading members of the 
Board of Trustees of WilHam Jewell College, and has done much to promote the- 
interests and increase the usefulness of that institution. He is a firm, active and 
influential friend of popular education, both public and special, and fully alive to 
the necessity for greater facilities to obtain classic, scientific and university privileges 
in the West. His' spare hours are devoted to literary and scholastic studies, and 
though not in any sense a pi-ofessional writer, he wields a ready, forcible and grace- 
ful pen. His style in writing and speaking is clear, logical, impassioned and 
eloquent. 

MARTIN L. CLARDY 

was born in St. Genevieve county, Missouri, April 26th, 1844. His father was a 
farmer, and gave him the rudiments of education at the neighborhood schools. He 
attended the St. Louis University, and at the age of sixteen entered the University 
of Virginia. The civil war broke out, and a few months before graduation he 
returned to Missouri and entered the Confederate service as a private, under General 
Price. At the close of the war, being scarcely twenty-one, he was Major of his 
regiment. He was mustered out in Mississippi, and remained in that State, studying, 
and practicing law at Oxford. 

He returned to Missouri, settling at Farmington, where he rapidly built up a fine 
practice and reputation. In 1871, he formed a partnership with John B. Robinson,. 
Esq., which continued until 1874, when the latter gentleman was elected Circuit 
Judge of his District. In 1874, he formed a partnership with Judge William Carter,, 
who had just retired from the bench, and v/ho is a leading lawyer in his part of the 
State. The firm are doing a large and lucrative practice. Mr. Clardy is a gentle- 
man of great energy, industry and acumen. He is cultured in his manner, clear in 
his style and forcible in his delivery. In recognition of his qualities as a scholar,. 
and his standing as an advocate of higher education, he was appointed by Governor 
Woodson one of the Curators of the State University, and continued to hold that 
honorable position till the reorganization of the Board of Curators, under Governor 
Hardin's administration. 

In the summer of 1876, Mr. Clardy was urged to be a candidate for Congress from 
the Fourth District, and an exciting contest ensued. In the Democratic Convention,, 
however, Mr. R. A. Hatcher, the incumbent, received the nomination. Mr. Clardy 
accepted his defeat in good faiths and heartily endorsed the nomination. 



BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCHES. 885 

JAMES HARDING, 

son of the distingnished artist, Chester Harding, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, 
in 1830. He was educated at Phillips Academy, in Exeter, New Hampshire. He 
began the profession of civil engineer in 1851, and was employed in Indiana and 
Missouri upon several railroads— some years upon the Missouri Pacific. He was 
appointed Quartermaster-General of the State, in 1860, by Governor C. F. Jack- 
son. This position he resigned, and was appointed Quartermaster, with the rank 
of Major, in the Confederate service, by General Sterling Price. He declined the 
commission, and was appointed Captain of artillery, and served in Virginia, Missis- 
sippi, and at Charleston, South Carolina— at the latter place sixteen months. In 
Georgia lie was promoted to be Major of artillery, in June, 1864. He was paroled 
at Columbus, Georgia, June, 1865, and was then engaged in the lumber business for 
two years at Pensacola, Florida, and was also City Engineer of that city iu 1848. 
He was likewise engaged iu his profession, in Florida and Alabama, during the 
years of 1869 and 1870. 

Returning to Missouri, in February, 1871, he resumed his profession, and was 
chief engineer of the Jefferson City & Southwestern Railway in 1871-2. In 1874-5, 
he served as clerk in the Auditor's office, and, in 1875-6, was the architect and 
superintendent of the new buildings of the Missouri Penitentiary. He was elected 
Railroad Commissioner in 1876, for the term of six years. 



J. ED. BELCH 

was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, in 1833. He was educated at Pennsyl- 
vania College, and read law with Hon. S. S. Blair, and subsequently with D. H. 
HofS.ns, and began practice in partnership with the latter, at Hollidaysburg, Penn- 
sylvania, and remained with him until compelled to travel on account of ill-health. 
After traveling through the Western and Middle States, he located at Independence, 
Missouri, in 1856, and shortly afterwards removed to Jeflferson City, which has since 
heen his residence, and where he has successfully practiced his profession. 

In 1856, he was married to Miss Eliza C. McKennan, of Indiana. He was an 
active and earnest supporter of Governor C. F. Jackson in the memoi-able campaign 
of 1861, contributing largely to his election, being at the same time elected a Douglas 
elector from his district. At the commencement of the war he was opposed to 
secession, and likewise to coercion of independent States, favoring an adjustment by 
a peace convention. 

In 1870, he was elected a member of the Demooratie State Central Committee, 
and in 1872 he was elected to the State Senate. He is recognized as a man of 
ability, gx*eat firmness, and tenacious of opinion concerning his views. 



E. Y. MITCHELL 

was born in "Washington county, Missouri, in 1831. He received a common-school 
education and was raised to agricultural pursuits. When eighteen years of age he 
left home and went to California, where he remained four years. In 1852 he returned 
to his native county and engaged in farming. Four years later he commenced 
reading law and in 1857 was admitted to the bar and the following year was elected 



886 GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS OF MISSOURI. 

prosecuting attorney for the 18th judicial circuit. He took the side of the South at 
the opening of the war and first served as adjutant, with the rank of colonel, in the 
7th division of the Missouri State Guard. He was wounded once and captured four 
times, escaping, however, each time without any continued imprisonment. In 1869 
he located at Springfield, Missoui'i, where he resumed the practice of law, with 
which he was occupied without interruption until January 23d, 1877, when he was, 
by Governor John S. Phelps, appointed Adjutant General of the State of Missouri . 



Part VII. 



^^Q XXIXtli G^eqefkl ^^^enqbly 



OF MISSOURI; 



ELECTED IN THE CENTENNIAL YEAR. 



TWENTY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 

SENATE. 

S. S. Abney was born in Angusla county, Virginia, in 1813, and moved to Saline 
county, Missouri, in 1855. In 1856 he removed to Versailles, his present home. In 
1858 he v^as elected to the legislature by a flattering majority and positively refused 
to be a candidate for re-election in 1860. Imbued with a great love and reverence 
for his native state, and sympathising with all his kith and kin, he was found at the 
beginning of the war on the side of the South. Although he committed no overt 
act, he was arrested and imprisoned, his property taken and destroyed, and he com- 
pelled, after being released on parole, to report at Sedalia, where he rode on a horse 
borrowed from one of his former servants. This circumstance greatly injured his 
health, and it was only by the kindest nursing on the part of a good wife that he re- 
covered. Senator Abney is a man of great firmness of principle, and opinions once 
forn>ed in his mind take a deep hold and do not fail to influence him in the most de- 
cisive manner. He has always had a strong hold on the affections of his fellow-citi- 
zens; and, on the resignation of Hon. John Papin, State Senator from the Twenty- 
eighth District, Mr. Abney was nominated for the vacancy and elected by a large 
majority. During his service in the State Senate he has always taken decided posi- 
tions in favor of economy and reform. He is cautious in the dischax'ge of his duty 
and labors for the best interests of his constituents. 

Peter Ake is a native of Pennsylvania, where he was born in 1830, and is a mer- 
chant at Van Buren, He is a Democrat in politics and represents the Twenty-fourth 
Senatorial District in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

Geo. F. Ballingal is a native of Kentucky. He was born in 1845 and is a law- 
yer at Kansas City. He was elected as a Democrat to represent the Fifteenth Sena- 
torial District in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly. 

George R. Biggs was born in Kentucky in 1813. He is a farmer and represents 
the Twelfth Senatorial District in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly. He is Dem- 
ocratic in politics. 

Abraham Hudson Burkeholder was born in York county, Pennsylvania, June 
27th, 1835. He was raised on his father's farm, and enjoyed the advantages of the 
neighborhood common schools until his eighteenth year, and attended the Markle- 
ville Normal Institute, where he graduated, receiving the second honors of his class. 
After graduating, he entered the law office of Benjamin Mclntyre & Son, at Bloom- 
field, Pennsylvania, where he read law, and at the April term of the Common Pleas 
Court, in 1862, he was admitted to the bar. In the meantime his father had moved 
to Ohio, near Toledo, and he immediately followed him. 

On December 25th, 1862, he was married to Rebecca Ada Waltner, of Putnam 
county, Ohio. 

Soon after this he took the field and made recruiting speeches for the Union army, 
and in June, 1863, enhsted as a private soldier. He was successively promoted till 
he became Quartermaster of the 179th regiment of Ohio. He served till the close 

57 



890 COMMONWEALTH OF MISSOURI. 

of the war, being discharged at Nashville, Tennessee, when he returned to his home 
in Ohio, and immediately afterwards removed with his family to Trenton, Missouri, 
his present home. 

In 1866, he resumed the practice of law, and the following year was elected 
Probate Judge and ex officio President of the County Court of Grundy county, 
which place he held four years. In 1872, he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of 
his county. In 1876, he was elected to the State Senate from the Fifth District, on 
the Eepublican ticket. Senator Burkeholder voted for Douglas, and was a Demo- 
crat up to the war, but since that has acted with the Republican party. 

James E. Claiborne was born in Franklin county, Virginia, August 5th, 1841. 
He was educated at the same place, in Godfrey'i^ High School. His father, Nathaniel 
H. Claiborne, was a life-long politician in Virginia, representing the Lynchburg 
District in Congress for thirty-six years. 

The subject of this sketch followed the occupation of farming till the opening of 
the war, when he entered the Confederate service as Assistant Sergeant of the 2d 
Eegiment Virginia Cavalry. He served through the whole war, being wounded 
once. He was promoted successively till he became Colonel of the 37th Battalion of 
Virginia Mounted Infantry. 

He came to Missouri in 1866, and located in St. Louis, where he has been success- 
fully engaged in the practice of law with his brother. Colonel N. C. Claiborne, the 
two having been connected with a great number of notable trials He was elected 
from St. Louis to the State Senate in 1876, by a majority of 1,662, and during the 
session of 1877 served as chairman of the Committee on Penitentiary. He is a 
speaker of more than ordinary ability, and a gentleman of fine attainments in 
criminal law. 

E. G. Coleman was boi'n in 1842, in Virginia. He is a farmer, and Senator from 
the Twenty-seventh District. He was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assem- 
bly as a Democrat. 

A. H. Edwards was born in Henry county, Virginia, September 13th, 1836. The 
year following, his father emigrated to Missouri, and settled in St. Chai-les county. 
He attended a collegiate institution at St. Charles, and afterwards Central College, 
at Fayette. In 1855, he went to California; remained there about five years, and 
returned to Missoui'i and located at St. Charles. 

At the opening of the war he took the position of a war Democrat, but never 
participated in actual service. In 1863, he commenced studying law in the ojEce of 
his brother. Judge W. W. Edwards, and was admitted to the bar in 1865. From 
that time he has practiced his profession in St. Charles. In 1870, he was elected to 
the Missouri Ge^ieral Assembly, and re-elected in 1872. 

In 1873, he was married to Miss Mattie, daughter of Dr. George H. Whitney, of 
St. Charles. 

In 1874, he was elected to the State Senate from the district composed of St. 
Charles and Warren counties. During the session of the Twenty-ninth General 
Assembly he served as chairman of the Committees on Engrossed Bills and on 
Accounts, and as a member of the Committees on Education, Criminal Jurisprudence 
and Deaf and Dumb Asylum. 

E. M. Edwards is a native of Virginia — now West Virginia — and was born in 
1824. He is a Democrat, and is State Senator from the Seventeenth District. He i& 
a lawyer by profession. 



TWENTY-NINTH GENEKAL ASSEMBLY. 891 

John A. Flood was bom in Kentuckj^, in 1843. He is a lawyer by profession, at 
Fulton. He is a Democrat, and represents the Ninth Senatorial District in the 
Twenty-ninth Genera! Assembly of Missouri. 

Nathaniel Caklos Hudson was born at St. Johnsbnry, Vermont, October 9th, 
1828. His ancestors were English, and emigrated at an early day to Massachusetts, 
where his parents were born, moving when children to Vermont. When two years 
old his parents moved to Athens, in southern Vermont, at which place he received a 
common-school education . He entered Leland Seminary at Townshead and pi-e pared 
to enter the Sophomore class in college, but on account of impaired health went 
South for a change of climate. 

In 1852, he took charge of an academy in Twiggs county, Georgia, where he proved 
an efficient and popular teacher. He studied law when his time was not occupied in 
the duties of teaching, and returning North he entered the New York State and Na- 
tional Law School, at Poughkeepsie, from which he graduated in 1855. 

In November of the same year he removed to Iowa. He spent the winter in a law 
office at Davenport, becoming thoroughly acquainted with the Iowa code of prac- 
tice. In the spring of 1856 he removed to Sioux City and established himself in the 
practice of his profession. His practice extended over northwestern Iowa, north- 
ex'n Nebraska and southern Dakotah Territorj'^, and soon become large and lucrative. 
After the incorporation of Sioux City he was most of the time during his residence 
there a prominent and popular member of the city council. 

Mr. Hudson was married at Townshead, Vermont, in 1857, to Miss Helen R. Joy, 
and the union has been blessed with five children — four sons — three of whom sur- 
vive — and one daughter. 

Mr. Hudson removed to St. Louis in 1866, and at the commencement of 1867 formed 
a partnership with his brother under the firm name of " Hudson Brothers," and 
entered the wholesale grocery trade. In 1868 he sold out his interest in this firm and 
become a member of the firm of Leggat, Hudson & Butler, manufacturers of and 
wholesale dealers in tobacco. 

Mr. Hudson was a Whig in the times when that party was a power in the land, 
and since its decline has been an efficient Republican. He possesses many qualities 
that would make him a successful politician, but has been and is strictly a professional 
and business man. He is active in every question of public interest, but in no sense 
an office-seeker. 

He was elected to the State Legislature in 1874, from the Second Ward of the city 
of St. Louis, and served on the committees on Internal Improvements, Banks and 
Corporations, and Insurance. 

In 1876, he was elected from the Twent}r-ninth Senatorial District to the Twenty- 
ninth General Assembly of Missouri and served on the committees on Ways and 
Means, Penitentiary, Banking and Corporations, Insurance, and on Constitutional 
Amendments. Mr. Hudson is an active and efficient worker in Legisla!ive affiiirs. 
He is a ready debater ; he defines his position clearly and concisely, advocates his 
position logically and with telling efiect. He is never prolix or tiresome, and always 
commands and retains the attention of the body he addresses. Mr. Hudson is a 
courteous, frank-spoken, clear-headed, warm-hearted gentleman. He is in the prime 
of life, of fine personal appearance, and blessed with a splendid physique. In his 
business office, in his church relations, and in his public i^ositions, he is a safe, intelli- 
gent and honest worker, and in his life, public and private, he is respected by all who 
know him, and most esteemed by those who know him best. 



892 COMMONWEALTH OF MISSOUKI. 

Robert F. Lakenan. — See Hannibal, page 856. 

Sam. C. Major, Jr., is a native of Missouri. He was born in 1842 and is by pro- 
fession a lawyer at Fayette. He was elected as a Democrat from the Seventh Sena- 
torial District to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

T. J. O. Morrison was born at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, July 24th, 1815. His 
father came from Ireland at an early day and his mother was a native of America. 
He was employed on the Mississippi river in boating till 1838, when he settled in New 
Madrid county, and took charge of a local institution of learning, with which he 
was associated till 1848. Since that time, when not performing official duties, he has 
been engaged in farming. Before the war he filled the offices of County Clerk, 
County Treasurer and Commissioner of Public Works for New Madrid county. In 
1862 he was elected to the Legislature, and was successively re-elected till 1868, when 
he was elected to the State Senate from the Twenty-third district, which position he 
has since continued to occupy without intermission or opposition. At the opening 
of the Twenty-eighth General Assembly he was elected President of the Senate, 
pro tern., and was reelected to the same position in the Twenty-ninth General As 
sembly. His perfect impartiality, joined with a long experience, makes him a safe, 
prompt and able parliamentarian and a wise legislator. He is a man of great in- 
dustry and perseverance, and strives continuously to sei've the interests of his own 
constituency as well as those of the whole State of which he is an honored citizen. 

W. W. MoSBY was born in Kentucky in 1825, and is a practicing physician at 
Richmond. He is a Democrat, and repi'esents the Fourth Senatorial District in 
the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

E. C. Murray is a native of Virginia, where he was born, in 1823. Ho is, by 
profession, an attorney, residing at Louisiana. He was elected as a Democrat from 
the Eleventh Seaatorial District, to the Twenty-ninth General Assemblj^^ of Missouri. 

John B. Newberry was born in New York, in 1830. He is, by occupation, a 
farmer. He is Democratic in politics, and was elected to the State Senate, in 1876, 
from the Fourteenth District. 

Thomas H. Parrish is a native of Indiana, where he was born in 1839. He is a 
practicing attorney at Oregon. He is Democratic in politics, and was elected from 
the First Senatorial District to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

J. S. Parsons was born in Oxford county, Maine, October 12th, 1825. His father 
was a manufacturer and an extensive farmer. When twenty years of age he started 
west, spending one year in Indiana and Kentucky, and then settling in Saline 
county, Missouri, where he has since lived. He purchased a farm and engaged 
largely in raising hemp, and previous to the war, was very successful. In 1860, he 
was a candidate for the General Assembly, on the Whig ticket, but was defeated by 
eleven votes. He served during the entire war with the Confederates, being a First 
Lieutenant of Company H., Shelby's Brigade. At the close of the war he returned 
home, and devoted himself zealously to agi-icultural pursuits and stock-raising. He 
has long been connected with the Executive Board of the Saline County Agricultu- 
ral and Mechanical Association, part of the time serving as its President. 

In 1876, he was elected to the State Senate from the Nineteenth District, composed of 
Saline, Pettis and Benton counties, and in the session of 1877, served as chairman of 
the Committee on Enrolled Bills, and as a member of the committees on Agriculture, 



TWENTY-NINTH GENEKAL ASSEMBLY, 



893 



Mines and Mining, Emigration, and Unfinished Business. He has been a Democrat 
in politics since the breaking up of the Whig party. 

William Q. Paxton was born in Wayne county, Ohio, September 17th, 1837. 
"When he was about three years old his father emigrated to Hickory county, 
Missouri. He enjoyed few advantages of early education, that part of Missouri 
being almost destitute of schools. In 1863, he enlisted as a private in Company I., 
Missouri State Militia, of Federal Cavalry. He was mostly engaged in fi-ontier 
service, but was in a great many hotly-contested fights. He was promoted to Fii'st 
Sergeant in his company, and in 1866, recruited a portion of a company, and served 
as Second Lieutenant in the 14th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry. He participated in 
the Indian campaign under General Sanborn, in the latter part of 1865. At the 
close of the war he returned home to Hickory county, and in the fall of 1866, was 
elected County and Circuit Clerk for the term of four years, and was re-elected, in 
1870, for another term of the same length. In 1874, he was elected to the State 
Senate, from the district composed of Polk, Dallas, Hickory, St. Clair, Cedar, and 
Dade counties. During the session of 1875, he served on the Committee of Agri- 
culture, and on others of importance. During the session of 1877, he served on the 
Committee on- Federal Relations and Agriculture, and as chairman of the Committee 
on Swamp Lands. He has always been a Eepublican in politics. 

Ed. F. Perkins was born in the State of Virginia, in 1834, and is a practicing 
physician in Linneus. He is a Democrat, and in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly 
of Missouri, represents the Sixth Senatorial District. 

M. H. Phelan is a native of Nova Scotia, where he was born in 1837. He is the 
publisher of the Western Watchman, the leading Catholic Newspaper of the West. 
He is a Democrat, and was elected from the Twenty-third Senatorial District to the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

William S. Pope was born near Hopkinsville, Christian county, Kentucky,. 
April 25th, 1827. He received a good common school education. He entered 
McKendree College, Illinois, and while in attendance there the faculty, unsolicited, 
appointed him tutor in mathematics. He graduated with the chief honors of his 
class in 1852. He remained some time as adjunct professor of mathematics. He 
was for some time professor in one of the oldest schools in Northern Illinois. Dur- 
ing his leisure. hours he pursued his legal studies, and was admitted to the bar in 
Chicago just before the outbreak of the late civil war. He attained quite a promin- 
ence as a lecturer and debater, and during the presidential campaign of 1860, was 
proprietor and editor-in-chief of a paper published at Mt. Morris, Ogle county, Illi- 
nois. He accompanied the Governor of Illinois to Pittsburg Landing, where he 
spent many weeks in caring for Illinois troops. Under authority of the Surgeon- 
General of the Army, he had the steamer Henry Clay fitted up at St. Louis, as a 
service boat for the sick and wounded Illinois troops, conveying them from the 
different battle-fields to the hospitals at St. Louis. He was appointed paymas- 
ter in the army to serve during the war, and for a time stationed at St. Louis. 
He was popular with the otficers and men with whom he was brought in contact, 
who united in saying of him, among other things : " Having served with him in the 
field for nearly three years, we regard him as second to none in devotion to his 
country's cause ; he is ceaseless in energy, spotless in integrity, scholarly in attain- 
ments, and never failing in those urbanities so essential in an American gentleman." 



894 COMMONWEALTH OF MISSOURI. 

Governor Yates, in an ofiicial communication, says : " I have knovt^n Major "Wil- 
liam S. Pope for many years. He is a finished scholar of splendid abilities, an 
eloquent speaker, a higli, honorable and honest man." 

He was breveted Lieutenant-Colonel for efficiency, and General Grant, before he 
was elected president, recommended and directed his appointment as paymaster in 
the regular army. This appointment he declined, and settled in St. Louis to engage 
in his profession, in which he has built up a lai'ge and honorable practice. He rep- 
resented the Fourth Ward of St. Louis, in the Twenty-sixth General Assembly, where 
he was at once recognized as the leader of the Republican party in the House. 

He was elected from the Thirtieth Senatorial District to the Twenty-ninth General 
Assembly. 

On December 20th, 1866, he was married to Miss Caroline E., daughter of the late 
Captain H. Y. Moore. 

Besides being a well-read lawer, and a clear, logical and forcible speaker. Colonel 
Pope is of an eminently practical mind, which at once seizes the true issues con- 
nected with the question before him. 

Henry Eead was born in Gasconade county, Missouri, December 26th, 1843. 
He received a good English education, mostly, however, without the aid of good 
instructors, being thrown on his own resources. In February 1862, he joined the 
Union army, and served through the entire war as a member of the Sixth Missouri 
Volunteer Cavalry, He was at the siege of Vicksburg. and at all the other import- 
ant engagements of that region. He was captured once, but fortunately made his 
immediate escape. After the war he returned to his native county, and was there 
married, in 1865, to Miss Annie McMillian. 

In 1872 he was elected Superintendent of Public Schools for his county, and was 
in 1874 elected a representative in the Twenty-eighth General Assembly. In 1876 
he was elected to the State Senate from the Twenty-fifth District. A peculiar cir- 
cumstance is, that P. W. Burdan, his opponent, and himself, are both now living 
in Gasconade county, within a half mile of where they were born and raised. 
During the session of 1877, he served on the committees on Education, Insurance, 
Printing, Township Organization, and others of an important nature. He was 
also one of the special committee appointed to investigate the subject of conforming 
the laws of the State to the new constitution. Mr. Read has always been a liberal 
Republican in politics, and a strong advocate of educational progress. 

Web. M. Ruby was born in Montgomery county, Missouri, October 19(h, 1835. 
He received a good academic education, attending for a while Des Moines college, 
Iowa. At the age of eighteen, he entered the mercantile business, in which he 
remained but a short time. In 1855 he moved to Macon county, and soon after- 
wai'ds commenced the study of law. In 1862 he moved to Macon City, his present 
home, and in 1863 was admitted to the bar. He immediately became a successful 
practitioner, and engaged extensively also in other lines of business. He has long 
been prominently interested in the tobacco manufacturing interests of his county, 
and has been successful in whatever enterprises he has attempted. His first venture 
in politics was in 1874, when he was elected to the State Senate from the Eighth 
District. During the session of the Twenty-eighth General Assembly he was chair- 
man of the committee on Education, and during the session of the Twenty-ninth 
General Assembly he was chairman of the committe on Printing, and was a member 
of the committee on Ways and Means, Federal Relations, and Banks and Corpora- 
tions. 



TWENTY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 895 

Ed. a. Seat was born in Virginia, October 26th, 1834. When he was three 
years old his father emigrated to Osage county, Missouri, where he was raised. His 
father was a man of liberal opinions, as well as strong practical judgment, and did 
not fail to inspire in his cldldren an ambition to attain to a more than ordinary 
position in life. The subject of this notice was raised on a farm, in a neighborhood 
almost destitute of schools, so he had very little opportunity of other than purely 
self-instruction, and, like the boys of his time and locality, knew nothing of the 
luxuries of life, but in seasons that would permit, went without shoes, dressed in a 
single tow shirt, till he was seventeen years old. 

At the death of his father, in 1854, he and his elder brother (now Judge), A. J. 
Seay, pledged themselves never to take a dollar of the estate, but to educate their 
younger brothers and sisters by their own etforts, and leave the slender patrimony 
for the comfort and protection of their mother. This pledge they kept. 

At the age of twenty, Mr. Seay began to study law with Judge W. G. Pomeroy, of 
Steeleville, Crawford county, to which place the iamily had previously moved. He 
taught school to pay expenses, and in 1859 was admitted to the bar. He practiced 
his profession successfully at Steeleville for eight years, then removing to Rolla, 
where he now lives. 

In 1860, he was married to Miss Evelyn Gracie, daughter of Judge W. G. Pomeroy, 
of Steeleville, and now has eight children, in whom he takes honest pride. 

During 1864 and 1865, he served as Prosecuting Attorney for the counties of 
Crawford and Dent. He has always been a Democrat in politics, and was in 
sympathy with the South during the war, but took no active part in the conflict, 
partly from the fact that his brother, Judge A. J. Seay, was an oflicer in the Federal 
service. In 1874, he was elected to the State Senate from the Twenty-second 
District, and during the session of 1875 served as chairman of the Committee on 
Mines and Manufactures, holding the same position in the session of 1877. 

He is an original thinker and an efficient worker. Though never having enjoyed 
the advantages of early culture, he is a brilliant and forcible speaker, and of such 
genial character as makes him a favorite with all his associates. 

Reuben Shelby was born in Pennsylvania, in 1804. He is a physician, located 
at Perryville. He was elected, as a Democrat, from the Twenty-sixth Senatorial 
District to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly. 

John H. Terry was born in Seneca county. New York, on the picturesque banks 
of Cayuga Lake. His ancestors came over from England as early as 1632. His 
father died in 1859, and about one year thereafter he entered the Albany Law School, 
and while there paid his way by the labor of his hands. He graduated in 1861, and 
immediately afterwards raised a company for the 137th New York Volunteers, and 
entered the Union service. He served with the Army of the Potomac, and was in 
most of the important engagements up to the battle of Chancellorsville, where he 
was wounded. He Avas thus incapacitated for further service, and retired to private 
life. At the close of the war he was still an invalid. 

In 1865, he came west, stopping a short time at Ravenna, Ohio, and thence to St. 
Louis, where he has since resided. He was without means, in a strange city, but 
soon built up a good law practice. During the winter of 1865-6, he delivered a 
course of law lectures at Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College, and also served 
as Assistant United States Attorney with Charles G. Mauro. Latter, he formed the 
partnership of Terry & Terry. 



896 COMMONWEALTH OF MISSOURI. 

In the fall of 1868, he was married to Elizabeth, only daughter of Hon. Albert 
Todd, a well-known and honored citizen of St. Louis. About this time he was 
elected to the Twenty-fifth General Assembly, and was one of an insignificant 
Democratic minority in the Missoui'i Legislature. In 1871, he was appointed Land 
Commissioner for St. Louis, and was in 1874 elected to the State Senate. During 
the session of 1874-6 he served on the most important committees, and in the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly he was chairman of the Committee on Ways and 
Means. 

Mr. Terry is the author of the present insurance law of Missouri, which he 
framed and carried through during the session of the Twenty-fifth General Assem- 
bly. He is the author of many other important laws now on the statute-books, and 
is a legislator of excellent ability. He is a fluent, forcible speaker, and is a gentle- 
man of numei-ous and attractive personal attainments. 

William B. Thompson was born in Virginia, Illinois, June 30th, 1843. His 
father, IST. B. Thompson, who is still living, was formerly a merchant in Illinois, 
and once served a term in the Legislature of that State. He was in the Black Hawk 
war, and recruited a company for the Mexican war. He now lives in St. Louis, and 
is one of the trustees of the Missouri Institute for the Blind. 

William took a preparatory course of study at Springfield, Illinois, and afterwards 
graduated at Michigan University. He commenced the study of law in 1863, under 
Judge Cooley, of Michigan, and, in 1865, graduated from the law department of 
Michigan University, when he came to St. Louis and commenced the practice of his 
profession. In a short time he was admitted to partnership with Josiah G. McClel- 
lan, and remained with him till 1870. Since that time he has practiced alone, except 
during a short period in 1875, when he was associated with Leverett Bell, then City 
Counselor, under the Britton administi'ation. He gained distinction, in 1870, by 
being associated with Evens Castleberry and Charles Gibson as counsel for the 
defense in the case of MacCay against A. E. Easton and 260 others, which involved 
the ownership of 160 acres of land in St. Louis, bounded west by Grand avenue, 
north by Cass avenue, east by Elliott avenue and south by Morgan street, and worth 
several millions of dollai's. The United States District Court, at St. Louis, decided 
in favor of defendants, and the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed that 
decision. It was one of the most notable cases in the history of St. Louis, and its 
successful management brought much credit to the attorneys for their defense. Mr. 
Thompson also bore a conspicuous part in the celebrated suit of the city of St. Louis 
against the St. Louis and Laclede Gas Light Companies. In that case he was asso- 
ciated with J. B. Henderson, Henry A. Clover, Judge E. A. Lewis and City Coun- 
selor Leverett Bell, as counsel for the city. He bore an active part, and contributed 
largely to the immense triumph achieved by the city. 

In 1874, he was nominated and elected to a seat in the State Senate from the 
Thirty-fourth District, composed of St. Louis, St. Ferdinand and Central Townships 
and the Eleventh and Twelfth Wai'ds of St. Louis. During the session of the 
Twenty-eighth Gteneral Assembly he served as a member of the Committee on 
Judiciary, and, in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, served as chairman of the ' 
Judiciary Committee, and rendered important service in securing the JDassage of 
a bill regarding the printing of the decisions of the Supreme Court of Missouri. 

Washington I. Wallace is a native of Massachusetts, where he was born in 
1842. He is a practicing attorney at Lebanon, He was elected as a Republican, 
from the Twenty-first Senatorial District, to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly. 



TWENTY-NINTH GENEEAL ASSEMBLY. 897 

John G. Wear is a native of Missouri, and was born in 1841. He is an attorney 
at Springfield. He is a Democrat, and represents the Eighteenth Senatorial District 
in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly. 

E. P. C. Wilson was born in Boonville, Missouri, August 8th, 1836. His mother 
was a daughter of Robert P. Clark, of Cooper county, a member of the First Con- 
stitutional Convention of Missouri, a brother to Gov. James Clark of Kentucky, and 
General John B. Clark of Missouri. His father, John Wilson, was a descendant of 
a Revolutionary officer and for many years one of the leading lawyers and politi- 
cians of Missouri. In early times he was Circuit Attorney for all that district of 
country lying between Boonville and the Arkansas line, and became very widely 
known. He removed to Platte county in 1842, and was frequently after that elected 
to the Legislature. He was a Whig and generally lived in Democratic districts, but 
he had the confidence of all parties, and was frequently honored with an office. 

The subject of this sketch attended William Jewell College and graduated in 1853 
at Center College, Kentucky. He studied law in the office of Judge E. H. Norton, 
now of the Supreme Bench of Missouri. He was admitted to the bar in the.fall of 
1854, and immediately afterward located at Seguin, Texas, and commenced the prac- 
tice of his profession. In 1858 he returned to Missouri, and shortly afterwards went 
into the office of his father and Col. A. J. Isaacs, at Leavenworth, Kansas. He im- 
mediately entered into an extensive and remunei-ative practice, and in the fall of 1860 
was elected to the Kansas Legislature. He was one of nine Democrats elected to the 
lower hovTse, and was the Democratic nominee for Speaker. When the war broke 
out he returned to Missouri, and after the close of hostilities in 1865, resumed the 
practice of law at Platte City, where he has since lived. In 1870 be was elected to 
to the Twenty-sixth General Assembly and was chosen Speaker of the House. As 
a presiding officer he was eminently successful, and made himself very popular, not 
only by the justice of his rulings, but by the rapidity with which he disposed of bus- 
iness coming before him. 

In 1876, he was a prominent candidate before the Democratic State Convention for 
nomination as Governor, and was nominated Presidential elector, but declined on 
account of his previous nomination to the State Senate from the Third District, to 
which he was elected. Daring the session of 1877 he served as chairman of the com- 
mittee on Criminal Jurisprudence. 

Mr. Wilson was married in 1863 to Miss Carrie, daughter of the late John D. Mur- 
ray, Esq., of Platte county. Mr. Murray was one of the original settlers of the 
Platte Purchase, and one of its best-known, most enterprising and respected citizens. 

Sheldon A. Wight was born in New York in 1840. He is a practicing lawyer at 
Nevada. He is Democratic in politics and represents the Sixteenth Senatorial Dis- 
trict in the Twenty-ninth General. Assembly. 

Waller Young was born in Bath county, Kentucky, January 24th, 1843. He 
came, with his father, to Missouri, when nine years old. His father settled in 
Buchanan county 12 miles from St. Joseph. He attended the common school 
of his father's neighborhood, and also a collegiate institution at Plattsburg, 
and later, one at Platte City. When the war commenced he went to Kentucky, 
and soon after, in company with Breckenridge, Preston, and others, proceeded 
to Virginia, and joined the command of General Humphrey Marshall, and served 
with his brigade through the war. He was wounded twice and captured once. 
After the war, he went to the Louisville Law School, and graduated in 1871. 



^^S COMMONWEALTH OF MISSOUEI. 

Ho then returned to St. Joseph, Missouri, and began to take an active part in State 
politics. He was influential in the nomination of Silas Woodson for Governor, in 
1872, and after his inauguration was appointed his private secretary, but resigned, 
and was appointed Factor of Missouri Penitentiar j^, which position he soon resigned 
and returned to St. Joseph and commenced the practice of law. In the fall of 1874, 
he was elected to the State Senate from the St. Joseph district, the one for many 
years represented by Governor Robert Steward, deceased. His majority was the 
largest ever received in the district, leading the State and county tickets over 1,100 
votes. During the session of the Twenty-eighth General Assembly he was chair- 
man of the Committee on Claims, and a member of other important committees. 
In the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, he served as chairman on the Committee 
on Insurance. 

W. T. Pemberton, Assistant Secretary of the Senate, was born in Nashville, Ten- 
nessee, June 1st, 18i0, and was brought to Missouri when three years old, and 
raised by his uncle, in Morgan county. He was educated at Masonic College, Lex- 
ington, and afterwards graduated in the law school at Lebanon, Tennessee. He 
went to Montana Territory in 1863, and practiced law there. He was married, in 
1865, to Miss Clara M. Hutchinson, of Montana, and, in 1867, he returned to 
Missouri, and located at Versailles, his old home. In 1872 lie was a candidate for the 
Democratic Congressional nomination, from the Seventh Missouri District, but was 
defeated by a small majority, by Colonel T. T. Crittenden. He moved to Sedalia in 
1874, where his home now is, and where he was engaged in the practice of the law, 
up to the time of his election to the position of Assistant Secretary of the Senate. 

HOUSE OF liEPEESENTATIVES. 

Wm. E. Anderson was born in Palmyra, Missouri, March 15th, 1835, and gradu- 
ated at the University of Virginia, in 1857. His father, the Hon. Thomas L. 
Anderson, of Palmyra, moved to Missouri in 1833, and has long been a prominent 
lawyer and a politician, having been a member of the Missouri Legislature, and a 
member of Congress for two terms. His mother was a daughter of Rufus Easton, 
Esq., of St. Charles, and a sister of General Langdon C. Easton, Mrs. Rufus Gamble 
and Mrs. Senator Geyer, now deceased. The subject of this notice commenced 
studying law with his father, in 1858 ; and after his admission to the bar, they became 
partners. He was married to Miss Annie, daughter of James McPheeters, of 
Marion county, in 1860. In 1862, he began the improvement of a farm near Palmyra, 
and he has, since that time, in addition to his law practice, been largely and success 
fully engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was always a Democrat, but not inclined 
to politics. At the earnest solicitation of his fellow citizens, he consented to be a 
representative in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, from Marion county. During 
the session of 1877, he served as a member of the Committee on Ways and Means, on 
Criminal Jurisprudence, on Internal Improvements, on Retrenchment and Reform, 
on Re-districting the Congressional districts of the State, and on Special Committee 
to investigate the means used to secure the passage of the Hannibal & St. Joseph 
Railroad Renewal Bond Bill, and as chairman of the Committee on Justices of the 
Peace. Mr. Anderson is a lawyer of fine attainments, and as a legislator, was 
active in behalf of strict economy in the expenditures of the State Government. 
His speeches, delivered in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, were always argu- 
mentive, earnest, and well tempered. 



TWENTY-NINTH GENEEAL ASSEMBLY. 899 

Anderson W. Anthony was born in Missouri, in 1832. He is a lawyer, by 
profession, at Versailles. He was elected, as a Democrat, from Morgan county, to 
the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

Marshall Arnold was born in St. Francois county, Missouri, October 21st, 1845. 
His father was a farmer from Virginia, and gave his son a good practical education, 
at Irondale Academy, Washington county, Missouri. When nineteen years old, 
Mr. Arnold commenced reading law, at Farmington, Missouri, under I. G. Beal. 
After the death of Mr. Beal, he studied under John F. Bush. He was admitted to the 
bar in 1864, and became Professor of Mathematics in Arcadia College, Iron county, 
where he remained two years, and then commenced teaching public schools In 
1872 he moved to Commerce, Scott county, and entered upon the practice of his 
profession, which he has continued ever since. He was elected Prosecuting Attor- 
ney of Scott county, in 1872, re-elected without opposition, in 1874, and in 1876 he 
was elected again, without opposition, to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly. 
During the session of 1877, Mr. Arnold served as chairman on the Committee on Crim- 
inal Jurisprudence, a post of great responsibility for one so young ; but he discharged 
his duties with great credit, being among the best workers and most eloquent speakers 
of the house. He also ably served as a member of the special committee to investi- 
gate charges of the house in the passage of the celebrated Hannibal & St. Joseph 
Eailroad Renewal Bond Bill. 

G. B. Atterbury was born in Howard county, Missouri, September 10th, 1839. 
His pai-ents settled on a farm in De Kalb county when he was four years old. He 
was educated at such schools as the county afforded. He enlisted as a private in the 
Federal army at the beginning of the war, was promoted to first lieutenant, and then 
to adjutant of the regiment. After being mustered out of service he was elected to 
fill a vacancy in the Twenty-third General Assembly and served in the adjourned 
term. He was elected sheriff and collector in 1870, and in 1872 was elected for 
another term as collector, after which he engaged in farming and merchandising. 
He was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Republican. 

William Berry was born in Cape Girardeau county, (the place now being in 
Bollinger) April 15th, 1829. When he was about a year old his parents moved to 
Madison county, where he was educated. He moved to Bollinger county in 1867 and 
•engaged in farming and merchandising. He was elected to the Twenty-seventh 
General Assembly, and re-elected in 1874 and in 1876 to the Twenty-eighth and 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly, as a Democrat. 

Marcus D. Blakey was born in Virginia in 1824, and is a farmer by occupation. 
He was elected from Monroe county, as a Democrat, to the Twenty-ninth General 
Assembly of Missoun. His post-ofl3ce address is Grantville. 

John C. Bollman was born in Hanover, August 12th, 1828, and was partially ed- 
iicated in Europe, emigrated to New Orleans in 1845, pursued his studies three and 
a half years, moved to St. Louis in 18 19, and there finished his education. He entered 
the employ of Mr. Murphy, wagon manufacturer, for whom he worked twenty-five 
yeai"S, eighteen years of the time being foreman. In 1874 he established the St. 
Louis Wagon Manufactui'ing Company. He was elected, as a Republican, to the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly. 

Elijah D. Brawly was born in Shelby county, Illinois, March 17th, 1832. His 
father emigrated to Ripley county and he has since resided there on his farm, which 



900 COMMONWEALTH OF MISSOUEI. 

is now in Eeynolds connty. He was elected County Judge in 1858, and served until 
1862. He enlisted In the Confederate army in 1864, and served as captain under 
GeneralJeff. Thompson, in Major Martin L. Clardy's Battalion, which surrendered 
in Arkansas in 1865. He returned to his family in Ripley county, they having been 
driven from Reynolds county and his property burned. In 1866 he returned to Rey- 
nolds county and rebuilt his home, and has lived on his farm since. He was elected 
a member of the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Democrat. 

J. F. Brookuert was born in Boonsborough, Washington county, Maryland, De- 
cember 17th, 1825, where he lived until his fourteenth year, when his parents moved 
to Jeiferson countj^, Kentucky, near Louisville. He studied medicine, graduated 
from the old Medical University of Louisville, and in 1850 commenced the practice 
of his profession in Nelson county, Kentucky, near Beardstown. He was married in 
June, 1852, and in September of the same year moved to Cass county, Missouri, 
where he practiced medicine until 1861, when, at the outbreak of the war, Governor 
Jackson called for troops and Dr. Brookhert volunteered and was elected first lieu- 
tenant in a cavalry regiment. He was afterwards elected surgeon of Col. R. L. Y. 
Raton's regiment and commissioned by Govei'uor Jackson. When this term of en- 
listment expired he entered the Confederate service as a surgeon. On General 
Price's last raid through Missouri he was left in charge of some wounded near Jef- 
ferson City. He was captured by the Federals and lodged in Gratiot Street Prison^ 
St. Louis, but soon released from confinement and placed in charge of a ward of the 
sick and wounded. He was finally released upon parole, and joined his wife and 
family in Kentucky, and with them removed to Crawford county, Illinois, where he 
resumed his medical practice. He returned to his old home in Cass county in the 
fall of 1865, where he has since lived. In 1876 he was elected to the General As- 
sembly, and has served with great satisfaction to his constituents. 

James B. Broweb was born in Clermont county, Ohio, September 15th, 1825,. 
and lived on a farm with his parents, receiving a common-school education. In his. 
fourteenth year he moved to Indiana, where he lived on a farm. He moved to- 
Marion county, Iowa, in 1853, and in 1854 to Harrison county, Missouri, where he 
engaged in merchandizing and farming. He was in the Federal service as first lieu- 
tenant Company A, Thirty-fifth Missouri Infantry, and commanded the company 
from 1862 till 1865. He has been county assessor, county judge, and was elected to 
the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth General Assemblj'^ as a Republican. 

Joseph J. Brown was born in Lawrence county, February 27th, 1811. In 1858 
he moved into McDonald county, where he finished his education. He is a resident 
of Pineville, where he is engaged in farming and dealing in stock. He was elected 
a member of the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Democrat. 

Warner E. Brown was born in Union county, Arkansas, February 6th, 1847, and 
received a common school education in St. Charles county, Missouri. He studied 
medicine and graduated at Washington University, Baltimore, in 1869, and settled,, 
just after graduating, at Chain of Rocks, Lincoln county, to practice his profession. 
He was elected a member of the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Democrat. 

Edward Buler was bcrn in Upper Canada, September 25th, 1842. He was 
brought up a fai'mer and educated at Ann Arbor, Michigan, and at Fayette, Iowa, 
graduating at a law school in the former place. In 1867, he settled in Dover, Ark- 
ansas, where he engaged in practice. He removed to Lamar, Missouri, and from 



TWENTY-NINTH GENEKAL ASSEMBLY. 901 

there to Cedar county, and thence back to Lamar. He was elected to the Twenty- 
ninth General Assembly as a Democrat, his predecessor being a Republican. 

Jasper Newton Burks was born in Ste. Genevieve county, Missouri, July SOth, 
1840. He was employed on his father's farm, and received a limited education in 
the subscription schools of the neighborhood. At the age of twenty-one, at the out- 
break of the war, he entered the Confederate service, and became Captain of com- 
pany E, in Jeff. Thompson's command. He was at the battles of Belmont, New 
Madrid and Fredericktown, as well as in many skirmishes. He was severely wounded 
at the battle of Big River Bridge, in 1862, being shot in the shoulder, and bayoneted 
through the right breast, and receiving three sabre cuts on the head. At the close 
of the war he returned to Ste. Genevieve county, where he has since been employed 
in farming. He was married to Miss Amanda C. Marshall, of that county, in 1868. 

In 1876 he was elected as a Democrat, to the Twentj^-ninth General Assembly, 
from his native county. 

Samuel Byrnes was born in Jefferson county, Missouri, March 4th, 1848. He 
received a liberal education, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1871, and loca- 
ted at Hillsboro, Missouri. In 1872 he was commissioned Collector of Revenue for 
Jefferson county, vice John Williams, deceased. In 1876 he was nominated by the 
State Democratic Convention for presidential elector from the Fifth District of Mis- 
souri, and after an active canvass resigned the position to accept the nomination as 
representative of his native county in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, to which 
he was elected. 

Robinson Cahill was born in Carroll county, Ohio, April 28th, 1828. He re- 
ceived a fair education, and when about" twenty years old he engaged in teaching, 
which he continued eight years. He was married in 1853, and immediately moved 
to Adair county, Missouri, where he commenced the practice of law. In 1857 he 
was appointed Justice of the Peace. In 1859 he moved to Cedar county, where he 
continued the practice of law. In 1860 he was elected County School Commissioner, 
and in 1861 he joined the Confederate army, serving in the Quartermaster's departs 
ment, as a book-keeper. In 1863 he went to California, where he taught school two 
years. He returned to his family in Missouri, in 1865, and settled in Ripley county, 
resuming the practice of law. In 1872 he was elected to the Twenty-seventh Gen- 
eral Assembly, was re-elected by an increased majority in 1874, and again re-elected 
in 1876. 

Robert A. Cameron was born in Illinois, in 1843. He is a lawyer by profession, 
at Carthage. He was elected as a Democrat from Jasper county to the Twenty- 
ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

Robert A. Campbell was born in Missouri, in 1835. He is a lawyer by profes- 
sion, at St. Louis, and was elected as a Democrat from St. Louis to the Twenty- 
ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

Jesse Carter was born in Lincoln county, Kentucky, October 24th, 1829. He 
moved to Missouri before he was twenty years of age, and settled in Schuyler 
county, where he has ever since been engaged in farming. In 1860 he was elected 
Assessor of his county, and in 1873 he took an active part in organizing the Grange 
movement in his part of the State. He was elected a member of the State Legisla- 
ture from Schuyler county in 1872, and re-elected in 1874 and in 1876. 

Thomas C. Chapman was born November 12th, 1844, in Conneaut, Ashtabula 
county, Ohio, where he attended school until 1864, when he joined the 110th Regi- 



902 commo:n^wealtii of missouei. 

ment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and participated in tlie battles of Monocacj', Cedar 
Creek, and the storming of Petersburg. In 1867, he moved to Jasper countj^, 
Missouri, and to Benton county in 1871. In 1873, he went to Fort Larned, Kansas, 
but returned to Benton county, where he has since resided. He is a teacher by 
profession, and a Republican in politics. He was elected School Commissioner of 
his county in 1875, and to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly in 1876. 

Geo. F. Chilton was born in Tennessee, in 1836. He is a farmer by occupation, 
and his post-ofllce address is Round Springs. He was elected from Shannon county 
to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri, as a Deuiocrat. 

Ambrose Dudley Christy was born in Fleming county, Kentucky, October 20th, 
1824, and was the youngest of seven children. He was educated in the subscription 
schools of the neighborhood. His father becoming an invalid, he was thrown on 
his own resources at the age of fourteen. At the age of twenty-one he was appointed 
a deputy under John Lane, United States Marshal of Kentucky. In the fall of 1849, 
he went to Iowa, and in the spring of 1850 moved to Missouri, and settled in Linn 
county. 

In August following, he was married to Miss Ruth A., daughter of Captain E. P. 
"Wells, formerly of Virginia. He studied law when a young man, and in October, 
1857, was admitted to the bar, and practiced successfully at Linneus till 1861, when 
he volunteered in the Federal army. He left the army in 1863, on account of physi- 
cal disability, and at the close of the war resumed his practice at Linneus. In 186& 
and 1870, he was President of the North Missouri Central Railroad, now the Linneus 
Branch of the Burlington & Southwestern Railroad. Since his removal to Uuioii- 
ville, Putnam county, in July, 1872, ho has been the local attorney of the same road, 
besides which he has a large and lucrative practice. 

In 1876, he was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly from Putnam 
county, on the Republican ticket, having five opponents — one Democrat and four 
Republicans. Mr. Christy was a Whig in politics, but has for many years been a 
Republican. 

Francis M. Coleman was born in Monroe county, Tennessee, December 5th, 
1836. He moved to Missouri in 1851, and settled in Carter county, where he has 
since lived. In 1866, he was appointed Public Administrator of his county, and at 
the ensuing election was elected to the same position. In 1870, he was chosen to 
represent Carter county in the Legislature, and was in 1876 returned to the Twenty- 
ninth General Assembly. 

Dennis H. Connaway was born in Henry county, Virginia, September 14th, 
1819, and was educated by his grandfather, Dennis Marshall, an eminent teacher of 
that day. He moved to Southwest Missouri in 1838, where he engaged in teaching 
until 1844, when he commenced farming. He has served as County Surveyor and 
County School Superintendent, Circuit and County Clerk, and during the war was a 
Captain in the Federal army. He was married in 1844, and afterwai'ds in 1857, and 
is the father of eight children. He has been a member of the Church for thirty-flve 
years. He was elected as a Republican to the Twenty-ninth Genei-al Assembly, 
from Cedar county. 

M. L. Cope was born in Blunt county, Tennessee, April 3d, 1818. He lived in his 
native county till 1843, when he emigrated to Missouri, and settled in Montgomery 
county. He soon afterwards purchased a farm, and has ever since been engaged in 



TWENTY-NINTH GENEKAL ASSEMBLY. 903 

agricultural pursuits. He took a leading part in the Grange movement of 1873-4, 
and was a charter member of the first Grange in his county. He was elected to the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly, after a close contest, as the Representative from 
Montgomery county. He has always been a sober, industrious gentleman. He was 
married in 1842, and has four children, all of whom are grown. 

L. F. CoTTEY was born in Knox county, Missouri, March 31st, 1846. His father 
moved from Kentucky to Missouri about 1840. The subject of this sketch worked 
upon his father's farm till he was twenty years old, having but few school privileges ; 
but after arriving at his majority he resolved to obtain an education, and, notwith- 
standing many difficulties, entered Central College, at Fayette, Missouri, where he 
evinced unmistakable ability us a speaker and debater, and, in 1868, graduated in 
the department of mathematics and moral science. He then studied law with 
General A. W. Doniphan, of Eichmond, and was admitted to the bar in 1871, when 
he returned to his native county and engaged in teaching. 

In 1872, he was elected County Superintendent of Public Schools, and soon after- 
wards entered upon his profession, in which he rapidly built up a fine practice. In 
1875, he was elected as a member of the State Constitutional Convention over his 
opponent, Hon. J. C. Davis, formerly a member of Congress from Illinois, and was 
the youngest member of that important body, in which he displaj^ed much dignity 
and ability. He was an ardent advocate of the public school provisions incorporated 
in the Constitution, and strenuously opposed some of the restrictions incorporated in 
that instrument. At the close of the Convention, Mr. Cottey moved the preparation 
of the address presented to the people of the State, which did more than anything 
else to familiarize the public with the character of the new Constitution. He 
requested that he be not appointed chairman of the committee, a courtesy due him 
as mover of the resolution, but consented to be a member of the committee. 

In 1876, he was elected, as a Democrat, to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly 
from Knox county, and served as chairman of the Committee ou Claims, and as a 
member of other leading committees. 

Henry H. Craig was born in Kentucky in 1850. He is a lawyer by profession, 
at Kansas City. He was elected as a Democrat to represent the Fourth District of 
Kansas City, in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

^ Joseph A. Dacus was born in Tennessee, in 1838. He received a liberal educa- 
tion and was ordained as a minister in the Baptist denomination, of which he is an 
active member. He has devoted much of his life to literary pursuits, being for a 
long time connected with the Missouri Republican. He was elected as a Democrat 
from the Third District in St. Louis, to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of 
Missouri. 

Henry M. Darnall was born in O'Brien county, Tennessee, August 30th, 1844, 
and was educated at Madison Bend Academy. At the breaking out of the war, at 
the age of sixteen, he enlisted in General Cheatham's division of the Confederate 
army, and served two and a half years. In November, 1863, he was captured at 
Graysville, Georgia, and taken to Eock Island, where he remained in prison until 
1865, when he was discharged. He returned home, and in October, emigrated to 
Pemiscot county, Missouri, and settled on a farm. In 1868, he moved to New 
Madrid county, and, in 1869, went to the Indian Territory and Texas, returning to 
Pemiscot county in 1871, where he has since resided. He has served one year as 



904 COMMONWEALTH OF MISSOURI. 

Mayor of Gayoso. He has been twice married. He was elected to the Twenty- 
ninth General Assembly as a Democrat. 

Daniel E. Davis was born in Pulaski county, Missouri, July 6th, 1834. At the 
age of fifteen, in 1850, he went with his father to Calfornia, where he spent four 
years, and then traveled over the country, passing through twenty-seven of the 
United States. He then went to Cuba and returned, then to Chili, the South Ameri- 
can provinces, and again to California, where he remained one year, after which he 
settled in Hickory county, Missouri, and engaged in merchandizing and farming. 
He was County Surveyor three years. At the outbreak of the civil war he returned 
to Pulaski county, and entered the United States service as Captain of Company A, 
Missouri Volunteers. He represented Pulaski in the Twenty-sixth General Assem- 
bly, was enrolling clerk in the Twenty-seventh, and was elected to the Twenty-ninth 
General Assembly as a Democrat. 

George W. Davis was born in Greenup county, Kentucky, July 27th, 1821, He 
lived on a farm until, at the age of seventeen, he entered Miami University, at 
Oxford, Ohio, and afterwards attended Marshall Academy, Virginia. After leaving 
school he returned to his native county, and served two years as Deputy Sheriff. In 
1843, he emigrated to Missouri, and settled on a farm near Plattsburg, in Clinton 
county. 

In the spring of 1846, he was married to Miss Nancy, daughter of the Kev. Eppy 
Tillery, a Baptist minister, well known in the history of Missouri. After his mar- 
riage he moved to Clay county, near Liberty, where he purchased and worked a 
farm till 1856, when he moved back to Clinton county. In 1848, Mr. Davis made his 
first purchase of land in Clinton county, and, after constant additions thereto, has 
now a farm of 2,000 acres, in a high state of cultivation. He has been largely inter- 
ested in raising stock, and is one of the most successful agriculturists in his vicinity. 

In 1824, he was elected, by 700 majority, to represent Clinton county in the State 
Legislature, and took an active part as a member of the Committee on Retrenchment 
and Reform. Mr. Davis has a family of five sons and two daughters, all but two 
of whom ai*e of mature years. 

L. H. Davis was born in Missouri, in 1836. He is a farmer, living near Jackson- 
He was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri, from Cape 
Girardeau county, as a Democrat. 

Samuel Davis was born in Missouri, in 1846. He is a lawyer by profession, at 
Mai-shall. He was elected, as a Democrat, to represent the First District in Saline 
in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

H. J. Deal was born in Adams county, Pennsylvania, December 6th, 1829, and, 
with the exception of a short attendance at free school, is self-educated. At the age 
of sixteen he was apprenticed as a tanner. In 1849, he moved to Bucyrus, Ohio ; in 
1850, to St. Louis, and thence to Paducah, Kentucky, where he married in 1855. 
From Paducah he moved to Mississippi county, Missouri, where he was a levee and 
railroad contractor. He was elected to the State Senate in 1862, and re-elected in 
1864. He was Colonel of the Eurolled Militia in the Twenty-fifth Senatoi-ial District 
during the war. He was elected, over two other Democrats, as a member of the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly. He has two sons, one of whom is at the Naval 
Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. 

Abrajm Dobbs was born in Pntman county, Indiana, December 21st, 1842, and 
received a common school education. He removed to a farm in Andrew county, 



TWENTY-NINTH GENEEAL ASSEMBLY. 905 

Missouri, in 1847. In 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company G., 5th Missouri 
Cavahy, Missouri State Militia, and was afterwards promoted to Second Lieutenant. 
In December, 1864, he was elected Count}^ Clerk, to fill an unexpired term, and in 
1866, was re-elected and served four years. Afterwards be served as Deputy 
Circuit Clerk, and was elected a member of the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as 
a Republican. 

Edmund A. Donelan was born near Ogdensburg, Lawrence county, New York, 
April 5th, 1824. His perents, who were of Irish descent, gave him the advantages 
of a common-school education, and in 1839 moved to Wayne county, Indiana, 
where he attended Beach Grove Academy for two years. He taught public school 
two sessions. In 1846, he commenced the study of medicine, at Liberty, Union 
county, Indiana, and graduated at the Ohio Medical College, Cincinnati, in 1850. 
In 1848 he emigrated to Audrain county, Missouri, where he practiced his px'ofession. 
He represented his county, in the State Legislature, two consecutive terms, com- 
mencing in 1852, during which time the first public school law was passed. He then 
removed to Savannah, Audrain county, and resumed the practice of his profession. 
He moved to Plattsmouth, Nebraska, in 1856, and represented Cass county, in the 
Territorial Legislature, during the years of 1857 and 1858. In 1859, he was elected 
to the City Council, and served two years as presiding oflScer. In 1860 he removed 
to St. Joseph, Missouri, where he devoted himself to the practice of his pi'ofession. 
In the winters of 1870 and 1871, he attended Bellevue College, New York, and has 
since served as Treasurer of the State Medical Society, and President of the St. 
Joseph Medical Society. He was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as 
a Democrat. 

MoSBT C. Draper was born in Christian county, Kentucky, August 5th, 1833. 
In 1884, his parents moved to Johnson county, Missouri, where he attended common 
school, finishing his education at Chapel Hill, Lafayette county. He was married 
in 1858 ; is, by occupation, a farmer, and has been, for three or four years. Master 
of the Grange in his neighborhood. He has served as Assessor of Jefierson township, 
and was elected member of the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Democrat. 

L. J. Drtden was born in Montgomery county, Missouri, August 31st, 1836. 
He worked on his father's farm and attended common school, until he was fifteen, 
when he went to live with his brother, at Palmyra, where he attended St. Paul's 
College. He studied law with his brother, and removed to "Warrenton, Missouri, 
in 1868, where he began practice. He was a member of the State Constitutional 
Convention, of 1876, and was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a 
Democrat. 

Thomas A. Drtden was born in Washington county, Virginia, December 26th, 
1820. His parents moved to Missouri, in 1832, and settled in Montgomery county, 
on a farm near High Hill, where he was educated. In 1846, he moved to St. Louis, 
and engaged in the lumber trade. He was mari'ied in 1853. He was elected a 
member of the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, as a Democrat, by a majority of 
one thousand votes, running ahead of his ticket two hundred votes. 

Mr. Dryden died at his residence in St. Louis, August 17th, 1877. He was an 
enterprising and honorable business man, for many years identified with the 
business interests of St. Louis, honored by his fellow citizens and beloved by his 
friends and family. 

58 



906 COMMONWEALTH OF MISSOURI. 

George W. Easlet was boi-n in Missouri in 1836. He is a lawyer by profession, at 
Linneus. He was elected a Democrat from Linn county to the Twenty-ninth Gen- 
eral Assembly of Missouri. 

Charles D. Eitzen was born in Bremen, one of the free cities of Germany, in 
1820. He located at Hermann in 1838, a few months after it was laid out. He was 
a clerk for three years in the first and only store in the place, and in 1841, at the age 
of twenty-one, bought out his employer and began a general mercantile business^ 
which he has continued uninterruptedly to the present time. 

Before the completion of the Missouri Pacific Eailroad to Hermann, in 1855, that 
place had an immense shipping trade on the Missouri river. Mr. Eitzen took advant- 
age of the good opportunity thus afforded and engaged largely and successfully in 
the lumber business. He shipped great quantities of yellow pine lumber to the cities 
of St. Louis, Pittsburg, Cincinnati and "Wheeling, and while thus engaged, laid the 
foundation of an ample fortune. Mr. Eitzen has been interested in many of the 
public enterprises of our State, and is a business man of much experience and 
superior ability. 

Politically, he has long been an earnest Republican. During the war he was a 
strong friend to the Federal government, being much of the time captain of a com- 
pany of militia, and in active service. 

In 1861 he was elected from his senatorial district, composed of Franklin, Osage 
and Gasconade counties, a member of the Constitutional Convention, which met that 
year, and was strongly opposed to secession. In 1875 he was again elected to the 
State Constitutional Convention, and in 1876 he was elected by a large majority ta 
the Twenty- ninth General Assembly. 

Mr. Eitzen is a man of conservative views, and a citizen of much public spirit and 
energy. He is a constant and devoted friend to education, and in his own city has 
often filled important positions in the management of the public schools. 

T. E. Evans was born in Ohio, in 1838. He was educated at Wesleyan University, 
Delaware, Ohio, and taught in public schools until the breaking out of the Civil War.. 
He enlisted in the 14th Ohio Infantry, at Toledo, April 20th, 1861, went through the 
West Virginia campaign, and was mustered out of service July 25th, 1861. He 
enlisted in the 38th Ohio Infantry, September 10th, 1861, went through the several 
battles engaged in by the 3d division of the 14th Army Corps, and was mustered 
out about December 25th, 1864, for the purpose of enlisting as a veteran in the 38th. 
Ohio Infantry. He went through the memorable Atlanta Campaign, landing, finally,, 
at Louisville, Kentucky, where he was mustered out in July, 1865. During the 
entire time, from his first muster in to his final muster out, he was at the front, and 
was never an occupant of any hospital. On account of ill health, he moved to 
Princeton, Missouri, May 17th, 1867. He taught in the schools three years, and 
was elected County School Superintendent. At the close of his term of office, he 
engaged in merchandising, which he continued till his election to the General 
Assembly, as representative from Mercer county, in 1876. 

Ashley W. Ewing was born in Missouri, in 1843. He is a lawyer, in practice 
at Jefferson City, and was elected, as a Democrat, from Cole county, to the Twenty- 
ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

Charles L. Ewing was born in Todd county, Kentucky, May 10th, 1827. He 
attended school at Princeton, Kentucky, and afterwards at Cumberland University,. 



TWENTY-NINTH GENEEAL ASSEMBLY. 907 

Lebanon, Tennessee. His father, Colonel Thompson M. Ewing, was a son of 
Rev. Fims Ewing, one of the founders of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church 
and was a prominent and influential man, both in Kentucky and Missouri In 
the latter State ho was a member of the State Constitutional Convention of 1845 
and died at Lexington, Missouri, in 1872. The subject of this sketch moved to 
Missouri in 1844, and settled in Lafayette county. In 1847 he went to the Mexican 
War, serving under Colonel John J. Hardin, of Illinois, and was at the battle of 
Buena Vista. After the Mexican war, he made two trips to California, and returned 
to Missouri m 1856, and commenced farming in Lafayette county, where he has 
since lived. 

In 1851 he was married to Miss Millie A. Ewing, daughter of Chatham S. Ewing, 
of Lafayette county. At the opening of the war, he joined the Missouri State Guard' 
and was with Price at Springfield, Carthage and Lexington. In 1876, he was 
elected, by a majority of over 800, to the legislature, from the western district of 
Lafayette county, and served as chairman of Committee on Eoads and Highways 
and as a member of Committee on Internal Improvements. ^ ' 

Charles F. Fant was born in Stafford county, Virginia, October 8d, 1816. His 
parents removed to Rappahannock county when he was quite young, and there he 
received an ordinary education. In 1835, he moved with his parents to St. Charles 
county, Missouri, and settled on a farm originally granted to Daniel Boone by the 
Spanish Government. In 1842-3, he engaged in merchandising. He was elected 
representative from St. Charles county in 1850, and re-elected in 1854. In 1857 he 
moved to Carroll county, where he has since resided. He was elected to the Twenty- 
ninth General Assembly as a Democrat. 

James E. Farms is a native of Kentucky, where he was born in 1834. He is 
a lawyer by profession, practicing at Richmond. He is Democratic in politics, and 
was elected a member of the Twenty-ninth General Assembly from Ray county. 

Horace Fox was born in Massachusetts in 1817. He is a retired gentleman 
and a Republican. He was elected from the Fourth District in St. Louis to the 
Lower House of the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

David C. Gannawat was born in Kentucky in 1827. He is by occupation a 
farmer. He was elected as a Democrat, from Gentry county, to the Twentj^-ninth 
General Assembly of Missouri. 

William Gardner was born in Michigan in 1829, and is by occupation a farmer. 
He was elected as a Republican, from Christian county, to the Twenty-ninth General 
Assembly of Missouri. 

Abner Garrison was born in Grayson county, Virginia, October 15th, 1812. 
He moved to Allen county, Ohio, with his parents, when two years old. Was edu- 
cated and married in Ohio, and moved to southwest Missouri in 1832. He is a 
farmer, and has held a county ofllce ever since the organization of Douglass county 
having been twelve times a candidate and every time successful. He has been jus- 
tice of the peace, assessor, sheriff, county and circuit clerk, and member of the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly. 

Mortimer H. Gheens was born in St. Louis,. June 30th, 1846, and was educated 
at the College of the Christian Brothers. When about twenty years of age, he 
commenced the study of law, and when twenty-four, was admitted to the bar ^ from 



908 COMIVIONWEALTH OF MISSOUEI. 

wMch time to the present, he has practiced his profession in St. Louis. He is 
Democratic in politics, and was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, as a 
Eepresentative from the Second District, composed of the 4th, 5th and 6th wards. 

N. F. GiVENS was born in Kentucky, in 1809. He moved to Missouri, in 1839, 
and settled in Clark county, when it contained but few inhabitants, at the time of 
the great controversy concerning the boundary line between Missouri and Iowa. 
Judge Givens had studied law in Kentucky, and commenced the practice immediately 
after his arrival in Missouri. He was a member of the legislature in 1852-3 ; was a 
member of the first State Convention that met after the commencement of the war, 
and was elected, as a Democrat, to the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth General 
Assemblies. He is one of the illustrous pioneers of Missouri, whose integrity, 
through a long and busy life, stands unimpeached, and whose conscientious dis- 
chai'ge of duty is its own best reward. 

"William Goff was born in Liberty, Casey county, Kentucky, March 17th, 1826, 
and moved to St. Francois county, with his parents, where he finished his education. 
He graduated at McDowell's Medical College, St. Louis, in 1853, when he returned 
home, and praeticed his profession. In 1863, he moved to Frederickstown, Madison 
county, where he has since resided, engaged in farming and stock dealing. He has 
been a member of the Southern Methodist Church for twenty-five years, and a mem- 
ber of the Masonic and Odd Fellows Orders. He was elected a member of the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly, as a Democrat. 

Ferdinand Gottschalk was born in Prussia, in 1819. He emigrated to the 
United States and settled in Baltimore, in 1831, where he remained two years; and 
stai-ted for the "Far West" in a train of the "six-horse wagons with bells," he 
walking beside them over the mountains to Wheeling, where he took a steamboat 
for St. Louis, the trip occupying over three weeks. He arrived at St. Louis in Au- 
gust, 1833, and has since resided there. He has grown up with the city, and has 
been identified with some of the greatest events of its history. 

In St. Louis, he clerked in a store until he was eighteen, when he adopted his 
father's trade of carpenter, and served under one of the oldest and best master me- 
chanics of that time, and went into business for himself. In 1841 he married the 
daughter of an old settler of Southern Illinois. In 1851 he was elected to the Public 
School Board from the First (now Third) Ward, and was connected with the public 
educational intei-ests of the city for ten years. In 1852 he was elected by the county 
to the Seventeenth General Assembly. Austin A. King was the Governor, and under 
his administration the system of internaLimpi-ovements was adopted which has been 
one of the greatest elements of our prosperity. He was also a Director of the Iron 
Mountain Eailroad, Collector of Revenue under the administrations of Mayors How 
and Filley, and Superintendent of the Workhouse, under Mayor Cole. He was 
elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly in 1876. Mr. Gottschalk represents 
the true interests of the people, and is an earnest worker in their behalf. 

William Hall was born in Virginia in 1822. He is by occupation a farmer. 
He is Democratic in politics, and represents Moniteau county in the Twenty-ninth 
General Assembly of Missouri. 

Charles Hammond was boi-n in Brooke county, Virginia, March 5th, 1836. His 
father, Talbott Hammond, was a prominent man, and a brother to Charles Ham- 
mond, for many years the well-kpown editor of the Cincinnati Gazette. Mr. 



TWENTY-NINTH GENEEAL ASSEMBLY. 909 

Hammond was educated at Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, and while at 
college, commenced reading law. He moved to Missouri in 1858, and located in 
Chai'iton county, near Brunswick, where he now lives. He was admitted to the 
bar in 1859, and has successfully practiced his profession ever since. He was mar- 
ried in 1860 to Miss Pocahontas, daughter of Charles J. Cabell, Esq., of Chariton 
county. In 1875 he was elected to the Constitutional Convention, and served with 
great credit. He was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, from Chari- 
ton county, in 1876, and served as Chairman of the Committee on Accounts. Mr. 
Hammond is a gentleman of honor and integrity, and a lawyer of fine ability. He 
is a Democrat, not inclined to active political life, preferring the steadier walks of 
his profession. 

Glen O. Herdeman was born in Howard county, Missouri, September 26th, 
1825. He moved to Jefferson City in 1835, and was educated at Kemper College, 
Boonville, after which he studied medicine in St. Louis and Philadelphia. In 1844 
he moved to St. Louis county, and in 1848 he settled in Saline county and practiced 
medicine. In 1867 he moved to Franklin county, where he has since resided, 
engaged in medical pursuits. 

"William Harrison was born in Callaway county, Missouri, May 28th, 1825, and 
received a common-school education. He is married, has been a fai*mer and stock 
dealer for thirty years, and has acquired a large landed estate. In 1876 he was 
elected a member of the Twenty-ninth General Assembly. 

Jordan M. Haworth was born in Park county, Indiana, April 3d, 1835. In 1836 
his parents moved to Wilson county, Tennessee, where he was educated at a com- 
mon school. At the age of eighteen he moved with his parents to Taney county, 
Missouri. Three years later he moved to Bullard county, Kentucky, where he mar- 
ried, in June, 1857. He remained on a farm in Kentucky until 1865, when he 
removed to Taney county, where he has since resided. He was elected to the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Democrat. 

S. W. Headlee was born in Tennessee in 1824, and is a farmer, near Hickory 
Barrens, Greene county. He is a Republican, and represents his county in the 
Lower House of the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

J. A. Henderson was born in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, November 24th, 
1824, His parents moved to Carroll county, Ohio, in 1837, and he was educated at 
the New Hagerstown Academy. He studied medicine at the Western Reserve Col- 
lege, and practiced at Leesville, Ohio. He moved to Nodaway county, Missouri, in 
1867, and in 1868 to Dade county, where he has since lived and practiced his profes- 
sion. He was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Republican. 

Philander A. Hickman was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, August 21st, 
1823. He moved to Missouri in 1830, and settled at Florida, Monroe county. At 
the age of twenty, he went South and lived for a time at Jackson, Mississippi. At 
the breaking out of the Mexican war, he was appointed by President James K. Polk 
a First Lieutenant in the United States Army. After one year's service, he was 
appointed a Captain in the Fourteenth United States Infantry. He served through 
the war, and at its close was honorably discharged at New Orleans. He moved to 
Hannibal, and soon afterwards married. In the spring of 1849 he went to Califor- 
nia, where he remained about sixteen months, doing well. He returned to Hanni- 



910 COMMOlSrWEALTH OF MISSOUKI. 

bal, and, for one year, was engaged in pork-packing, after which he entered the 
stone and hardware trade, which he has continned ever since. 

Captain Hickman has always been a man of industrious habits, and, in a busy 
life, has accumulated a comfortable competence. He has two children, both sons, 
living in Mai-ion county, one of them now being a city alderman of Hannibal. In 
1876 he was the Democratic nominee for Representative in the Twenty-ninth Genr 
eral Assembly from the First District of Marion county, which includes the City of 
Hannibal. After a heated contest, Captain Hickman was elected by a large majoi*- 
ity, and served during the winter of 1876-7 with much credit to himself and satis- 
faction to his constituents. 

J. D. Horn was born in Westchester, Tuscarawas county, Ohio, November 12th, 
1844, and educated at Mount Union College. He engaged in teaching in Ohio and 
Illinois from 1860 to 1866. In 1865 he began to study medicine, and graduated at 
the Eclectic Medical Institute, Cincinnati, in 1869, after which he moved to Worth 
county, Missouri, where he practiced his profession. In 1875 he commenced mer- 
chandizing. He was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Repub- 
lican. 

Peyton Y. Hurt, who is a native of Missouri, was born in 1824, and is by occupa- 
tion a farmer. He represents the Western District of Macon county in the Twenty- 
ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

Harvey C. Ireland was born in Scott county, Kentucky, December 31st, 1834. 
He received an ordinary English education, and when seventeen years of age went 
into a diy goods store at Cynthiana, Kentucky, where he remained six years, and at 
the end of that time was elected constable of the town, and served two years. At 
the opening of the civil war he was deputy sheriff of Harrison county, Kentucky, 
but took no active part in the conflict. 

In 1866, he moved to Livingston county, Missoui'i, and located on a farm, and 
began a thorough system of improvements which has made it one of the most desir- 
able places in north Missouri. For several years he has chiefly devoted his attention 
to stork-raising, doing much towards the introduetion of the better breeds of cattle. 
He had not a dollar when married, in 1857, but by steady economy and good man- 
agement has succeeded in accumulating a comfortable fortune. In 1874, he was 
elected to the Legislature from Livingston county, and duiing the session of 1875 
served as chairman of the Committee on Insurance. He was re-elected to the Leg- 
islature in 1876, and served on some of the most important committees of the 
House. 

Robert Jameson was born in Knox county, Kentucky, June 8th, 1811. His 
father, in 1817, moved with his family to Blunt county, Tennessee, to what was then 
known as the *' Hiawatha Purchase," afterwards made Monroe county. Mr. Jam- 
eson, in 1843, removed to what was Webster county, then Green county, Missouri, 
and settled on a farm. He was justice of the peace in Green county, and after 
Webster was organized the Governor appointed him Justice of the county court. 
He was elected to the State Convention in 1861, and has served five times in the same 
capacity. In 1862 he was elected to the Legislature. He was elected to the Twenty- 
ninth General Assembly, as a Democrat. 

Edward P. Johnson was born in Pike county, Missouri, near Louisiana, Feb- 
ruary 11th, 1837. He attended the public schools and graduated at Westminster 



TWENTY-NINTH GENEEAL ASSEMBLY. 911 

College, Fulton, living with his parents on their farm until he was eighteen, when 
he commenced clerking at Louisiana. He afterwards taught school, commenced 
reading law with Hon. John B. Henderson in 1859, and was admitted to the bar in 
Itr]' ?Mf' ^^""^^^ ^'*^ Attorney of Louisiana in 1863, and Circuit Attorney in 
1864. In 1867, he was appointed Register of Bankruptcy for the Eastern District of 
Missouri, and moved to St. Louis, where he has since resided. He resioned this 
position m 1873, and resumed his law practice. He was, during the wart Captain 
in the Third Missouri, in the six months' service, under the call of Governor Gamble, 
and was afterwal'ds Adjutant of the Forty-ninth Enrolled Militia 

Mr. Johnson has been twice married. In 1876, he was elected, as a Republican, 
to represent the Fifth District of St. Louis in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly. 

John M. Johnson, a native of Iowa, was born in 1844. He is a farmer, and was 
elected from Stone county, as a Republican, to the Lower House of the Twenty- 
ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

James W. Jones was born in Clinton county, at that time Cumberland county, 
Kentucky, April 20th, 1823. He received a common-school education, and lived 
with his parents until his twentieth year, when he moved to Chariton county, Mis- 
souri, and engaged in farming. He was married April 3d, 1855, and in 1869 moved 
to Texas county, where he has since resided. He was a member of the Second 
Missouri Volunteers, under Governor Price, during the Mexican war, and was badly 
wounded at the battle of Taos. He was also a First Lieutenant of the Missouri 
State Guard, Clarke's Division, and porticipated in the battles of Lexington and 
Dry Wood. Since the war he has been a farmer, and has held the office of justice of 
the peace. He was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Democrat. 

Newton Jones, a native of Pennsylvania, was born in 1830. He is a merchant 
at Cherryville, and is the Democratic representative of Crawford county in the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

G. R. King is a native of Missouri, and was born in 1843. He is a farmer, near 
Flat Creek, Barry county. He is a Republican, and repre.^ents his county in the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

Lewis A. Lambert was born in Albany, New York, and educated at Troy, as a 
naval architect. In 1853 he removed to St. Louis, where for two years he was 
engaged in boat building. In 1855, he moved to Jefferson City, and in 1856 to Castle 
Rock, Orange county, where he has since resided. He was elected to the Twenty- 
ninth General Assembly as a Republican. 

Justin W. Lamson was born at New Boston, New Hampshire, May 21st, 1844. 
In 1854, he moved, with his parents, to Woodford county, Illinois, and settled in 
Metamora, and attended school there and at Abbingdon. He studied medicine and 
graduated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 1867, when he moved to Newton 
county, Missouri, and settled at Newtonia, where he has since practiced his profes- 
sion. He has long been a School Director in his county, and was elected to the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Republican. 

F. M. Lawson was born in Rockingham county. North Carolina, June 11th, 1834, 
and moved to Callaway county, Kentucky, in 1839. He received a common-school 
education and afterward engaged in farming and mercantile pursuits, the latter after 
moving to Carroll county, Tennessee, in 1851. In 1853 he emigrated to Poplar Blufl, 



912 COMMONWEALTH OF MISSOUKI. 

Butler county, Missouri, where he engaged in teaching and. merchandizing until 

1861, when he entered the Confederate army, and served for eighteen months, after 
which he returned home and was elected Mayor of Poplar Bluff. In 1874 he was 
elected to the Legislature as a Democrat, and re-elected in 1876. lie has been twice 
married. 

James E. Lincoln was born in Clay county, Missouri, September 27th, 1840. His 
pai'ents resided on a farm near Liberty, where they settled in 1822. He was edu- 
cated at "William Jewell College, and graduated at the Louisville Law University in 

1862, when he commenced the practice of his profession at Liberty. He was mar- 
ried in 1865. He was City Attorney and Prosecuting Attorney in 1873 and 1874. 
He was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Democrat. He is a man 
of fine natural abilities, well cultivated, and enjoys a good practice, with a most 
promising future before him. 

A. H. Livingston was born in Clinton county, Kentucky, December 24th, 1850. 
When he was quite young his parents moved to Fentress county, Tennessee, and 
from there, in 1860, to Saline county, Illinois, and in 1868 to Howell county, Mis- 
souri, where he has since lived. His father was a blacksmith and very poor ; could 
not give his children the advantages of a good education. The subject of this sketch 
attended school about three months. He was compelled to labor in his father's 
shop, but acquired what information he could by reading when time would permit. 
He was married in 1870, and shortly afterwards began the study of law ; working in 
his shop by day to support his family and reading at night. He was admitted to the 
bar in 1871, not yet being twenty-one years of age. Ho at once commenced the prac- 
tice of his profession, and in 1872 was appointed Attorney for the Thirteenth Judi- 
cial Circuit by G-overnqr Brown, and was the same year elected Prosecuting Attor- 
ney for Howell county. In 1876 he was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assem- 
bly, in which he was the youngest member, being only twenty-five years old when 
elected. Among the important measures introduced by him was a bill to abolish the 
office of County Attorney and create the office of Circuit Attorney, and a bill to 
establish an official newspaper in each county. Mr. Livingston is a lawyer of great 
industry, and is among the leading members of the bar in his Judicial Circuit, and 
few young men of Missouri give promise of a more successful career. 

Jacob A. Love was born in Crawford county, Missouri, now Phelps county. 
"When he was quite small, his parents moved to what is now Maries county, where 
he attended common school. He finished his education at Douglass Prairie Acad- 
emy. In 1861 he entered the Confederate army and served as a sergeant of the Third 
Cavalry. He was promoted to First Lieutenant of Company H, Tenth Missouri 
Infantry, and afterwards to a Captaincy. He was captured at Helena, Arkansas, 
taken to Alton, Illinois, and thence to Johnson's Island, where he was exchanged 
and returned to duty. He surrendered at Shreveport at the close of the war, and re- 
turned to Mai'ies county in 1865. He was married in 1866, and engaged in farm- 
ing and school teaching, and held the office of County Superintendent and School 
Commissioner. He was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-ninth General As- 
sembly. 

William A. Love was born in Monroeville, Huron county, Ohio, October 23d, 
1844, where he was educated. He worked upon a farm until the age of eighteen, 
when he engaged in merchandising, and in 1858 began the study of medicine. In 



TWENTY-OTNTH GENEEAL ASSEMBLY. 913 

1861 he commenced practicing his profession in Sandusky county, Ohio. In 1862 he 
entered the Federal army as a private, and was promoted to First Lieutenant, 
shortly afterward being transferred and commissioned Lieutenant Colonel. He was 
mustered out in 1865, and settled in Wood county, Ohio, engaging in merchandisino-. 
In 1868 he emigrated to Phelps county, Missouri, and engaged in the stock trade. 
In 1869 he moved to Ozark county, and in 1870 was elected Circuit and County 
Clerk, and began to read law, the practice of which he began in 1874. He was 
elected to the Twenty-eighth General Assembly, and in 1876 re-elected, as a Ee- 
publican. 

B. F. McDaniel was born in Saline county, July 12th, 1849. In 1863, he attended 
Mount Pleasent College, at Huntsville, Missouri, and in 1864 joined the Confederate 
army under General Price. He was transferred to the navv in 1865, and was cap- 
tured while trying to run the blockade on the Mississippi, below New Orleans. 
He was imprisoned for some time after the close of the war in what was called " the 
Picayune Cotton Press." After being released, he returned home and again en- 
tered Mount Pleasant College. He entered Georgetown College, Kentucky ,°in 1867. 
During the years 1868 and 1869 he taught school in the counties of Saline and 
Howard. In 1869, he studied law under the Hon. Thomas Shackleford, and during 
the next year attended the law school of Virginia University. In October, 1871, he 
was licensed and began the practice of his profession in his native county. He as- 
sisted in organizing the Missouri Savings Bank, at Miami, in 1874, and was elected 
its secretary and attorney, which position he now holds. He is also engaged, with 
his brother, in the mercantile business at Miami. In October, 1876, upon a pub- 
hshed petition of his fellow-citizens, he become a candidate for the Twenty-ninth 
General Assembly, and was elected by a large majority. 

James H. McDonald was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, November 1st, 1840. His 
father, Alexander McDonald, died when James was but four years old. His mother 
married John G. Miller, and they moved to Venango county, Pennsylvania, in 1848. 
Jamesspentpartof his boyhood on the farm, and the balance in his step-father's 
shoe shop. In 1857 his health failed, and, being unable to labor, he devoted himself, 
for a year, to reading and study, and then, having somewhat recovered his health, 
engaged in the grocery business at Plum, Venango county, Pennsylvania. He now 
began to take an active part in politics, affiliating with the Democratic party, of 
which he become a recognised active working member, frequently, even when quite 
young, representing his county in convention. During the war he was an earnest 
and consistent Unionist. 

In 1864, he engaged in the oil business in West Virginia, where he operated suc- 
cessfully until 1867. He married Miss Virginia P. Lee Eust, daughter of Benjamin 
Eust, Esq., of Jackson county. West Virginia, and sister of Senator H. M. Eust, of 
Kentucky He removed to Missouri in 1867, and settled in Laclede county, about 
eight miles northwest of Lebanon. He was elected County Surveyor in 1872, being 
one of the four successful Democratic candidates. This office he i-esigued in 1874, 
and was elected a member of the General Assembly, leading the first wholly suc- 
cessful Democratic ticket in Laclede county. He was re-elected in 1876. 

He removed to St. Louis in the spring of 1877, and being a graduate in medicine, 
began the practice of that profession, and has taken an active part in the establish- 
ment of an Eclectic Medical College in St. Louis. Dr. McDonald is also an ordained 
minister in the Baptist Church. 



914 COM^IONWEALTH OF MISSOUEI. 

John H. McHenry was boi*n in St. Francois county, Missouri, in 1822, and re- 
ceived a common-school education. Until twenty-five yeai's of age he was engaged 
in farming, after which, he was, for nineteen years, employed in the furnaces of the 
Iron Mountain Company. In 1874, he removed to Iron county and engaged in the 
lumber trade, and has since resided there. He was elected to the Twenty-ninth 
General Assembly as a Democrat. 

Daniel H. McIntire was born in Callaway county, Missouri, May 5th, 1813. He 
was educated at Westminster College, Fulton. In 1861, he entered the Confederate 
army, as a captain in the State service. At the battle of Wilson's Creek he was 
severely wounded, and returned to Callaway county. He was arrested and con- 
fined as a prisoner of war for nine months, most of the time on Johnson's Island. 
He entex'ed the Confederate States service at Vicksburg, in ^862, and served until 
the close of the war, when he surrendered, at Shreveport, Louisiana, and returned 
to Audrain county, whex-e he was married, in 1866, and commenced farnaing. In 
1871, he commenced to read law in Governor Hardin's office, was admitted to the 
bar, and began practice in Mexico, where he has since resided. In 1872, he was 
elected Prosecuting Attorney. In 1874, he was elected to serve out the unexpired 
term of Senator Hardin, afterwards Governor. During his term he served as 
Chairman of the Committee on Lu.natic Asylums. He was elected a member of the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly, without opposition, as a Democrat, and was 
Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Mr. Mclntyre is a man of much ability and 
influence, and is destined to play an important part in the history of the State. 

Conrad T. Mallinckrodt was born in St. Charles covmty, Missouri, November 
6th, 1835, and received a common school education in that county. He is a farmer 
and nurseryman. He was married October 16th, 1866, to Miss Emilie Faber. He 
was elected a member of the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Eepublican. 

Henry Manistre, a native of England, was born in 1820, and is by occupation a 
plasterer. He is a Republican, representing the First Legislative District of St. 
Louis in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

Richard D. Markland was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, June 25th, 1816, 
and educated at Cincinnati. After living on a farm, he began the practice of law in 
1846. He removed to Kokomo, Indiana, in 1859, and in 1850, to Oregon, Holt county^ 
Missouri, when he resumed his profession. He entered the army as a Captain under 
Governor Gamble's call for six-months men, and was promoted to a Lieutenant- 
Colonelcy of Enrolled Missouri Militia. After the war he i-esumed his practice, and 
was elected as a Republican to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly. 

John I. Martin, a native of Missouri, was born in 1847, and is a merchant. He 
is a Democi-at. and represents the Third Legislative District of St. Louis in the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

Ltman F. Medley was born in Pope county, Illinois, November 24th, 1843. His 
father moved to Kentucky when Lyman was quite young, and he spent most of his 
boyhood in Union county, of that State. At the age of seventeen, he began to study 
law, and in 1864 he moved to Missouri and commenced merchandizing at Charleston, 
Mi=;sissippi county. He was soon afterwards admitted to the bar, but has never 
engaged exclusively in the pi*actice of law. 

In 1871, he removed to Wayne county, where he has taken an active part in local 
politics. In 1876, he was elected Representative of Wayne county in the State Leg- 
islature. 



TWENTY-NINTH GENEKAL ASSEMBLY. 915 

Alexander P. Miller was born in Nelson county, Kentucky, August 12th, 
1821, He lived on his father's farm and received a common school education. In 
1835 he moved to Marion county, and later in the same year to Pike county, where 
he finished his education and where he has since resided on the farm his father set- 
tled. He was commissioned by the Governor as County Court Justice in 1850, and 
served four years. He was afterwards appointed to fill an unexpired term of the 
same office. He was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Democrat. 
He is a farmer and stock-dealer by occupation, and is connected with the Baptist 
denomination. He is married, and the father of eight children, 

DeLorma Miller was born in Knox county, Ohio, March 5th, 1844. His youth 
was spent on a farm. He received a common school education, and in 1869 moved 
from Ohio to Illinois, and in 1870 from Illinois to Sullivan county, Missouri, and 
settled in Milan. He read law, was admitted to the bar in 1872, and since then has 
practiced his profession at Milan. 

George W. L. Mitchell was born in Logan county, Kentucky, July 3d, 1825, 
and moved to Morgan county, Missouri, in 1836. At an early age he was appren- 
ticed to a cabinet makei;, and his employer gave him five months' schooling. The 
balance of his education he obtained by his own exertions. He moved to Camden 
county iu 1852, and commenced farming. He was a member of the Twenty-fourth 
and Twenty-fifth General Assemblies, and was appointed Supervisor of Eegistra- 
tion by Governor Fletcher, in 1866, He was elected to the Twenty-ninth General 
Assembly as a Kepublican, 

William B. Mitchell was born in Blunt county, Tennessee, February 27th, 
1826, His parents moved to ,Polk county, Missouri, in 1834, where he received a 
common-school education. He was a volunteer under General Price in the Mexican 
war, and entered the Missouri State Militia in 1862, serving as Major. In 1863 he 
enlisted in the Fifteenth Kegular Missouri Volunteers, and served until 1865, when 
he was discharged. He was elected Sheriff of Polk county, in 1856, and served two 
terms. He is a farmer and stock-grower, and was elected to the Twenty-ninth 
General Assembly as a Republican. 

William M. Moore was born at Cynthiana, Kentucky, September 80th, 1837. When 
he was three years old his parents moved to Lewis county, Missouri, where he has 
lived most of his life. He entered the State University at Columbia, in 1859, but on 
account of the death of his father he did not complete the course of study. He 
joined the Confederate cause in 1861, was soon made Adjutant of his regiment; and 
shortly afterwards Lieutenant-Colonel. In 1862, he resigned and organized a com- 
pany and joined Steen's Tenth Regiment of Missouri Infantry. After the battle of 
Prairie Gi'ove, he was made Lieutenant-Colonel of his regiment, and in the spring of 
1863, was elected Colonel. During most of the years of 1864-5, he commanded 
what was known as Parsons' Brigade. At the close of the war he returned to his 
home in Lewis county, and devoted himself to farming. In 1870, Colonel Moore 
was married to Miss Fanny Garnett, of Harrison county, Kentucky, and has four 
children. In 1874, he was elected Sherifi"of his county; and in 1876 was elected as 
its Representative in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly. He is a Democrat, and 
served during the session of 1877, as Chairman of the Committee on Militia. 

Albert P. Morehouse was born in Delaware county, Ohio, July 11th, 1885. 
He lived on a fai'm, receiving a common-school education, until he was eighteen, 



916 COMMON^ WEALTH OF MISSOURI. 

when he attended a select school for two years. In 1856, he moved to Camden, Ray- 
county, Missouri, and taught school during the summer. In the fall he moved to Nod- 
away county, where he taught school and studied law, and was admitted to the 
bar in 1860. He is now engaged in the real-estate business. He was a delegate to 
the Baltimore Convention in 1872, and to the St. Louis Convention in 1876. He was 
elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Democrat. 

Frank C. Nesbit was born in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, in 1840. He read 
law and was admitted to the bar at New Castle, Pennsylvania, and removed to Can- 
field, Ohio, where he opened a law office. In 1869 he removed to Missouri and set- 
tled at Osceola, St. Clair county, where he has since that time been practicing his 
profession. He is a Democrat, and takes an active part in nearly every campaign. 
He is a lawyer of superior attainments and among the ablest speakers of Southwest 
Missouri. He is married and has two children, both boys. 

Edward L. Newsum was born in Madison county, Mississippi, Februaiy 19th, 
1838, his father being a farmer. He was educated at Holly Springs, after which he 
was engaged in the mercantile business in Memphis. After emigrating to Missouri 
he was married to Miss Adelia Phillips, who was educated at Columbia. He en- 
gaged in mercantile and agricultural pursuits, and has served as Sheriff of his county. 
He was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Democrat, over three 
candidates. 

George N. Nolan, a native of Kentucky, was born in 1844, and is by profession a 
lawyer. He is a Democrat, and represents the Second Legislative District of Kan- 
sas City in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

John J. O'Neill is a native of Missouri. He was born in 1847, and is a clei-k by 
occupation. He is a Democrat, and represents the Third Legislative District of St. 
Louis in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

James W. A. Patterson was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, May 22d, 1808. 
At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed as a tanner in Nelson county, Kentucky, 
Owing to the death of his father, who was a farmer, he received a limited education. 
He returned to Shelby county in 1827, and in 1828 emigrated to Howard county, 
Missouri, and established a tanyard in 1830 at Fayette. He was married in 1836 to 
Miss Jane Turner, who was born in the fort, in Howard, in 1876. He is a self-made 
man, is now a farmer, and has won his way to afl3.uence by his own exertions. He 
was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Democrat. 

E. W. Payne was born in Daviess county, Missouri, which he now represents 
In the State Legislature. The early loss of his father threw him upon his own re- 
sources. He received a common-school education, and devoted himself to farming 
and stock-dealing, and has many devoted friends. He was elected a member of the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Democrat, over his opponent, a prominent Re- 
publican, who had previously represented the county in the Legislature, and who 
afterward received the Republican nomination for Congress. 

Frederick: W. Pehle was born in Prussia, January 25th, 1839. His parents the 
same year emigrated to Gasconade county, Missouri, and settled upon Government 
land. A few days after their arrival at their new home his father was ci'ippled, in 
consequence of which the family lived for three years in a grass hut. His brave 
mother, however, performed the labor that her crippled husband could not do, and 



TWENTY-NINTH GENEKAL ASSEMBLY. 917 

educated her son in the German language. The family moved to Franklin county 
in 1845. Frederick, at the age of fifteen, commenced his English studies at the 
common schools, which he attended thirteen months, and then went to work on a 
farm. He taught school in winter for several years. He was married in 1869. He 
was elected Constable in 1868, and Justice of the Peace the same year, and re-elected 
in 1872. He was sent to the State Legislature in 1874, and re-elected in 1876. 

S. M. PiCKXER was born in Washington county, Indiana, November 6th, 1845, 
moved to Davis county, Iowa, in 1852, and to Adair county, Missouri, in 1866. He 
was raised a farmer, and taught public school in Iowa at the age of seventeen. He 
taught in the Normal School at Kirksville, Missouri, from its establishment in 1869 
until 1873, when he became editor and proprietor of the Kirksville Journal, and still 
occupies that position. He was elected County School Commissioner in April, 1875, 
and was elected as a Eepublican to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, and was 
the only newspaper man in that body. 

Charles A. Pollock was born in Eichmond, Virginia, April 4th, 1848. His 
father was a lawyer, and about 1853 removed to Wilmington, North Carolina, and 
thence to Cuba, where he lived four years, and thence to St. Louis, in 1857, where 
he died, July 4th, 1863. The subject of this sketch received a good practical education 
at the St. Louis public schools. In 1866, he entered the office of the Missouri Pacific 
Railroad, at Jefferson City. He was transferred to their general office in St. Louis, 
where he became chief book-keeper. In 1873, he was appointed Purchasing Agent 
for the St. Louis Water Board, by Mayor Joseph Brown. In 1876, he was elected, 
as a Democrat, to represent the Second district of St. Louis in the Twenty-ninth 
General Assembly, and was Chairman of the Special Committee appointed to 
examine into the means used for the passage of the celebrated Hannibal & St. Joseph 
Eailroad Eenewal Bond Bill. In this capacity Mr. Pollock displayed much ability, 
eliciting a fund of valuable information. He is now reading law. 

Heistry W. Poston was born in St. Francois county, Missouri, in 1825. His 
father, Colonel Henry Poston, moved to the Territory of Missouri in 1800, and 
settled in what is now Washington county, when only a few Canadian French and 
Indians inhabited that portion of the State. He participated in the war of 1812, and 
represented St. Francois county in the First Legislature of Missouri. 

Mr, Poston was educated at St.' Charles College, graduated at medical colleges in 
Louisville and St. Louis, and has practiced his profession since 1850. He is also 
largely engaged in agricultura.1 pursuits. He is mari-ied and has three children. He 
was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly in 1876. 

Henry H. Priest is a native of Virginia, where he was born in 1822. He is a 
farmer in Ealls county, near Hannibal. He is a Democrat, and represents his 
county in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

Daniel Proctor was born in Washington county, Ohio, June 16th, 1812. He 
was educated at Marietta, Ohio. He studied medicine under a private preceptor, 
and moved to McClain county, Hlinois, ■_where he practiced for twenty years. He 
was ordained a minister of the M. E. Church, in 1841. In 1856 he moved to Cald- 
well county, Missouri, where he practiced his profession, but afterwards engaged in 
farming, milling and merchandising. He was a member of the Twenty-third Gen- 
eral Assembly, and of the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, to which he was elected 
as a Eepublican. 



918 COMMONWEALTH OF MISSOURI. 

David Rice was born in Henry county, Tennessee, Marcli 20th, 1837. He was 
educated at the common schools of his neighborhood, and by the fireside of his 
parents, and has since followed the occupation of a farmer. In 1853, he emigrated 
to Dunklin county, Missouri, where he was married, in 1867. In 1861, he enlisted 
in the Confederate army, under Governor Jackson's call, and served six months, 
after which he returned to his farm. In 1860, he was elected County Assessor, and 
was Public Administrator from 1872 to 1876. He was elected a member of the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Democrat. 

Joseph Stephen Eichardson was born in Lauderdale county, Tennessee, July 
7th, 1840, and educated at Center College, Mississippi. He graduated at the Nash- 
ville Medical University, and settled atDiarsburg, Tennessee. In 1870, he emigrated 
to Bloomfield, Missouri, where he practices his profession. During the war he was 
with General Frost from its inception to the end. He has taken an active part in 
local aflfairs, and has filled the position of President of the Board of Education. He 
is a Democrat, and represents Stoddard county in the Twenty-ninth General As- 
sembly, of which he is an active member. 

George W. Rinkler was born in Carroll county, Indiana, September 20th, 1837, 
and in 1840, came, with his parents, to that part of Barry county, Missouri, since in 
corporated in Lawrence county. In 1859, he was elected Countj^ Clerk. He re- 
signed in 1864, and was elected to the Twenty-third General Assembly, as a Repub- 
lican, and was re-elected in 1870. In 1870, he was elected Judge of the Probate 
Court, having common pleas jurisdiction, and, by virtue of this oflSce, also being 
Presiding Judge of the County Court. He held the position four years, when he 
retired to a farm. He was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a 
Republican. 

Henry S. Rogers was born at Deerfield, Portage county, Ohio, April 5th, 1845. 
His father was a farmer and stock-raiser, to which occupation he was also brought 
up. He received a fair education, and in 1865, removed to St, Louis, whei-e he com- 
menced merchandising. He was married in 1872, to Miss Hannah E. Annis, of St. 
Louis, and has two children. He has always been a Republican, and has generally 
taken a lively interest in local and general politics. He was elected to the Twenty- 
ninth General Assembly as the Representative from the Fourth District, composed 
of the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Wards of St. Louis. 

W. H. H. Russell was born in Michigan, in 1840. His father was a farmer, in 
easy circumstances, and was of Irish and Welsh descent. After taking the neces- 
sary preliminary course, Mr. Russell entered the University of Michigan, and grad- 
uated in 1864. He afterwards graduated from the Ann Arbor Law School, and in 
1864 located at Memphis, Tennessee. He remained in Memphis until 1867, having 
built up a lucrative practice, and earned a good reputation as a lawyer. In 1868 he 
moved to St. Louis, and after being admitted to the bar, commenced the practice of 
his profession, which he has since successfully continued. He has been counsel in 
several cases of note. He is a logical speaker, and has obtained much of his success 
by his forensic power. He is a devoted lover of literature, and has long been Sec- 
retary of the Missouri Historical Society. 

In the fall of 1876, he was elected to the Missouri Legislature, and was a promi- 
nent candidate for Speaker. He served as Chairman of the Committee on Federal 
Relations, and as a member of most of the other important committees of the House. 



TWENTY-NINTH GENEKAL ASSEMBLY. 919 

He was one of the most industrious members of the Twenty-ninth General Assem- 
bly, and distinguished himself by several speeches of considerable power, 

John Eyan is a native of Ireland, where he was born in 1806. He is a retired 
gentleman. He is a Democrat and the Eepresentative from St. Louis in the Twen- 
ty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

John J. Seibel was born in Perry county, Missouri, September 17th, 1839, where 
he now resides. He resided with his parents at Altonburg, obtaining a common 
school education by his own exertions, and attended St. Vincent's Academy, at 
Cape Gix'ardeau. He was assistant County Clerk under Mr. Barns, upon whose 
death he succeeded him until 1863, when he raised a company for Colonel McCain's 
Regiment. In 1863, he was appointed Public Administrator, and held the office 
four years. He was married in 1864. In 1869 he was elected Circuit Clerk and 
served four years. He is a lawyer and real estate dealer, and is also local editor of 
the People^ s Farmer, at Perry ville. He was elected to the Twenty-ninth General 
Assembly as a Democrat. 

Jared E. Smith was born in Maury county, Tennessee, October 8th, 1826, and 
moved to Green county, Missouri, November 1st, 1851. He learned and worked at 
a trade until the breaking out of the civil war, when he enlisted in the United States 
service. In 1862 he was elected as a Republican Representative from Green county, 
to the State Legislature. In 1864 he was elected Register of Lands for four years. 
He was elected County Treasurer of Green in 1870. He was engaged in the drug 
business from 1869 to 1873, and then in the livery business, when he entered the 
queensware business, which he still continues. He was elected a member of the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly, from the Western District of Green, as a Repub- 
lican. 

G. Pitman Smith was born at Louisiana, Missouri, March 8th, 18 — . His father 
was a minister, and gave him a good education at High Hill Academy, in Mont- 
gomery county. Owing to disturbances occasioned by the war, he did not complete 
as intended, his collegiate course. In 1864 he went to Illinois, where he worked on 
a farm and then taught school. He was elected principal of the Mechanisburg Pub- 
lic High School, but soon afterwards returned to Missouri and took charge of the' 
mathematical department of the Bellevue Collegiate Institute, of Caledonia, Wash- 
ington countj'. After teaching one year, he went to St. Louis, and studied law in 
the office of Trusten Polk, and was admitted to practice in 1871. Since that time he 
has been actively and successfully engaged in his pi'ofession in St. Loui?. He has 
always been a Democrat, and is active and prominent in politics, having served as a 
member of the Democratic Central Committee of St. Louis, and frequently as a del- 
egate to State conventions. In 1874 he was the Democratic candidate for the Legis- 
lature, but was defeated by ninety votes, the district being Republican by two 
hundi-ed majority. In 1876 he was elected from the same district, the Fifth, to the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly, and served ah a member of the Committees on In- 
surance and on State University. 

W. L. Snidow was born in Giles county, Virginia, February 13th, 1829. His lim- 
ited education was obtained at spare times when he could not be at work on his 
father's farm, where he lived till 1849, when he married Miss Elizabeth C. Brown, 
his present wife, by whom he has had ten children. He and his father the same 
year moved to Missouri, and settled in Monroe county. He lived there till 1856, 



920 COMMONWEALTH OF MISSOURI. 

when he removed to Hickoiy county and be^an the improvement of a farm on "Wen- 
bleau Prairie, upon which he was the first to break ground and lay a rail. By con- 
stant and patient industry he has built up one of the most attractive homesteads in 
the county. 

When eighteen years old he was commissioned a Lieutenant in the State Mili- 
tia by Governor Floyd, of Virginia. During the late war he was an uncompromis- 
ing Union man, and in 1862 was commissioned a Captain in the enrolled Missouri 
Militia by Governor Gamble. He resigned and entered the United States service. 
His regiment was disbanded, but he re-enlisted in the State Militia. In 1865 he was 
commissioned by Governor Fletcher to organize the militia of Hickory county, and 
was appointed Assistant Inspector General to muster the troops thus collected into 
service. After the war he served as School Director in his district, and was for 
five years Deputy Sheriflfof his county. In 1864 he was elected to the State Senate 
without opposition. The oflS^ce was vacated by tlie Constitutional Convention of 
1865, and he became a candidate for re-election, but withdrew his name after the 
fifteenth ballot, yielding the honor to his opponent. The Convention passed resolu- 
tions fully endorsing his course. In 1866 he "Was unanimously elected Supervisor of 
Registration for Hickory county, but soon resigned. He represented Hickory county 
in the Legislature in 1868, and was defeated for the same ofiice by seventeen votes 
in 1870. He was, however, re-elected in 1872, 1874 and 1876. His constituents have 
never objected to a vote he has cast. He voted to ratify the amendment to the Con- 
stitution of the United States forever prohibiting slavery, and voted against the Han- 
nibal & St. Joseph Railroad Renewal Bond Bill. He was Assistant United States 
Marshal in 1870, and took the census of Hickory county. He represented Hickory 
county in the Union Convention at Jefferson City in 1863, to devise means for the 
protection of loyal citizens. He was a member of the Republican State Conventions 
of 1868 and 1870 ; of the Republican Congressional Convention at Sedalia in 1866, and 
voted for McClurg ; and represented liis county in the Convention of the Twen- 
tieth Senatorial Convention of 1874. 

Mr. Snidow was a Whig, but has long been a strong Republican, and is a man of 
integrity, and a safe legislator. 

Chaeles V. Snow was born in St. Johnsbury, Caledonia county, Vermont, Au- 
gust 24th, 1821, and moved to Missouri with his parents in 1836. He began the 
study of medicine in 1843, commenced its practice in Atchison county in 1846, and 
graduated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, February 18th, 1858, and has spent his 
life in the practice of his profession. He has been twice married, and has thirteen 
children living. Politically, he was a Whig until 1834 ; since then he has been a 
Democrat, and as such was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly. 

James Southard was born in McMinn county, Tennessee, November 28th, 1824, 
and received a common-school education. In 1843 he moved to Dallas county, Mis- 
souri, where he has since resided. He was elected County Court Judge in 1859, and 
in 1862 resigned to take his seat in the Twenty-second General Assembly. He was 
i-e-elected to the Twenty-third General Assembly ; was elected to the Twenty-fifth 
General Assembly, where he served until 1874, when he was elected State Senator 
from the Twentieth District. He was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assem- 
bly as a Republican. 

E. C. Ste,ele is a native of Illinois, and was born in 1856. He is a druggist by 
occupation. He is a Republican, and represents Wright county in the Twenty- 
ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 



TWENTY-NIKTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 921 

Paris C. Stepp was born in Monroe county, Indiana, May 17th, 1846, and came 
■with his father, who rented a farm in Grundy county, Missouri, and settled in 1853. 
His educational advantages were limited to the imperfect schools of that region and 
time. In 1863, at the age of seventeen, he enlisted in the Union army, and served 
through the war as a member of the Seventeenth Missouri Cavalry, and participated 
in the battles of Columbus, Franklin and Nashville, being wounded in the latter en- 
gagement. His term of seiwice not having expired when the war closed, he went 
on an expedition against the Indians of the Powder Eiver country, and was in sev- 
eral engagements. He was mustered out of service in April, 1866, at Leavenwoi-th, 
Kansas, and came home resolved to obtain a better education. After attending se- 
lect schools in North Missouri, he went to the University of Indiana, at Bloora- 
ington, where he remained two years. In 1870 he returned to Grundy county and 
engaged in farming, and was in 1872 elected County Surveyor. While holding that 
oflS.ce he read law with A. H. Burkeholder, and was admitted to the bar in 1873. 
In 1872 Mr. Stepp was married to Miss Mary E. Fleming, of Andrew county, Missouri. 

At the expiration of his term of oflB.ce as Surveyor, he was elected to the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly on the Republican ticket, as representative from 
Orundy county. 

Charles H. Storts was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, November 25th, 1825. 
When he was eleven years old his father moved to Louisville, where he was prin- 
cipally educated. When sixteen years old he taught in the public school, and in the 
years 1845 and 1846 was Librarian of the University of Louisville, and attended two 
courses of medical lectures in that institution. In 1847, he enlisted in the Third 
Eegiment of Kentucky volunteers, under the command of General Maulins V. 
Thompson, with Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas L. Crittenden and Major John C. 
Breckenridge, and went to the Mexican war, serving part of the time as Assistant 
Surgeon, and being for a time stationed in the City of Mexico, in charge of a hos- 
pital. At the end of the war he returned to Louisville, and soon afterwards moved 
to Missouri, and for several years practiced medicine in Mississippi and New Madrid 
-counties. He then removed to Pocahontas, Arkansas, engaging in the drug busi- 
ness, and in the practice of his profession, where he remained until 1867, when, in 
consequence of failing health, he removed to Eolla, Missouri, where his health was 
re-established, and he resumed the practice of medicine. He has always taken an 
active and prominent part in politics, being a strenuous Democrat, and a strict party 
discipUnarian. Finding his party in Phelps county unharmonious and disheartened, 
he, with a few others, determined on an organization, and, in a short time, he was 
elected chairman of the County Democratic Committee, which position he still holds 
as well as the same position in his Senatorial and Congressional Districts. His 
•eflPortsin behalf of his party's supremacy have been entirely successful, his County, 
Senatorial and Congressional Districts having been completely revolutionised. He 
never accepted any office until urged to become a candidate for the Twent}r-ninth 
General Assembly, to which he was elected, by a large majority. 

Dr. Storts is a strong advocate of progressive "education, and was one of the first 
to urge the establishment of the school of Mines and Metallurgy at Eolla, and the 
prosecution of the Geological Survey in connection with that institution. 

During the session of 1877, he served with distinguished ability as chairman of the 
committee on Mines and Mining, and as a member of the committee for Eecon- 
structing the State Congressionally. 

59 



922 COMMONWEALTH OF MISSOUKI. 

In 1855, he was married to Miss Margaret Eobertsoii, of Lawrence county, 
Arkansas, and now has two sons, both young men. 

John H. Sullkns was born near Monticello, in Wayne county, Kentucky, Oc- 
tober 13th, 1828. His parents moved the same year to what is now Miller county, 
Missouri, where they settled on a farm, near Spring Garden, where lie was educated 
in the neighborhood schools, and where he lived on a farm until 1856, when he com- 
menced merchandising at Mt. Pleasant. In 1861, he removed to Lebanon, Illinois, 
on account of the war, and, in 1865, moved to Batos county, Missouri, and engaged 
in farming, about twelve miles southwest of Butler, where he has since resided. In 
1872, he was elected Presiding Justice of the County Court, and resigned that 
ofSce to become a candidate for member of the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, to 
which he was elected, as a Democrat. By the management of himself and his as- 
sociates his county has been relieved of a very heavy debt. He has been a member 
of the Southern M. E. Church ever since he was nineteen years old. He was elected 
to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as a Democrat. 

George M. Sutherland was born at Hillsville, Carroll county, Virginia, March 
12th, 1850, and, with his father, emigrated to northwest Missoiu'i in 1856. Here- 
sided there until 1862, when he moved to Kebraska, as a refugee, having been ruined 
by a self-organized militia which infested that portion of Missouri. In 1864, he 
went across the plains, and having acquired some means, returned in 1866 to St, 
Joseph, and there attended school. In 1870, he returned to his native village, in 
Virginia, and studied law with Judge James S. Tipton. He returned to St. Joseph 
in 1874, and began the practice of his profession, taking an active part in politics, in 
behalf of the Democratic party. He was married in December, 1876, to Miss 
Mollie Dysart. He was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, as a Dem- 
ocrat, from the First district of Buchanan. 

Charles C. Tevis was born in Madison county, Kentucky, March 16th, 1845, his 
parents residing on a farm. He was educated at Center College, Kentucky. For 
two years after his graduation, in 1866, he was Professor of Latin and English Lit- 
erature after which he moved to Johnson county, Missouri, where he engaged in 
farming and stock dealing. He has been a School Director ever since his settlement, 
in the county. He was married, in 1868, to Miss Mary Hawthorn, of Princeton, 
Kentucky. He was elected, as a Democrat, to the General Assembly, in 1876. 

J. P. Thatcher was born in Jacksborough, Tennessee, in 1830. While he was 
yet an infant his father, who was a physician, moved to Kentucky, where he 
died leaving the subject of this sketch at the age of fifteen, the oldest of four chil- 
dren. His limited education was obtained under very embarassing circumstances. 
Before he was eighteen he enlisted, as a private, in the Third Regiment of Kentucky 
Volunteer Infantry, with Colonel Mawlins V. Thompson and Major John C. Breck- 
enrido-e, and served in the Mexican war. He was promoted to a Lieutenancy, and 
was during much of his service in command of his company. When peace was re- 
stored he returned to Kentucky and resumed his study of medicine, and graduated 
at the Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. 

In 1849 he went to California, where he met and married Miss Rebecca Perking. 
He retui'ned from California and settled in Pettis county in 1854, then comparatively 
new now one of the richest counties in the State. Dr. Thatcher took no active part 
in politics previous to the war. He opposed the conflict and opiDOsed secession, 
and did all in his power as a physician and a citizen to ameliorate the sufferings 
consequent upon the war. 



TWENTY-NINTH GENEEAI. ASSEMBLY. 923 

During the " Third Party " movement in 1874 he was elected by a large majority 
as a Democrat, to represent Pettis county in the General Assembly. His services 
were so well appreciated that he was re-elected in 1876 by a still more flatterino- ma- 
jority. In the session of 1877 he took an active part as a member of the "com- 
mittee appointed to examine the means used to secure the passage of the Han- 
nibal & St. Joseph Renewal Bond Bill. 

Dr. Thatcher is an industrious and honorable man, a useful citizen and a careful 
painstaking legislator; doing all in his power to discharge the trust confided to him 
by his constituents. ♦ 

William T. Thornton was born in Calhoun, Henry county, Missouri February 
9th, 1843, and was educated in Pettis county. He entered the Confederate army in 
May, 1868. He was for eight months confined in the Alton prison, havino- been cap- 
tured by the Federals at Cassville during the retreat from Springfield.'' With the 
exception of this prison life, he was for two years one of General Price's escort On 
September 24th, 1862, he was exchanged, and participated in the Battle of Corinth 
October 3d, 1862, he returned to the west side of the Mississippi with General Price' 
and left with sixteen others to organize " Wood's Battalion," with which he re- 
mained until the close of the war, when he returned to Henry county. He then 
read law with R. L. Birge, attended law school in 1867-8, graduating in 1868 when 
he returned to Clinton, Henry county, where he began the practice of his profes- 
sion, and where he has since remained. He was elected to the Twenty-ninth Gen- 
eral Assembly as a Democrat. * 

H. C. Todd was born in Miller county, Missouri, January 13th, 1848. He was 
educated at the State University, at Columbia, and was formerly a salesman In 
1870 he filled the position of United States Marshal. He was elected to the Twentv- 
ninth Ge^ieral Assembly as a Republican. 

Benjamin Tomkins was born in Fayette county, Kentucky, August 20th 1815 
His highly respectable and accomplished parents were from Yirginia, and o-ave him" 
the advantages of a good education, and he graduated from the Academic Ind Law 
Department of the Transylvania University at Louisville, Kentucky. In his twenty 
first year he moved to Missouri, settling at Boonville, Cooper county, where he has 
ever since resided. He was elected to the Legislature in 1848 from Cooper county 
and was re-elected for three successive sessions, during the last two of which he 
served as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. 

In 1852, he was married to Miss Susan, youngest daughter of the late Governor 
James Clark, of Kentucky. He has been one term Clerk of the Circuit Court and 
three years Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Cooper county. 

In 1876, he was elected to the Legislature, and served as Chairman of the Commit- 
tee on Penitentiary, and as member of the Judiciary Committee. Judcre Tomkins 
was long a Whig, but has more recently acted with the Democratic party. He is an 
able lawyer, and one of the prominent men of Central Missouri. 

Luther Turner was born in Hannibal, Missouri, January 9th, 1830. His 
father moved to Quincy soon after his birth, remaining there until 1848 when he 
moved to Clark county, Missouri. In 1852 he went to California, during the o-old 
fever, but returned the following year and commenced the study of medicine '^He 
graduated from the Iowa Medical College at Keokuk iu 1855, and located in Shelby 
county to practice his profession. In 1857 he was married to Miss Eveline Baker of 



924 COMMONWEALTH OF MISSOUKI. 

that county. The same jeav he purchased a farm, which he conducted in connec- 
tion with his extensive and lucrative practice. He now owns over 1,400 acres of 
land in Clark, Knox and Shelby counties. 

In 1874, he retired from the practice of medicine, and has since devoted himself to 
farming, stock-raising and feeding. In 1876 he was elected on the Democratic ticket 
to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as the representative from Shelby county. 

Stephen P. Twiss was born at Charlton, Worcester county, Massachusetts, in 
1830, and is the oldest son of Mr. James J, Twiss. His ancestors were among the. 
early settlers of that State, which afterwards figured so prominently in colonial his- 
tory. His parents being in moderate circumstances, he worked upon his father's 
farm during the summer, and his educational privileges were the district school in 
winter, and his leisure hours devoted to reading and study. He left home when 
seventeen, with no capital but his love of knowledge, a determined will to obtain it, 
and his own right arm to make a way. By his habits of industry and economy, he 
soon worked his way into Leceister Academy, and by employing part of his time in 
labor or teaching, he fitted himself for a clerkship in a commission house in Boston. 
He shortly after entered the law school at Cambridge, and at the end of two years 
graduated there with the highest honors of his class. He then removed to Worces- 
ter and entered the law oflBce of the Hon. Isaac Davis, was admitted to the bar and 
immediately entered upon a succesful career, i^apidly gaining the confidence and 
esteem of his fellow citizens. Although not inclined to politics, he was in 1857 
elected to the Lower House of the Massachusetts Legislature, where he became an 
ardent advocate of the re-election of Charles Sumner, as Senator. In 1863, Mr. 
Twiss again consented to a nomination, and was elected over one of the oldest and 
most popular lawyers at that bar, to the position of City Solicitor of Worcester. 
The following year he was elected without opposition. 

At the close of the war, Mr. Twiss turned his eyes westward, and in 1865 moved to 
Missouri, and settled in Kansas City, where he rapidly gained the confidence, respect 
and friendship of his fellow citizens, and at once took rank as an able, honest, and 
successful lawyer. He was nominated by his party in 1870 for the position of Sen- 
ator from his district; but, although running 600 ahead of his ticket, he was de- 
feated. In 1872, he was elected to the Twenty-seventh General Assembly, as a 
Republican, in a Democratic district, and notwithstanding a re-districting, which 
increased the Democratic majority, he was re-elected in 1874. Mr. Twiss, in 1875, 
espoused the cause of the people of Kansas City, who desired some important legis- 
lation relating to the better government of the city, and notwithstanding conflicting 
interests and political opposition, he succeeded in securing a charter for the city, 
highly satisfactory to a great majority of those who are to be governed by it. His 
success in settling the serious difliculties and placing the city under a sound and 
healthy system of government, is duly appreciated and acknowledged as worthy of 
all praise. Mr. Twiss is a Republican, and conservative in his views, belonging to 
that school of politicians who believe that the interests of his party are subservient 
to those of his country. In religion, Mr. Twiss is a Congregationalist, believing in 
a progressive Christianity, and in the independence and freedom of the mind and 
conscience from all ecclesiastical power, and believing in an individual and personal 
responsibility. 

He is a man lai'ge in stature, weighing over two hundred pounds, prepossessing 
in appearance, with his colloquial faculties well developed; fluent as a speaker, com- 
manding the attention of his hearers, and social and congenial as a friend. 



TWENTY-NINTH GENEKAL ASSEMBLY. 925 

Peter L. Vaughan was born in Nelson county, Virginia, August 4th, 1809. He 
lived with his parents on a farm until twenty-two years of age, and was educated at 
Oldfield School-house. He moved to Pike county, Missouri, in 1831, and com- 
menced the cultivation of tobacco, and may be said to have inaugurated the growth 
of that important staple in that county. He joined the Christian Church in 1842. 
He has held county office two terms, in 1854-8. During the war he was arrested on 
account of his political opinions, and made to do camp duty. He has been Master 
of the Gi-ange since 1874. He is maiTied, and has six children living. He was 
elected to the Twentj'^-uinth General Assembly from the First District as a Democrat. 

H. S. Von Angler was born in New Jersey, in 1820, and is a farmer, near 
Waverly, Missouri. He is a Democrat, and represents the Eastern District of La- 
fayette county in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 

L. D. Walker was born in St, Francois county, Missouri, October 6th, 1833. 
His father, Lecon Walker, emigrated from Georgia to that county in 1803, was a 
soldier in the Black Hawk war, and the second Sheriff of St. Francois county. 

The subject of this sketch was the youngest of sixteen children, and received a 
fair education in the common schools of his native county. Being the youngest 
child, he was left in charge of the family homestead, which he purchased, and where 
he now resides. He was elected Assessor of his county in 1860. He was married 
to Miss Sue C. Myers, of Farmington, in January, 1869. He was elected Sheriff 
and Collector in 1872, and re-elected in 1874. He was a member of the Na- 
tional Democratic Convention at St. Louis, in 1876. He was the same year elected 
to represent St. Francois county in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, previous 
to the assembling of which Governor Hardin appointed him on the committee to 
examine the accounts of the State Auditor and Treasurer. During the session of 
1877 he served as Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. 

B. F. Wallace was born in Green county, Kentucky, April 26th, 1817, and ^ 
moved to Jackson county, Missouri, in 1833, where he remained on his father's 
farm until 1837, when he engaged in mercantile pursuits at Independence. He was 
bank clerk for six years. Clerk in the House of Representatives from 1850 until 1858, 
and Secretary of the Senate in 1873-4. He was elected to the Twenty-ninth Gen- 
eral Assembly as a Democrat, over two competitors. He died at his home in Inde- 
pendence, in the spring of 1877. 

William S. Wells was born in Lee county, Virginia, September 13th, 1812, and 
was educated in the public schools. At the age of nineteen he engaged in teaching, 
and was married in 1832, when he settled on a farm. In 1837, he emigrated to 
Platte county, Missouri, where he engaged in teaching and farming; in 1843, to 
Southeast Missouri; in 1844, to Marshall county, Alabama, and in 1850, to West 
Tennessee. In 1856, he moved to Douglass county, Kansas, where he engaged in 
merchandising, and in 1857 was elected a member of the Lecompton Constitutional 
Convention. In 1860, he moved to Buchanan county, Missouri, where he after- 
wards enlisted in Price's army. After serving six months, he returned to Rushville, 
where he engaged in mercantile pursuits, and where he has since resided. He was 
elected Justice of the Peace in 1868, and served five years. He was elected to the 
Legislature from the Second District, of Buchanan county, in 1874, and was an 
active member, serving on the committee of Justices of the Peace. He was elected 
to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, as a Democrat. He is a member of the 
O. S. Baptist Church, and a practical, earnest man. 



926 COMMONWEALTH OF MISSOUKI. 

William C. Wells was born in Madison county, Kentucky, September 12th, 
1834, and moved to PJatte county, Missouri, in 1843. His father died when he was 
young-, and he was thrown entirely upon his own resources. From the age of sev- 
enteen till his twentieth year, he was employed in farming. He then engaged in 
merchandising, at which he continued, in New Market, Platte county, till 1861, when 
during the war troubles, he was burned out. From 1863 to 1868, he was Deputy 
Sheriff and Collector of Platte county, during which time he moved to Platte City. 
From 1868 to 1871, he was successfully occupied in contracting in the construction of 
the Chicago & Southeastern Railroad. He had read law while Deputy Sheriff", and 
in 1871 was admitted to the bar, in Platte City, where he has since built up a fine 
business. He took no active part in politics till 1876, when he was elected to the 
Twenty-ninth General Assembly, in which he served as chairman of the Committee 
on Township Organization. 

Mr. Wells is a practical business man, a strong advocate of education, and a useful 
citizen. He has been, since 1869, alternately Secretary and President of the Board 
of Directors of tlie Female Orphans' School, at Camden Point, Missouri, and has 
been a large chief contributor to the success of that institution. 

In 1860, he was married to Miss Jennie Strothar, of Richmond, Kentucky, and 
has six children, four sons and two daughters. 

James F. Wight wasboi-n at Frankfort, Kentucky, May 26th, 1819, where he was 
educated. In 1836, he moved to Shelby county, Kentucky, and settled on a farm, 
whex-e he resided until 1840, when he moved to Missouri, and settled in Randolph 
county, where he has devoted himself to farming and stock-raising. He was elected 
to the Legislature in 1862, and again in 1876. 

William R. Wilhite was born in Boone county, Missouri, April 13th, 1830. His 
father moved from Kentucky to INlissouri in 1818, and was a farmer. He spent his 
youth upon his fatlier's farm, and was educated in the subscription schools of the 
' neighborhood. He was married in 1853, Ifis wife dying three years afterwards. He 
purchased a farm in Howard county, in 1851, where he lived till 1856, when he re 
turned to his father's home — Boone couaity. In 1864, he purchased a farm near 
Rocheport, on which lie has since resided, and which he has systematically improved 
to a higli state of cultivation, making it a liandsome and valuable piece of property. 

In 1874, he was elected to represent Boone county, in the Twenty-eighth General 
Assembly, and during the session served as chairman of the Committee on State 
University, and as a member of the Committees on Ways and Means, Penitentiary, 
Agriculture, and Scientific and Benevolent Institutions. He was re-elected, without 
opposition, in 1876, an endorsement never before given in Boone county. Mr. Wil- 
hite was a Whig up to 1860, voting for Bell and Everett, but since that time has 
been an unswerving Democrat. During his official career he has distinguislied him- 
self by wise and considerate conduct, and by a faithful and effectual advocacy of 
the intei'estsof the State University, at Columbia. 

John F. Williams was born in Campbell county, Virginia, April 18th, 1828. 
His father, a farmer, and a man of fine practical ability, moved to Missouri in 1835, 
and settled in Howard county, where he resided until his death in 1862. The sub- 
ject of this sketcli received a primary education in the common schools of his 
neighborhood, and graduated at the State University in 1848. He commenced the 
study of law, but in the spring following went to California, where he remained 
two years, when he returned home and resumed the study of law in the ofl3.ce of 



TWENTY-NINTH GENEEAL ASSEMBLY. 927 

Prewitt & Henry, at Fayette, Missouri. He was admitted to the bar in 1853, and • 
commenced to practice at Fayette. In 1854 he was made attorney for the Branch of 
the State Bank at that place, and in the same year appointed Commissioner of Pub- 
lic Schools for Eoward county. In 1855 he was elected City Attorney of the Second 
Judicial Circuit, composed of Howard, Randolph, Macon, Boone and Callaway coun- 
ties, which office he held until 1860. In 1861, in conjunction with others, he organized 
the Ninth Missouri Cavalry, Missouri State Militia, for the Federal Army, and when 
the regiment was completed, in 1862, he was made Lieutenant-Colonel, and in 1863 
promoted to Colonel, and continued in command until the expiration of his term of 
service in 1865. At the close of the war he located at Macon City, his present 
home, and resumed the practice of his profession. In 1865 he opposed the adoption 
of the Drake Constitution, and was the same year nominated by the Democratic 
party, by acclamation, for State Superintendent of Public Schools. In 1868 he was 
the Democratic nominee for Congress in the Eighth District, and has since that time 
been actively engaged in politics. In 1876 he was nominated by acclamation and 
elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, of which he was elected Speaker on 
the 4th of January, 1877. 

Mr. Williams is a man of great solidity, and a presiding officer of splendid bear- 
ing. Though not often occupying the floor during the session of the Twenty-ninth 
General Assembly, yet in the few speeches he made he displayed great force as well as 
culture. He is generally conservative in his views, and advocated such policies for 
the State as might be immediately recognized as eminently safe. 

In December, 1859, he was married to Miss Hattie Overall, of St. Charles county, 
Missouri, and has two children. 

Theophilus Williams was born in Accomack county, Virginia, October 6th, 
1829. His father moved to Missouri in 1836, and located at Hannibal, where he re- 
mained a short time ; then purchased a farm in Ralls county and lived upon it several 
years, when he returned to the vicinity of Hannibal. Theophilus was, at the age of 
fifteen, employed in the furniture business at Hannibal, but soon abandoned it, and en- 
gaged in teaching. Although deprived of the advantages of an early education, he, 
by close application, soon made himself a competent teacher, to which profession he 
has successfully devoted over sixteen years of his life. 

In 1854 he was married to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Shacklett, Esq., of 
Scotland county. He joined the Confederate army in 1861, and served through the 
entire war, being part of the time a Captain. At the close of the war he returned 
to his home in Scotland county, where he has since resided, employed principally in 
farming. He is a Democrat, and has always been active in politics. In 1876 he was 
elected to represent Scotland county in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly. 

J, Posey Woodside was born in Scott county, Missouri, March 18th, 1843. When 
he was quite young his parents moved to Oregon county, where he has since 
lived, receiving a limited education. At the age of eighteen he raised a com- 
pany, joined the Confederate army, in which he served as a Captain until 1863, 
when, having been severely wounded at the Battle of Corinth, he Avas placed on 
the retired list. He remained in Alabama twelve mouths after the close of the 
war, when he returned to Oregon county, and studied law. He was admitted to the 
bar in 1867, and formed a successful partnership with his father, J. R. Woodside, pres- 
ent Judge of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. In 1872 he was elected Prosecuting At- 
torney of Shannon county, and served till 1874. In the early part of 1876 he made ar- 



928 COMMONWEALTH OF :M1SS0UKI. 

rangements to cease the practice of law, and engaged in merchandising. He was 
elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly as the representative 
from Oregon county. 

Leigh B. "Woodside was born in Oregon county, Missouri, February 2d, 1848. 
He received a fair education, and in his youth was noted for his knowledge of 
history and political statistics. In 1868 he was appointed Deputy Clerk of Ripley 
county, Missouri, and while holding that position studied law, and was admitted 
to practice in 1870, at Latern, Dent county, where he has since lived. In 1872 he 
formed a partnership with Senator Edward A. Seay, of Rolla, and the firm have since 
that time enjoyed an extensive and lucrative practice. He is a Democrat, but more 
inclined to the strict pursuit of his profession than to the uncertainties of politics. 
In November, 1876, he was overwhelmingly elected to the Twenty-ninth General 
Assembly from Dent county, and has pi'oved an efl&cient legislator. 

Henry Ziegenheim is a native of Kentucky, where he was born in 1842. He is a 
builder by occupation. He is a Republican, and I'epresents the First Legislative 
District of St. Louis in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of Missouri. 



THE END. 



BUSINESS NOTICES. 



ST. LOUIS. 



DODD, BEOWN & CO. 

established a wholesale dry-goods house in St. Louis, at the corner of Main and 
Locust streets, in 1866. It was at that time quite an extensive house for the city, 
occupying space enough to give comfortable room for the working of their thirty 
employees. They afterwards moved to a larger store, and in 1872 occupied their 
present elegant and commodious quarters, at the corner of Fifth and St. Charles 
streets. This building fronts one hundred and two feet on Fifth, and one hundred 
and thirty-five on St. Charles street. It is five stories high, besides basement, 
lighted by elegaijt plate glass windows, heated by steam, supplied with elevators, 
and equipped with every modern improvement and convenience. 

This firm now employs one hundred and twenty-five men, and carries six times as 
much stock as when they were first established in St. Louis. Their sales are in like 
proportion, both as to amount and as to the extent of territory over which they 
extend. 

They cany a full line of dry-goods, piece-goods, notions, furnishing-goods, etc., so 
that an ordinary retail dry-goods and notion store can buy its complete outfit 
under one roof. 

Samuel C. Dodd, is the resident partner. He is thoroughly a dry-goods man, 
having passed through all the positions in such an establishment. He gives his time 
and attention to the finances of the firm, and to a supervision of the business. 

James G. Brown, the other partner, spends most of his time in New York, where 
his excellent judgment in buying is an essential element in the success of the house. 

H. D. Dodd has general superintendence of the establishment. He knows the 
salesmen and other employees, their peculiarities, powers and possibilities, and 
gathers about him a class of gentlemen, who, by their ability, genial manners and 
large acquaintance, add to the popularity of the house, and the extent of its sales 
and profits. 

George Scott has charge of the office. He knows the customers, their character 
and financial condition, and hence when to advise pushing sales or curtailing credit, 
when to grant an extension or insist upon a settlement, 

R. H. Smith is buyer in the dress-goods department, where he has ample oppor- 
tunity to display his cultivated taste and excellent judgment. 

C. H. Evans has his time fully occupied as buyer in the " staple goods " depart- 
ment, and is master of the situation. 

S. T. Jamison has charge of the " piece-goods " department, in which position 
he has proven himself especially competent. 

H. Daughaday oversees the " notions," and although this department is made 
up of small items, the aggregate is no small affair. It is on the contrary one of the 
most important in such a house. 

All these gentlemen, as well as most of the other employees, have been for a long 



930 



COMMONWEALTH OF MISSOUKI. 



time connected with this firm, and work harmoniously in building up the amount of 
sales, as well as in increasing the popularity of the house with western merchants. 

The energy, good-judgment and tair-dealing, which has built up such an immense 
trade as that commanded by Dodd, Brown & Co., throughout the Mississippi Valley, 
and the ability and integrity devoted to its extension and increase, is the pride of 
every friend of St. Louis. While all honor is due to the gentlemen of the firm, for 
the qualities of head and heart, which place them in the front rank as leading mer- 
chants, and useful and honored citizens, their trusted and faithful employees are 
also an important element in their success, and in the general character of the firm 
and of the city. 

THE HYDRAULIC PRESS BRICK COMPANY, 

established in 1868, with a capital of $200,000, is one of the representative interests 
of St. Louis ; for upon the quality and price of their products largely depends the 
stability, beauty and cost of St. Louis buildings. These works, located at the cor- 
ner of Grand and Chouteau avenues, employ about one hundred and fifty men, and 
one hundred mules. The Roger's Hydraulic Brick Press, of which three are used by 
this company, exerts a pressure of 450 to 550 tons. The works haye a capacity of 
28,000,000 brick per annum, aud besides their immense home tradS, ship large quan- 
tities to Chicago, Louisville, Memphis, and other places. W. N. Graves is Super, 
intendent at the yards, and H. W. Eliot Secretary and Treasurer at their office, 701 
Pine street. Edward C. Sterling has, since the organization of the company, been 
its president and general business manager, and to his energy, honorable dealing, 
and business ability is largely due the company's success. 

THE UNION PRESS BRICK COMPANY 

was organized February 20th, 1873, with a capital stock of $120,000. The works 
have a capacity of 16,000,000 bricks per annum, and sometimes employ one hundred 
and twenty-five hands. Edward C. Sterling is President. George W. Simpkins is 
Secretary and Treasurer of the company, which positions he has filled since its 
organization. 

These two companies manufacture about one-half of all the brick made in St. 
Louis. 



KANSAS CITY. 



TOOTLE, HANNA & CO., 

wholesale druggists and notions, was established in 1868 under the firm name of 
Tootle, Hanna & Leach, which by the death of Mr. Leach in 1873, assumed the pres_ 
ent style of firm name. Their sales for 1877, notwithstanding the bad times, were 
about five times the amount of their first year's sales. 

J. W. WOOD & CO., 

wholesale druggists, was established as R. E. Wilson & Co. in 1866. Mr. Wood 
came into the firm in 1869, and the following year the firm name was changed to its 
present form. This firm now carries five times as much stock and sells three times 
as many goods as during their first year in Kansas City. 



BUSINESS NOTICES. 931 

J. M. SHELLEY & CO., 

jobbers in dry goods, were established in Kansas City in 1876, and although a new 
firm, are doing a fine business under the able management of Mr. George M. Shel- 
ley, the resident manager of the firm. 

JOS. CAHN & CO., 

manufactui-ers and jobbers of clothing and men's furnishing goods, was established 
in Kansas City in 1866, when Mr. Cahu commenced a retail trade, which gradually 
grew into retail and wholesale, and in 1869 became exclusively wholesale. Mr. 
Isaac Eachrach became a partner with Mr. Cahn in 1871. Business has rapidly iu- 
craased, until now they are one of the heaviest houses in their line in the West. 

NAVE, McCORD & CO., 

wholesale grocers, commenced business in Kansas City in 1867, under the firm name 
of Leach, Nave & Co. Mr. Lewis Leach withdrew in 1872, and the firm became 
Nave, McCord & Co., with James M. Nave resident manager of the business. This 
firm have a warehouse in West Kansas City, from which all heavy shipments are 
made, and caiTy one of the heaviest grocery stocks in the West. The firm is at 
present composed of Abram Nave, St. Louis; James McCord, St. Joseph; with 
James M. Nave and George E. Leach, Kansas CitJ^ 

WARINNER, GREGORY & CO., 

wholesale grocers, was established in 1866 as Warinner & Co. In 1867 it became 
Bennett & Gregory, which was changed to Warinner, Gregory & Dyas in 1872, and 
to the present firm, name in 1873. The business was commenced in a moderate way, 
but has grown until now their business is a leading one, and rapidly increasing. 
The firm is composed of L. H. Warinner, W. S. Gregory and J. H. Beckham. 

J. P. CAMPBELL, 

■exclusively wholesale fancy grocers and jobbers of foreign and domestic green and 
dried fruits and teas, was established in 1868. As an index of business, we might 
state that the firm in 1876 handled over 20,000 barrels of apples. 

W. W. & F. ASKEW, 

wholesale dealers in leather, saddlery, hardware, furs and shoe findings, was estab- 
■•ished in 1866, under the name of Askew, Dubois & Co. In November, 1872, Mr. 
Dubois retired, leaving the firm to consist of William Askew, Wilson Askew and 
Frank Askew, and the firm name was changed to the present form. This is the 
only house in its line in the city, and commands a large, increasing and profitable 
trade. 

DUNCAN, WYETH & CO., 

wholesale dealers in hardware and cutlerj'^, is a comparatively new house in Kansas 
City. They employ about seventy-five hands, making heavy ware for Western trade 
and carry a large stock of shelf hardware and cutlery. John A. Duncan is the resi- 
dent manager. 



932 COMMOISIVEALTH OF MISSOUKI. 

J. W. BYERS. 

This house was established in 1857, by Mr. J. W. Thompson, who was succeeded 
by Mr. J. L. Kelley, and he in turn by Mr. J. W. Byers, the present proprietor, in 
1875. The growth of the house's business has been steady. His stock comprises a 
general stock of shelf hardware, iron, steel, glass, wagon wood-work, etc. 

GATES & KENDALL, 

jobbers of boots and shoes, was established by Jemuel C. Gates and William W. 
Kendall, the same members who now compose the firm. They carry a general stock 
for Western trade, which has largely increased and is still expanding. 

H. T. WRIGHT 

commenced business in Kansas City by opening a very moderately equipped news- 
stand, which has grown into his present extensive business in the line of books and 
stationery and the usual accompanylag notions. He is also proprietor of the Kansas 
City Book and News Company, located in the post-office building. 

WILLIAM E. THOME, 

like many others of our western merchants, commenced in 1869, in a small way, and 
industry and careful attention to his customers' wants has developed a fine business 
in the line of Artists' materials, pictures, frames, mouldings, pocket cutlery and 
furnishing notions. 

E. L. MARTIN & CO., 

Wholesale Liquor Dealers and Distillers, make a specialty of fine old Kentucky 
whiskies, and in April, 1877, commenced distilling at Independence, J. C. Leftwick, 
superintendent, where they hope to compete with the best Kentucky brands, as to 
quality and price. The firm was established in 1868, and is composed of Edward 
L. Martin, formerly Mayor of Kansas City, Charles G. Perrin, Esq., with Mr. A. E. 
White for book keeper. 

R. H. DRENNON & CO., 

the company being George W. Jones and E. Werk, who are among the leading whole- 
sale liquor dealers in the West, and are doing an extensive and growing business. 

JAMES BANNON, 

Architect, who estabhshed himself in Kansas City in 1864, has planned many fine 
buildings in the city, and, among others, the residence of M. E. Clark, Leavenworth. 

WILLIAM P. MOORE & SON, 

dealers in Boots, Shoes and Rubbers, Trunks and Traveling Bags, make a specialty 
of fine goods, at retail, and are demonstrating that a tastefully fitted up salesroom, 
with well selected and superior goods, will command the trade of those who have 
taste and money. 



BUSINESS NOTICES. 933 

M. A. DEHONEY, 

formerly connected with a Louisville firm of thirty years standing, furnishes cai-- 
riages, buggies, spring-wagons, and the like, at- manufacturers' prices, and has 
facilities for supplying any style and weight of work desired. 

THE FIEST NATIONAL BANK 

of Independence, was organized July 10th, 1865, with a capital of $50,000, and 
David Walds, cashier. Mr. Pi'eston Roberts was elected president, a position w^hich 
he has ever since held, and still holds. The bank has been a success, having now a 
surplus of $36,000. William McCoy, soon after its organization, became cashier, 
and now occupies that position. 

On the evening of the 27th of November, 1867, three men entered the bank 
through the back apartment, and presenting revolvers at the heads of the present 
cashier and assistant, required silence, whilst they proceeded to appropriate the 
funds at hand. They secured from $15,000 to $16,000, ordered the cashier and as- 
sistant into the open vault, which they locked, and taking the key with them, quietl}'' 
departed. The situation of the imprisoned officers was not known for a couple of 
hours, and, in the meantime, night having set in, the robbers made good their 
escape. No part of the money was ever recovered. 



ST. JOSEPH. 



LOUIS HAX 

commenced the manufacture of furniture, in St. Joseph, in 1853, at which time he 
used horse power. He commenced using steam in 1865, and by continued additions 
to the original buildings he has now room for, and employs about one hundred and 
twenty-five hands, and turns out all kinds of fuimiture, from the common chair to 
the most elaborate parlor set. He owns and uses as a warehouse and salesroom a 
building forty-eight by one hundred and forty feet, and five stories high, where he 
does a wholesale and retail trade in furniture, carpets, undertaking goods, etc. 

HUNDLEY, JUDD & CO., 

one of the largest manufacturing and wholesale boot and shoe houses in the north- 
west, was established, in 1863, as Hundley & Buck. The firm was changed January 
1st, 1868, to Hundley & Judd, and one year later to its present form — Hundley, 
Judd & Co. They commenced manufacturing in 1874, with about twenty hands, 
and ai'e now employing about fifty men, mainly upon boots and shoes of the heavier 
grades. Their trade is extensive and is having a healthy and profitable growth 
throughout the northwest. 

BUCK, McCOUNS & CO., 

one of the leading wholesale and manufacturing boot and shoe houses in the north- 
west, was established in 1863, as Hundley & Buck. After several changes, the firm, 
in 1874, took its present form. Commencing, like all western houses of its day, in a 
moderate way, it has steadily increased its volume of trade, and, in 1872, com- 



934 COMMONWEALTH OF MISSOUKI. 

menced, with about a dozen hands, the manufacture of men's and hoys' boots. 
They are now employing about seventy-five hands, and are prepared to furnish, 
from their own factory, or from the best eastern houses, all grades of goods desired 
in this market. 

W. H. WYETH & CO., 

the heaviest wholesale Hardware and Cutlery house in St. Joseph, was established 
in 1860. They have rapidly increased their line of trade, and also added a separate 
house (next door), devoted to Saddlery Hardware, and also established, and own, 
the popular house of R. H. Jordan & Co., retail Hardware, Cutlery, etc. 

HARRY VORIES, 

sou of A. H. Tories, the well-known attorney, commenced business in the fall of 
1875, in a very modest way, with limited capital, but all needed credit ; and by close 
attention and prompt, courteous dealing, has built up a nice, and what promises to 
be an extensive business, in books, stationery, pictures, frames and wall-paper. 
Young, active and ardent, he will undoubtedlj'- prove himself well worthy the hon- 
ored name he bears. 

WOOLWORTH & COLT 

are the leading booksellers of the city. The house was established bj^ Mr. C. C. 
Woolworth, in 1857, when St. Joseph was a mere village. Mr. B. F. Colt became a 
member of the firm in 1864, and has been, eince that time, the manager of the busi- 
ness. This house does the largest wholesale and retail book and stationery business 
in Northwest Missouri, and carries a large stock of wall paper, pictures, frames, 
etc., etc. 

In connection with this house, is the Woolworth & Colt Circulating Library, con- 
taining over 4,000 volumes of standard and miscellaneous books. The catalogue is 
alike creditable to the conductors, and complimentary to the literary taste of the 
patrons of this most useful institution. 

STUDEBAKER & WELCH, 

wholesale and retail dealers in wagons, carriages and buggies, carry the largest 
stock and greatest variety in their line, in Northwest Missouri. They keep con- 
stantly on hand or make to order, any desired vehicle. The senior partner is one of 
the Studebaker family, and Mr. Welch has been for some years their agent in St. 
Joseph. Having abundant capital, large experience, and public confidence, they are 
rapidly extending an already extensive business. 

THE STATE SAVINGS BANK 

is the outgrowth of the old Branch of State Bank of Missouri, which was organized 
in 1857, changed into the State National Bank in 1867, and reorganized under its 
present name and form in 1870; capital $100,000. A. M. Saxton, President, and C. 
B. France, Cashier, have held these positions since its organization. The bank has 
now a surplus of $80,000, and the present stockholders are A. M. Saxton and C. B. 
France, of St. Joseph; and R. W". Donnell and L. M. Lawson, of New York. 

DONOVAN & SAXTON 

established a real estate oflBLce in 1868. They were then, have been ever since, and 
are now among tlie most responsible dealers in this line in Missouri. Mr. Saxton is 



BUSINESS NOTICES. 



935 



one of the oldest and wealthiest citizens of Buchanan county, and Colonel Donovan 
is known as an energetic, honoi-able citizen, who is familiar with the entire North- 
west, and especially with the lands of Buchanan county and St. Joseph. 

THE ST. JOSEPH BUILDING COMPANY 

was organized in March, 1871, with a capital of $1,000,000. Mr. J, M. Street was 
appointed President, and has held that position during the entire continuance of the 
company. F. L. McLain is SecretarJ^ The object of the company is to build houses 
for those of moderate means and limited income, and, in eifect, to let the rent apply 
upon the purchase of a home. After having successfully assisted in building 300 
houses, aggregating in value $750,000, giving entix'e satisfaction to its patrons, it is 
now, in accordance with its charter, retiring from business. 

TOOTLE, HOSE A & CO., 

now the largest wholesale dry goods, notion and boot and shoe dealers in St. Joseph, 
or Western Missouri, was established in 1849 under the name of Tootle & Fairleigh, 
as wholesale and retail dealers in general merchandise. In 1854 the retail depart- 
ment was discontinued, and the firm conducted the first exclusively wholesale house 
in the city. After undergoing various changes, in all of which, however, Milton 
Tootle was the leading member of the firm, it assumed the present form of Tootle, 
Hosea & Co. 

R. L. Mcdonald & co., 

the present extensive and popular wholesale dry goods and notion house, is the out- 
growth of Donnell, Saxton & Darall, who established a general mercantile house 
here in 1847. E. L. McDonald entered the firm in 1851, and became sole proprietor 
in 1856, and so continued until 1864, when the present firm was formed, and the 
business changed into an exclusively wholesale dry goods and notion house. The 
business has been uniformly successful, the ti-ade extending throughout the North- 
west, the stock carried averaging $100,000 to $150,000. 

WEIL, CAHN & CO. 

is the outgrowth of a retail house, opened in St. Joseph in 1860. They saw the ad- 
vantage of this city as a wholesale center, and in 1862 changed their business to one 
exclusively wholesale. They moved their store five times, to accommodate their in- 
creasing trade, their fifth move being into their present extensive house, forty-two by 
one hundred and fifty feet, four floors, fronting on Third and Market streets, built 
by them for their sole occupancy. 

They carry a stock of $200,000 to $300,000, and their sales of dry goods, notions 
and clothing amounted in 1876 to about $1,500,000. 

NAVE, McCORD & Co., 

a leading house in the wholesale grocery trade, commenced business in St. Joseph 
in 1857. The firm was composed of gentlemen well-known in the mercantile circles 
of Northwest Missouri, as well as in the California cattle trade. Their business has 
always been a prosperous one, having passed through all the troublous times of the 
last twenty years without suspension. The partners of this house are also partners 
in prominent wholesale grocery firms in St. Louis, Kansas City, and in the firm of 
C. D. Smith & Co., of this place. Their trade extends over the entire Northwest, 



936 COMMONWEALTPI OF MISSOUKL 

and has steadily increased, both in the number of customers and the amount of goods 
handled. 

D. M. STEELE & CO. 

The senior member of this firm commenced the wholesale grocery business in St. 
Joseph, as a member of the firm of Nave, McCord & Co., in 1857, and was connected 
with that house iTutil 1867. The present firm was organized in July, 1873, and com- 
menced then, as they continue, wholesale dealers in staple and fancy groceries, to- 
bacco, cigars, etc. They do an extensive and general business, and are among the 
most popular firms of the city. 

TUENER, FRAZER & CO., 

one of the leading wholesale grocery houses of St. Joseph, was established January 
1st, 1864, by gentlemen who had been in the Western mercantile business since 1850. 
Commencing in a moderate way, thej^ have steadily increased their linoi of custom- 
ei'S, and the volume of their trade, until they occupy their present commodious quar- 
ters, commanding unlimited credit and the ^^nqualified confidence of the Western re- 
tail trade. 

WILSON & KENNARD, 

103 South Third street, the onl}'- exclusivel}^ wholesale tea and spice house in the 
city, are a comparatively new firm, but composed of gentlemen who have for some 
time been identified with St. Joseph. They manufacture their own spices and bak- 
ing powder, and can therefore guarantee their quality. They have a good trade, 
which is rapidly growing, both in volume and in the extent of country covered, and 
the number of customers supplied. 

CHARLES P. STEWART 

Artist and Portrait Painter, has a nicely furnished studio in Toole's Opera House, 
where he is busy with sitters and callers. He has the divine gift of reproducing, 
upon the canvas, the God-created features of his subjects, among whom are many of 
the most prominent men and beautiful women of St. Joseph. Associated with him 
is James Pine, the celebrated portrait painter, formerly of Chicago. 

L. N. SMITH, 

at 209 South Fourth street, wholesale and retail dealer in Agricultural implements, 
is recognized as manufacturers' agent for the leading labor-saving machinery manu- 
facturers in the United States. He keeps constantly on hand a full stock in his line, 
and procures, from the manufacturers, any machine desired. He has the confidence 
of his customers, and is rapidly extending his already large business. 

W. B. MARTINDALE, 

attorney, is the inventor of Martindale's New System of Title Abstracts, by which 
he claims that one-third of the labor is saved, and the percentage of errors, both in 
names and descriptions, is reduced to the minimum. Mr. Martindale has a complete 
abstract of every piece of property in Buchanan county, from the Government 
patent to the present owner, verified by comparison with the records, and is pre- 
pared, on short notice and reasonable terms, to give full and accurate information, 
and is prepared to sell the right to use his system, and give full particulars as to its 
use. He will send sample sheets on application. 

LE Ap '09 "^~ 



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